Tips for your band’s web site
Key points to building an effective band web site for your fans.
As a musician and web designer, I see a lot of web sites, especially those connected with music. I mean a whole lot of sites. From time to time I will come across a band with great music, but to get to that great music I have to slog through a poor user experience on their web site. Bad ideas:
- Music that starts playing as soon as the home page loads
- Giant, bloated graphics that are slow to load even over a broadband connection
- Odd music formats like RealAudio
- Embedded players that skip or don’t work
- Low-fidelity versions of songs, or 30-second clips
Yeah, I can get through it all. But please understand: as a potential fan, I am like any other visitor to your web site. I want to hear the music. What your band looks like, or your giant home page graphic are not important to me. If I’m going to invest any time or money in a band, I need to hear some of the music clearly.
For more on this subject, read two articles that go in to more detail.
- Web site design tips and hints for bands and other musical artists from Richard BF
- Five mistakes band & label sites make from Merlin Mann
-Ben Seigel, Owner, Versa Studio
