GETTING STARTED
Whether you’re optimizing your existing website or building one for the first time, you can follow these steps as a guide to help you build a winning website every time.
I mean, what's the point of even HAVING a website if it doesn't do anything for you? But that also begs the question - "What does my website even need to do?".
It's going to need to clearly communicate who you are, what you do, and who you do it for. It's also going to need to capture leads, build data, conquer the search engine results war, connect to all your other digital realestate and do it all quickly - not to mention work well on desktop & mobile, and work well with various browsers.
Clearly, your website has got it's work cut out for it, as do you. You're going to need to figure out your content, design and write all of your pages, connect any marketing tools you'll need, test , and not spend a zillion dollars or hours getting from A to B to blastoff. And while I do think sometimes it's worth it to spend the money and invest in something that works from the get go – this guide should get you going if there just is no other option.
I'm going to show you the 5 sure-fire tips that will guide you from ‘I need a website’ to ‘my website does wonders for my business.’ I promise.
1 – It starts with a strategy.
You can't get where you want to be if you don't know where you're going. Any successful website has one commonality: a well thought out strategy. With a plan in place, you’re set up for success when it comes to supporting your objectives. Your website plan should answer the following questions:
2 – Set a simple page hierarchy.
Once you have determined the goals and a blueprint with tips on creating a website for your band, the next step is making it simple for website visitors to find content. To do this, make sure your page hierarchys is clear.
Social Media Today suggests putting your content in buckets by theme and importance. Try physically drawing a plan as you create a high-level outline. Most people freeze up at this point so it’s important to visualize your website structure!
3 – Keep it (so so) simple
Clear design and text are essential to an effective website. An overly complicated website doesn’t convert. Too many page elements lead to website visitor confusion. Forcing them to leave before any meaningful information is aquired.
To make this point simply, uncluttered visuals and text have the most significant impact on your audience. And, while we’re on the subject of simplicity, keeping your color scheme minimal is key, too. Two to three colors is all you need to make an impact.
It's maybe best to assume that your visitors are often drunk, partially illiterate, and suffering from a head trauma when you approach designing your site.
Be pragmatic in your color selection and fortify the use of white space within your web design. It's almost worth your investment to hire a designer moreso than hiring a web developer.
In a world cluttered with things grabbing for attention - make your bands website an oaisis for your audience. Not to mention - your website should be transparent enough that no matter what your current music is visualized as - it can live on your website without needing to re-do the design.
Keep it simple forever.
4 – Make simple, clear, calls-to-action
There is absolutely no need to be shy about what you want. Clearly state what you want people to do. Another thing to remember is don't make it hard to complete the call-to-action (CTA).
Use phrases like, “Subscribe to our newsletter,” “Book your reservation now” or “Email us for a free quote today.” After you identify your page structure, sketch out your content sections and maintain well-defined CTAs, then layer in conversion opportunities like pop-ups for upcoming sales or events, alert bars for new merch, and more! Your lead forms should be prominent and enticing as well.
5 – Make your design responsive
Did you know the majority of websites don’t keep the smaller devices’ screen size in mind when creating websites? And around 52.2% of all website traffic was mobile in 2018. That number is only going up.
Before publishing anything on the web, always consider desktop and mobile devices. If your audience can't engage with your website - they're going to leave before they can do anything.
The finale: last tidbits on band website tips.
Your website is a window to your world - displaying your art, your music, your business and more. A great website doesn't have to be complicated, some of the best performing websites are one page, and have only one or two CTA's. Take your time designing your website and remember that the devil is the details. People as a whole don't have as much time to spend browsing the web and reading paragraph after paragraph (in fact, kutos if you're here still). Whittle away all the extra stuff you don't need to share and leave the complicated stuff out altogether.
