If you want to make a great first impression, you must create a solid Homepage for your site. You will want to pull the main content from your other pages onto your homepage to give yourself a quick introduction; music, photos, bio, etc.
You will want to find the perfect header image for your Homepage. Be sure to choose something that will represent your band and your style of music well.
Which brings us to another important tip, add your best music to your Homepage. Pick your best songs, and make them easily accessible. You can do this by placing a music player in your page’s content, or add a video of a recent song to stream on your Homepage. The easier it is to access your music on-site, the more plays it will get. So highlight your best track or two on your Homepage, and save your other songs for your Music page.
As soon as someone clicks on your website, it should be clear to them who you are and what you do. The Bio is key to portraying this, so add a few sentences that briefly describes your genre of music, and what it sounds like. Imagine a blogger or venue owner is coming to your website to grab a short paragraph of text about you. Write out something short, intriguing, and to the point.
Another helpful tip is using the call-to-action method. By doing this, you can place your latest track, event, album, etc. front and center of your Homepage, so you’re not only giving your viewers something to look at and listen to, but also to buy!
A mailing list is key for not only building your fanbase, but keeping your fans as well. This is how you stay in contact with them and to keep them up to date on the latest and greatest. You must embed a sign-up form as your call-to-action, or add it into your content. You can also throw in something free like music or merch to entice people to sign up!
Don’t forget to add your social media icons! With so many social media sites out there, it’s hard to choose which ones to have on your Homepage. Here’s the standard: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SoundCloud. It’s important to show your viewers that you are active on the socials. Having these direct links on your Homepage will be helpful to keep them up to date on what you are up to musically and personally.
Now that your content is in place, make sure that everything is nice and organized. Remember that most website visitors will spend only a few seconds glancing over your Homepage before deciding where to click next. You’ll want to do a few things to be sure that your Homepage is easy to navigate! Make sure your layout is in columns, sections, and/or blocks. It’s important that everything is spaced out evenly. Make sure your titles, fonts, colors/images are all in order and easy to read. Keep it simple, sharp and organized for the viewer.
If you follow these simple and easy tips, you will be well on your way to creating an awesome website for your band!
