If you want to promote your music and get yourself noticed, creating a website is a must.
After all, your website will reflect you as an artist and provide your fans with important information.
Ultimately, it will help you grow your audience.
And we are here to share our experience and tell you how to create a music website in an easy way.
So if you’re looking for specific steps on tips, you’ve come to the right place – this guide will provide you with all the necessary information and tools to create your own music website.
Creating a Music Website
As an aspiring musician, you might be asking yourself: is it worth having a website as a musician?
If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably come to the right conclusion: yes, having a website for your music is definitely worth it.
It’s true – we live in a digital age of social media.
And developing an effective social media strategy is undeniably very important.
But it’s not enough.
Your website should be a stable place of your online presence, and it should be a reflection of your musical identity.
But more importantly, it should be a place where your fans will learn more about who you are as an artist.
So before moving on to specific steps, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of creating a music website.
Why Do You Need a Music Website?
First of all, many people rely on websites as a main source of information.
Therefore, sharing updates on your social media account simply isn’t enough.
If you want to become a professional musician, you need to create a slick website where you’ll gather all the important information about you and your music.
Generally, a music website should include:
- Tour dates
- Updates about new releases
- Music links
- Photos
- Merch shop
That said, musicians don’t create websites just for fans.
Your music website will also be a source of information for journalists, bloggers, promoters, booking agents, and other relevant people from the music industry.
Creating your own website as a musician indeed comes with numerous benefits.
Besides promoting your music and sharing important information about upcoming tour dates, your music website will allow you to:
1. Build a Mailing List
If you want to launch an effective music marketing campaign, you shouldn’t forget about email marketing.
Building a strong mailing list and creating a newsletter will help you reach out to your fans.
And it will ultimately help you expand your fan base.
2. Earn More Money
Creating a website for your music will also allow you to increase your earnings.
Besides selling your music and sharing information about ongoing ticket sales, your website will also help you sell your merch products.
Many music websites have merch shops; you can sell shirts, badges, tote bags, and other products you find interesting.
Finally, a website can be a good way to promote your crowdfunding campaign or membership subscription service.
3. Create Something Unique
Unlike social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram, websites are very customizable.
You can choose themes and layout that reflects your musical personality, and you can find innovative ways to showcase some details.
In other words, you can create a unique experience for your fans.
Is It Hard to Create a Music Website?
Creating a website by yourself isn’t so hard.
You don’t have to hire a web designer if you don’t want to.
With so many digital tools and website-building platforms, anyone can do it.
However, if you want your website to be slick, eye-catching, and easy to navigate, you’ll have to learn a thing or two about creating websites.
So, if you want a basic layout and themes, you can do it relatively easily.
But if you want your website to be more customized, you’ll have to invest some time and effort into learning how these technologies work.
Nevertheless, today we’ll show you how to create a website in a simple way, and then you can decide how deep you want to dive into it.
How to Create a Music Website
As we’ve just mentioned, creating a website is quite easy nowadays.
With a reliable platform for creating websites, you can choose a set layout and themes and upload content in an easy way.
And if you want to add your personal touch and create a unique experience for your fans, you can explore more about creating appealing music websites.
For starters, you can explore the official websites of your favorite artists.
You can then make a list of what you like and what you don’t like – this will be quite helpful in the creation process.
1. Research Website Builder Platforms
Before diving into creating your own music website, you should conduct a little research on all available website builder platforms.
A good website builder will allow you to create a website that meets your needs.
It will provide you with all the necessary tools and help you create it in a quick and easy way.
No previous experience is really needed here.
So, you don’t have to be familiar with the details of website programming.
Some of the most popular website builder platforms include:
WordPress
This is hands down one of the most commonly used website builders for musicians, bloggers, and other creators and businesses.
It’s an open-source management system that is very flexible and easy to use.
Some of the WordPress features include flexible post scheduling, unlimited pages, built-in newsletters, visitor stats, and so on.
When it comes to pricing, WordPress is free to download and use, but you can also opt for paid subscriptions and get access to more features.
