5 Steps to Build a WordPress Music Website
As a music artist, having your own website can allow you to amass more fans and more people to download your music. Your website can also help you sell merchandise and direct visitors to your social media pages. Besides, a good website is necessary for keeping people informed about your upcoming gigs.
With available online tools such as WordPress, many people today create their websites. However, the best way to do it is to involve a music management expert. Professionals can guide you better than doing it yourself.
Creating Your Music Website with WordPress
Many artists struggle with creating their websites to get the advantages mentioned in the first paragraph. Fortunately, WordPress is a powerful and versatile tool that allows people to create their websites with minimal struggle. You only need to use it right, which can elevate your brand visibility and social media presence.
Here are five steps to building a WordPress music website:
1. Choose the Right Website Builder and Host
When you engage a reliable music management company, you can end up with the best webpage because experts know the right tools to use. WordPress offers HTML, PHP, and JavaScript building tools. You may not have experience in coding, but once you involve an expert, everything will fall into place.
Many WordPress tools are intuitive and easy to use, even for a non-technical person. It offers highly customizable web page templates that users can easily configure to meet their specific visions. Notably, you need to host your website on a reliable platform that can support its technologies.
That said, you might consider the following:
- Shared hosting: This option gives your website a server together with many others. While it’s the cheapest alternative, it can compromise your website’s security and performance.
- Dedicated hosting: In this option, your website gets its own server that you can customize according to your preferences. You have control over your page. All the same, it costs a bit more.
- Managed cloud hosting: This alternative outsources the technical configuration to maintain a server and host your website on the cloud. It delivers the best infrastructure without having to go through a complex configuration process.
2. Have Your Critical Pages Right
While your website can have as many pages as you want, you can have all your most important pages right when you have a good website builder like WordPress. For instance, as a music artist, you can have your entire musical encyclopedia created and published on your domain. Alternatively, you can have your entire brand condensed into a one-page experience.
The four most important pages for a music artist are:
- Homepage: It’s the front page of your website that members of your community and visitors see when they type in your URL in a browser. The homepage should not have an elaborate design, but it’s the eye-catcher for your visitors. It should tell them the most important information about you and your music career. It should be brief and punchy.
- About Us: It’s perhaps the most visited page of a website. In this section, you should tell your story with a fascinating biography. Alternatively, you can describe your artistic message. This page serves as a hook for new visitors who want to hear about your career.
- Tour/Portfolio: This page is mainly for touring artists who would like to direct traffic to this page and encourage visitors to see a live concert. It works well for displaying what you have to over to potential collaborators and partners.
- Contact Us: This page deals with professional inquiries. Those who would like to book contracts, the press, and anyone that needs further direction should check the ‘Contact Us’ tab.
These four pages, a consistent design, theme, and clear navigation are all crucial to making your website stand out.
3. Include a Streaming Feed
While you pass other important information through your website, your music should have the largest share and focus. Embedding a streaming feed will help you guide your visitors towards your latest releases, which can earn you more fans. Today’s music industry is tech-enabled, giving artists many ways to include a streaming feed on their pages. Examples include embedded Spotify feeds and SoundCloud, among others.
4. Utilize Pop-ups Strategically
After including a streaming feed to give tidbits to your visitors, you can start leveraging pop-ups to push visitors to become permanent fans. The best way to accomplish this is by using pop-ups to improve the user’s experience rather than disrupting it.
For example, you can show high-value content to users who are already interested in your musical output. If you hire a reliable music management expert, they can install a customizable pop-up builder, which triggers specific pop-ups to appear.
5. Launch a WooCommerce Store
You can monetize your website by setting up an online store where you can sell merchandise and other products, including T-shirts, coffee mugs, and more. WordPress already has all the technologies you need to build an online store.
For instance, WordPress offers WooCommerce, a plugin that converts your website into a complete e-commerce platform. It also offers compatibility with other website builders. Alternatively, you can use a specific video-hosting tool like Vimeo. This allows you to keep your customers engaged and block any distractions that may push them off your website.
The music industry is already struggling under the weight of many participants. Apart from the time and effort used to hone your craft, you should equally build a brand, manage your business, and maintain a steady connection with your community. With a professionally designed WordPress website, you can achieve your business goals and advance your career to greater heights.
Overall, working with a reliable music management agency that understands all aspects of your industry is advisable. For example, GUIÓN PARTNERS can help you tell your story and achieve your career goals. The agency understands all aspects of your industry. It can help with branding, music marketing, and many more.
To learn more about our services, contact a representative here.
References:
- https://www.musicianwave.com/how-to-create-a-music-website/
- https://dittomusic.com/en/blog/wordpress-for-musicians-5-steps-to-build-a-music-website/