Having a website has two main goals for your band:
1. Help you engage with and make new fans.
2. Make you money.
Depending on your budget you can get a website professionally done for a fair price depending on the company you go to and how intricate you're trying to make your site. But for most musicians that don't have the money to spend, you can make yourself a cheap website and host it for a low monthly cost. Below is some advice about getting your bands website up and running.
Step 1: You must have a domain name.
To register a domain name go to godaddy.com (USA)
Register the domain that you would like to use. I highly suggest a dot com (.com) if you can get one and no sashes or underscores if you can help it.
TIP: You should also make sure that the YouTube, Twitter and Facebook page names are also available. You want to make sure your socials match.
Step 2: Choose which option you would like.
Pay As You Go
A pay-as-you-go option with a web site builder, can get you up and running very quickly and you won’t need a designer to build for you.
Here are my favorite 3 in alphabetical order. All 3 have excellent call-in customer service to help ease the confusion.
Bandzoogle – http://bandzoogle.com/
Their lite version starts at $9.95 per month easy to use and the first month is free!
Hostbaby – http://www.hostbaby.com/
Owned by CD Baby, Hostbaby has recently undergone a fabulous face-lift and it’s easy to use. You can store unlimited emails and send newsletters through your custom site. It costs $20 per month or $199 per year.
Nimbit – http://www.nimbit.com/instant-band-site/
You’ll need a Nimbit account (either Free, Indie, or NimbitPro all details on the site). Note: these are real Wordpress sites! If you want a Wordpress site this is a great pay as you go option. Easy tutorials too!
Working with a Web designer
I suggest crowdspring.com or LinkedIn for finding affordable Wordpress designers. Make sure you read the designers reviews and see examples of his work before you hire him so you don’t get any unpleasant surprises.
TIP: Don’t pay more than $500 for a basic Wordpress site.
TIP: Don’t work with an “arty” web designer who does not build in Wordpress because he will give you a flash movie intro or a complicated site. If you want artsy, buy a fabulous new outfit, or create a physical piece of merchandise using http://www.MerchLuv.com that’s really cool, and expresses who you are. But please don’t be “artsy” on your website. On your website be clear and functional.
Step 3: Build Your Homepage
Your entire website should be easy to navigate with a nav bar across the very top of each page or down the left hand side (at the top) so visitors can see it, (not buried where they have to scroll down).
A. Be branded with your look, your colors, and your logo (if you have a logo) and of course a stunning photo of you / your band.
TIP: your socials should all match your site colors.
B. Should feature your name, and your pitch, or specifically what you sound like in a few words. If you feel weird creating a “pitch” use one killer press quote or fan quote, which sums up the way you sound.
Good luck!
Click here for the original article
No comments:
Post a Comment