See also: Best WordPress Themes for Musicians
Wix
Wix is another popular website builder for musicians.
The platform allows users to create a website through the use of online drag-and-drop tools.
It offers custom-built music website templates as well as the ability to sell and promote your music commission-free.
Wix offers several pricing plans:
- VIP plan ($29/month)
- Unlimited plan for freelancers and entrepreneurs ($17/month)
- Combo plan for personal use ($10/month)
- Connect Domain plan ($5.50/month)
Squarespace
Squarespace is known for its appealing website designs, functionality, and excellent user experience.
It provides useful features such as e-marketing, e-commerce, and web analytics.
It offers several pricing plans:
- Personal ($16/month)
- Business ($23/month)
- Commerce – basic ($27/month)
- Commerce – advanced ($49/month)
Regardless of which platform you choose, we’re sure you’re going to have a great experience.
All of these platforms are excellent website builders for musicians.
They are affordable, versatile, and easy to use.
But what you’re going to opt for depends on your specific goals and preferences.
See also: Best Website Builders for Musicians & Bands
2. Choose a Website Theme
Once you choose the best website builder for you, you can start with the creation process.
First, you need to choose a theme.
Themes determine all design components, including page layouts, color palettes, backgrounds, headers and footers, positioning, typography, and so on.
So, this is something visitors will see the moment they arrive at your website – therefore, a theme will determine the first impression.
Now, most website builders come with presets and templates.
You can choose a template you like, and that’s definitely the easiest way to go for beginners.
But you can also explore different fonts, color schemes, and other elements that will make your website more unique.
After all, the appearance of your music website should reflect the essence of your music.
That said, it might not be a bad idea to incorporate the visuals from your latest album somewhere in the background.
Many musicians feature their album artwork as their website theme.
But you should opt for what works for you or your band – therefore, make sure to explore all the options you have at your disposal.
3. Choose a Header Image
The next thing you need to do is to upload a header image.
A header is a visual image or typographic element positioned on the top of your homepage.
A header image will make your website instantly recognizable.
And that’s why you need to choose it carefully.
Many musicians use a recent photo of them or their album artwork as a header image.
Some music websites even feature a video.
Either way, you should think of your website’s header image as an introduction to your website.
It’s a visual that will draw your visitor’s attention and shape a first impression.
And first impressions are important – especially when it comes to new visitors who are not familiar with you or your music yet.
A good header image should be interesting, appealing, professionally shot, and reflective of your musical brand.
4. Upload Content
And now it’s time to add content to your new website.
Generally, a music website should include important up-to-date information.
It should be clear and straightforward, and it shouldn’t overwhelm its visitors with too much information.
Some of the essential elements of a music website include:
- EPK (electronic press kit)
- Artist’s bio
- An email sign-up form
- An embedded music player/links to your music
- A photo gallery
- Videos
- Tour dates and ticket sale info
- Merch shop
- Social media links
As you can see, there are many elements to think about.
But with a good layout and clear navigation menu, you’ll be able to incorporate all of these elements effectively.
Now, your EPK and bio will probably be unchanged for some time, but you should keep other parts of your website fresh and updated.
So, make sure you add new content frequently.
This will also help you boost your website’s SEO ranking and Google listing.
5. Create a Navigation Menu
If you want your website to be slick and easy to use, you need to create a clear navigation menu.
The easiest way to approach this is to determine what matters to you the most and what you want visitors to see first.
Is it your music or photos from your latest gig?
What you’re going to prioritize on your website depends entirely on you.
And make sure everything else is visible too.
You can visit your favorite artist’s website to get some inspiration.
But at the end of the day, you should do what makes you feel best – once again, your music website is a reflection of your musical identity.
6. Combine Photos and Videos
And the same goes for uploading photos and videos.
You should do what feels right for you or your band.
But embed photos and videos are usually the staple of every website.
Photos and videos will not only add more character to your website and make it visually appealing, but they will also provide information about you and your music.
