Web Design Best Practices for Musicians
The goal of every musician is to have their music heard, reach into their listeners' hearts and minds, and build new audiences. As the age we live in is heavily influenced by the Internet, it's not unnatural for most marketing to take place online. That's precisely why a strong social media presence is necessary for the success of one's career. However, it's not only social media that helps artists gain recognition. Having a professional website is just as important! Still, it isn't enough only to have one. After all, what good is it if it isn't responsive and lacks basic design features? It could, quite literally, pay to make use of web design best practices for musicians. Luckily enough, we have rounded some of them here!
Web Design Best Practices for Musicians You Should Pay Attention To
As part of your visual identity, your website should be aesthetically pleasing, functional, and simple to navigate. The chances are that if you've never had a site before, you aren't all that familiar with web design principles, let alone with aspects that make for a perfect artist website. However, you needn't worry as we're just about to dive into all-things web design practices.
Web design best practices for musicians suggest that a website should be simple to navigate, fully functional, and easy on the eyes.
Channel the Vibe of Your Music
The overall vibe of your site should match that of your music. For instance, your website should have a darker, obscure theme if you are primarily making mysterious, moody music. On the other hand, if your work is upbeat and full of life, the whole site should ooze happiness. Just make sure to keep the design simple. Too much of everything is never good.
Should you decide to work on it yourself, know that there are plenty of web design tools out there that you can use to your advantage. A good number of them are free, which is excellent news for all aspiring artists with limited resources to spare but who would still like to make it in the music industry.
Use High-Quality Visuals and Audio
Low-quality photos, videos, and music will deter new fans, and they might even put off your existing ones. That's why, to retain the current audience and build the new one, you'll need to pay special attention to the quality of the visuals and audio available on your website.
Include a Page Where Fans Can Listen to Your Music
Since you are a musician, visitors must be able to hear you perform. With that said, it's recommended that you set up a separate page on the website dedicated solely to your music and the videos of you performing. Make sure to upload the entire tracks and full-length videos, as nobody likes listening to the excerpts.
Create an ‘’About Me’’ Page
Web design best practices for musicians suggest that it's a smart idea to create an engaging ''About me'' page where you will share bits and pieces of your life. It should include details about your personal life, along with the journey of how you became the artist that you are today. Fans crave this type of information!
Set up an Online Shop
A portion of your website should be dedicated to selling your music and merchandise. With that in mind, ensure your site includes an eCommerce page. While the music should be the focus of the online shop, including a bit of merch has never hurt anybody. Many fans appreciate having the opportunity to order T-shirts, hats, bags, etc. As long as it is something that reminds them of their favorite artist, they will most certainly be content.
Have an Electronic Press Kit
An electronic press kit is an essential part of every musician's website. EPK is meant to contain everything that an individual might need to get the idea of who the artist is, what type of music they make, and ultimately, what their story is. The press kit should include a short biography, links to the musician's work, their social media and latest news, high-quality photos, and, finally, their contact information.
Electronic press kits are essential as they introduce your whole brand to important names in the music industry. All in all, they are meant to promote you as an artist in the best light possible. You never know if a talent scout, manager, or producer will stumble upon your site. But if it happens, it's better to have an EPK ready.
Let Your Music Speak for Itself
Don't overflow your website with too much copy. Instead of the written content, may its focus be none other than your music. Allow it to speak for itself because, believe it or not, it can speak volumes. The star of your website should be your work. Let's keep it that way.
Your music should be the focus of your website.
Don’t Forget About a Blog
While the remainder of your site should contain as little written content as possible, the blog section should be the exact opposite! It's where you'll post the latest news about yourself, share your thoughts with the audience, and guide them through what you have been up to. You can also use your social media for this, but there's something so special about having a blog, perhaps even a bit more old-school, that socials can't match. To further elevate your blog and, thus, drive traffic to your website, make sure the content you are posting has good search engine optimization (SEO) components like keywords, meta descriptions, tags, and so forth.
Social media, while necessary for promotion, still doesn't have that something that a blog has.
Allow People to Contact You
A dedicated ''Contact me'' page will make it easy for industry names to contact you. The page should contain an e-mail address for business inquiries, and a simple ''Contact me'' web form.
Bonus Tip - Collect Your Visitor's E-mail Addresses
As suggested by web design best practices for musicians, collecting your visitor's e-mail addresses is a great way to market yourself and stay relevant. However, lately, fewer people are interested in willingly giving away their e-mail addresses due to the high volume of spam they receive. To convince them to do so, you'll need to offer them something they cannot refuse. And a free track in return for a subscription might do the trick!
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