> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://guide.mlh.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://guide.mlh.io/general-information/hackathon-website/placeholder-website.md).

# Placeholder Website

Until an event has a website, it doesn’t exist to most people. Publishing a basic website the second you’ve committed to hosting a hackathon will help you drive interest to it, capture potential attendee email addresses, and answer questions from interested students. You don't have to be technically skilled to set this up! We've included a template at the bottom of this page.

*Think about your hackathon as a movie. You first release a teaser, then a trailer and then on the eventful weekend, the movie releases! This website will serve as a teaser for your event - the first step to spark a huge interest in your hackathon.*

## The first iteration of your site should include:

* **Event Date:** If you don't have an exact date, try to include at least the month of your hackathon.
* **Pre-Registration Form:** Capture the initial interest of your hackers. Getting their name, email and some social channels is a great starting point to send outreach once registrations have opened up. If you plan on working with MLH, including our [required fields](/general-information/managing-registrations/registrations.md) will speed up the Member Event onboarding process. 
* **Email Support:** You should keep a team inbox to answer hacker questions. This will have a great impact on the word of mouth marketing.
* **Social Media:** Links to your event’s social media accounts. Common platforms include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Staying active on these platforms helps hackers remember your event is coming up.
* **Release Date:** A date for visitors to check back for more information.
* **Frequently Asked Questions:** A basic FAQ about your event to explain things to someone new to hackathons. See the [main website page](/general-information/hackathon-website/main-website.md) for some common copy-paste questions.
* **Sponsor Interest Page:** A page just for sponsors, including:
  * An email address for sponsorship inquiries.
  * Some information about your event and your team.

## Resources:

[MLH-Hackathon-Boilerplate](https://github.com/MLH/mlh-hackathon-boilerplate) - Boilerplate code for any new MLH Member Hackathon looking to build a website integrated with MyMLH. Written entirely in **Jekyll**, which [GitHub pages](https://pages.github.com/) automatically compiles to make hosting seamless.


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