Therefore, you can upload music videos, clips of your recent live shows, interviews, and so on.
You can even create an immersive visual experience for your fans.
Try to think of your website as an exciting online space of endless possibilities.
That way, you can create something truly unique.
7. Add a Mailing List Subscription Button
Although it’s important to explore new ways to make your website interesting and eye-catching, you shouldn’t forget about practical details.
For instance, adding a mailing list subscription option is a must.
Email marketing is important for all musicians, so you should incorporate it into your music marketing strategy too.
And adding a mailing list sign-up to your website is the only way to build a mailing list and eventually expand your fan base.
8. Choose a Domain Name
Once you have created your artist website, you need to choose your domain name or your website’s address.
A domain name is the website address that usually ends in “.com.” – so, it’s an address people use to visit your site.
Now, your domain name will be determined by the platform you use; for instance, WordPress annual plans allow you to register a new domain for free for one year.
You can also create your website and add a domain later.
But generally, purchasing a domain name allows you to get more credibility as an artist, and it also allows you to have a custom email address.
So, explore what options you have regarding domain names before deciding on anything.
9. Optimize Your Website for SEO
If you want people to find your website, you also need to learn more about SEO optimization.
And trust us – it’s not as complicated as it may seem.
SEO (search engine optimization) is a simple and effective tool you can use to drive traffic to your website and increase its visibility.
In other words, SEO helps your site rank higher on Google and other search engines.
The essential SEO for musicians includes:
- Making a list of the keywords (words you want to rank for)
- Uploading all relevant content (your bio, tour dates, images, etc)
- Optimizing your content for search engines (adding a custom title tag and meta descriptions, adding text to images, etc)
- Adding links to your website
There are many other things you can do to optimize your page for SEO, but you will get to know them once you get things started.
SEO optimization might seem overwhelming when you’re just starting out, but don’t worry – it does get easier with time.
10. Use Website Analytics
Finally, you can launch your music website!
And this is undeniably the best part of creating a website – waiting for your first visitors.
And there’s a cool way of tracking down who visits your website.
With tools like Google Analytics, you can also get valuable reports that will help you figure out what works and what doesn’t.
In essence, Google Analytics is a platform that shows you how visitors use your website.
That way, you can learn more about your audience – their ages, location, gender, and so on.
Moreover, web analytics will let you know about your organic reach, and it will tell you how much time people usually spend on your page.
So, setting up website analytics and learning more about the performance of your website is essential.
And it’s actually relatively easy to understand and less complex than it might seem at first.
Tips for Creating a Music Website
Understanding website analytics is the best thing you can do to increase the performance of your web page.
And if you followed all the steps we mentioned today, you shouldn’t have any problems.
Thanks to website builder platforms, creating a music website that looks professional isn’t so difficult.
And there are so many ways to play around and explore.
Generally, a well-designed musician’s website includes:
- Professional photos and videos
- A modern website template
- Cohesive colors
- Good typography
You should also make your website easy to navigate.
By the way, don’t forget to make your website mobile-responsive; many people use their phones to Google artists and seek information.
Also, don’t forget to link and promote your website on your social media – Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are the best platforms to let your followers know about your website.
Finally, if you want to create the best website for your music, explore the best artists’ websites to take some inspiration and find new ideas.
This will also give you an idea of what’s currently trending.
But if you’re wondering how to create a music website that aligns with your musical identity, try to listen to your instincts.
Choose a template that you really like and post content in a way you see fit.
At the same time, don’t ignore professional advice, especially when it comes to web design details and functionality.
It all comes down to finding the right balance.
How to Create a Music Website – Final Thoughts
As you can see, creating your own music website isn’t so challenging.
You’ll just have to invest some time and effort into figuring out how everything works.
The important thing is to choose a theme and header image that fits your visual brand, upload all the relevant info, and make the website easy to use.
And if you get to know web analytics and keep your website fresh and updated, you can expect great results.
You may also like: 15 Ways to Promote Your Music