Musician Websites Are More Relevant than Ever

January 1, 2022

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In this day and age, musicians often wonder, “Now that I have so much access to social media, do I need a website?” According to industry insiders, the answer is a resounding yes—arguably now more than ever. Your website will outlast social media trends. For instance, many musicians invested time in MySpace only to lose that connection once the platform fell out of favor. Over the past few years, a similar thing has happened with Facebook as younger music fans moved to other social media platforms.

A well-maintained website is the easiest way for fans, booking agents, and media to get a quick overview of what you’re about and which social media platforms you are most active on via links to your social profile. Updates that include venues, reviews, and press activity show that you are established and taking your music career seriously, which will go a long way in increasing visibility.

There is no better place to showcase your talent and build your professional reputation. You are at the center of the experience. You have complete control of your brand and image. You don’t have to worry about whether or not people are actually seeing your updates or whether information is getting lost in the shuffle. Everything you post is there until you remove it. 

Your website provides a one-stop destination for your music, bio, electronic press kit (EPK), calendar of events, and contact information. Invest the time to build your website and make it a top priority to keep it updated.

Tips for Crucial Curb Appeal

• Choose a flexible website template. A template provides an overall structure for your website. Choose one that is clean and simple, allowing space for plenty of information. This will let you put your own stamp on the look and feel of your website’s design. 
• Be sure your website is mobile-responsive. People consume media on a mobile device at a higher rate than ever before, and this trend will continue. Using a website template that’s already set up to adapt to mobile viewing is a great start.
• Use cohesive colors. You don’t have to be a designer to create a look for your website that complements your brand. Add images first. Based on that, decide which colors will work throughout your website. 
• Use professional photos. Photos are what distinguishes a professional-looking website. They’re vital in creating a first impression of you and your music. 
• Create a clear navigation. Making your website easy to navigate is an important part of website design. It’s the difference between someone locating what they want (to buy your music, or book you for a show) and being confused and leaving your website.
• Limit your main menu to just the most important items. You can add many pages to your website, but organize them so that your main menu contains six tabs at the most. This will help focus your visitors’ attention and create a pleasant browsing experience across the platform.
• Add a clear call-to-action. To bring your musician website design together, choose one important thing to highlight. This could be an upcoming single, a new video, or your mailing list. Once you’ve chosen what you’d like your website visitors to do, add a clear call-to-action on your homepage. 
• Give fans a way to support you. Many musicians thrive on their fans’ support and fans want to encourage their favorite artists to succeed. Whether your goal is to create a website to sell your music, to promote upcoming events, or to build a community through fan subscriptions, offer your fans a chance to take that journey.

Other Tools for Promotion 

Through social media platforms, you are able to talk to new and existing fans and then drive them to your website where you can control the experience. Keeping up with the endless chain of content and maintaining posts can be onerous. Is it important? Yes. Consider social media a component of marketing; it’s another tool in your toolbox.

AFM’s GoPro Hosting Provides an Affordable Home for Your Website

GoPro Hosting offers a range of web hosting solutions. An exclusive benefit of AFM membership, GoPro Hosting offers members space for websites, domain name registration, and unlimited email addresses. With more than 200 clients, GoPro Hosting
has helped many members establish their web presence—a necessity for indie and freelance musicians, in particular.

The AFM is uniquely suited to serve web-hosting needs of musicians—at a reasonable price. In addition to offering feature-packed web hosting and unlimited bandwidth, the AFM’s GoPro Hosting provides easy-to-reach technical support.

Musicians who use GoPro Hosting point to substantial savings compared to other web-hosting plans. Prices for GoPro Hosting range from $19 per year for the Solo Plan, which offers 100 megabytes of space to $149 per year for the Quintet Plan, offering two gigabytes of space. All plans provide unlimited bandwidth.

Members who have switched from other web hosts to GoPro Hosting have seen savings that more than paid for their AFM membership dues. For example, web hosts with similar features are priced $12 to $30 per month. Even with costs at the low end ($12 per month or $144 per year), the GoPro Hosting Solo Plan, at only $19 per year, is a savings of $125 per year.

One feature of GoPro Hosting—AFM Adlib—allows members to start a fully functioning website and begin editing it immediately through an easy-to-use web interface designed specifically for musicians. AFM Adlib is based on WordPress software, known for its accessibility and high performance. It’s all at your fingertips, allowing you to write news items and add pictures or sound files—without the added pressure of learning html or hiring someone to help edit web content.

For more information or to purchase a GoPro Hosting plan, visit: www.goprohosting.com.

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