(This is a series that I had posted on my old blog. I’m moving it here in case any of my new readers are interested.)
Setting Up Your Web Site

So you want a web site? The internet can be a daunting place for the uninitiated. There are so many ways to create a website, so many people asking for your hard earned money. How do you sift through it all and find the best solution? Reading this blog is a good place to start. Seriously, do some Google searches, find some forums and ask other artists how they manage their website and then list your possible solutions and decide which is best for you.

There are three ways to go about creating a website:

1. Do it yourself by learning HTML or Frontpage or Dreamweaver.


2. Use an online DIY service.


3. Hire a professional web designer/developer.

Do It Yourself

It seems that many musicians choose the do it yourself route - often because they don’t have the funds to hire a professional. PLEASE don’t make this mistake. I have been developing web sites for four years now and I feel that I still have a lot to learn. There are many variables that go into creating an effective website. It’s not just the content. It’s not just the design. It’s not just making the site work on all the browsers and platforms. The web is a constantly changing animal and it can consume your time and creativity trying to stay on top of everything. HTML, XHTML, CSS, CGI, FTP, PHP, MySQL. You will get a headache trying to learn and keep up with all the acronyms. Even if you rely on Frontpage or Dreamweaver or some other WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) program, it will frustrate the living daylights out of you if you don’t know HTML.

My recommendation is that you should only try to create your site yourself IF you enjoy it. If there are other things you’d rather be doing - like writing and recording music - then do those things and leave the code up to a professional.

All-In-One Solution

“But I’m Broke!!!” Never fear, Kat is here and I’ve got some great, low cost solutions for you. My first recommendation is for a company called Hostbaby.com. They are a branch of CDbaby.com - which I imagine you’ve heard of - if not, we’ll cover that later in a later lesson. Hostbaby.com is an incredible service for musicians that includes email, hosting, design templates and a content management system. They’ll help you with your entire web setup. From domain name registration to your site launch, they’ve got a knowledgeable and helpful staff that will answer any questions you may have. The best part is that it only costs $20 per month. That’s just a bit more than most reputable hosting plans. They offer an excellent variety of predesigned templates and some great content management features. I think Hostbaby.com or one of the other all-in-one solutions is ideal for musicians on a budget or those just starting out. It will give you a feel for the online world without committing thousands of dollars. Once your fanbase grows you’ll need to move on to a more robust system, but Hostbaby covers the basics well - and at a great price.

Hire A Web Design Firm

Another solution for creating a web site is to hire a professional. A professionally designed and developed website can cost anywhere from $800 to $5000 and up. Get recommendations from other musicians, look through portfolios and interview several different designers before selecting your design firm. Why would you pay hundreds of dollars for a site when you can use Hostbaby.com? Well, you’d go this route if you want a unique design or a more robust feature set that will help you manage your growing fan base. The goal of your site is to make your music and message as accessible to visitors as possible and to give them as many reasons as possible to come back. To really create and interactive site, you’ll eventually need to move beyond the basics of an automated service like Hostbaby.

Essential Elements of Any Musician’s Web Site

No matter what route you take to create your web site, make sure that your site includes all these features. Over the next few days I will discuss what they are and why no musician’s web site should be without them. Here they are:

• Music player - preferably Flash based


• Newsletter manager


• Photo Gallery


• Blog/Journal system


• A Content Management System - so that you can update your site


• An excellent web statistics program

That’s it for today. Ask questions, suggest other solutions or just comment on how wise I am and what great ideas I have....

-kat

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