Being a charismatic and talented artist is only a part of your journey of being a musician. Besides creating amazing music, you want that music to be heard.
Creating a website for yourself is a great way to establish your online presence and to grow your fanbase by sharing your songs, photos, and videos.
If creating a website feels overwhelming, don’t worry. Today we’ll go over the most important things you need to know about building a website.
“Music Hosting” Website Vs. A Website for Your Band
A music hosting website is a service that stores your video or audio files and allows your audience to listen to them. These types of websites are usually limited to one template and page, and by using them, you can create a microsite for a musician.
On the other hand, a music website hosting is basically web hosting for the website of your band. A music hosting website will give you flexibility and complete control over your songs, features, and design.
Choose A Platform
- Wix – Wix is a website builder that uses drag-and-drop, and it is pretty easy and straightforward to use. They have over 50 themes revolving around music, DJs, bands, and solo artists.
- Bandzoogle – This is a website builder that is specifically tailored for musicians. It has a crowdfunding feature, as well as a digital store for music. The website builder offers dozens of preset templates, so users don’t need to have any knowledge in coding.
- Squarespace – Squarespace has music app integration, responsive designs, and unlimited storage and bandwidth. Squarespace is a more general option, often used by businesses and creatives of all types.
- WordPress – WordPress is a content management system that you can use to easily create a beautiful website. WordPress is definitely worth the investment given all the benefits it has, and we definitely recommend it!
Check That Your Desirable Domain Name Is Available
When building up your online presence with WordPress, you’re going to want a domain name that is easy to remember and not overly complicated. After you’ve thought of your domain name, you will need to check if the domain name is available or has someone else has taken it.
At Verpex, you can check whether the name you’ve chosen can be registered or is occupied.
Find Your Web Hosting (And Domain Name) Provider
In order to find the best hosting provider for your WordPress website, you will need to decide how much support you’re going to need.
For instance, you might want to consider managed hosting for Wordpress if you want to delegate the management of your site completely.
Another thing to consider is the amount of traffic you expect on your site. Since hosting providers charge based on bandwidth usage and storage, it is important to see what your expectations in terms of traffic are.
Make sure the web hosting provider guarantees sufficient uptime of your website and that they are a reputable competitor in the industry.
Lastly, make sure that the price of web hosting is something you’re comfortable with.
Select The Right Web Hosting Type
When building a website, it is also very important to understand the server types. Today, we’ll go through the most popular web hosting solutions suitable for musicians:
Shared hosting
Shared hosting is the cheapest hosting that is available since one server may run hundreds of sites. For instance, shared hosting would be a great fit for someone who is running a blog as a hobby. Even though a shared server is the most affordable option, if you expect a lot of traffic on your website, you shouldn’t opt-out of this type of server.
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting is a type of hosting where different servers are used in order to maximize uptime and balance the load. Even if one of those servers fails, there will still be another that can keep your website up and running.
Hosting for WordPress
Hosting for WordPress is a type of hosting that has been optimized to better meet the security needs and performance of WordPress. To make it easy to get started with WordPress, this type of hosting usually includes one-click WordPress installs.
Managed Vs. Unmanaged Hosting
With managed hosting, your hosting provider provides management services alongside website hosting. The host takes care of everything on your site for you.
On the other hand, with an unmanaged hosting plan, you have very little or no additional services. This means that you will need to install and manage everything on your website on your own.
If you want to know more about the differences between managed and unmanaged hosting, make sure you read our blog post!
Free Music Hosting Sites for Your Files
Aside from starting a website for yourself, are there any good websites where you can host music? Following are a few that we recommend.
- SoundCloud – One of the leading distribution and audio hosting platforms in the world.
- Bandcamp – The service is focused on the development of artists, and it is very user-friendly.
- NoiseTrade – Artists can easily develop a massive email list and easily engage with their fans through this platform.
- Audiomack – Audiomack has no paid accounts or subscriptions and no capacity or upload limitations.
- YouTube – For musicians that want to be recognized by millions of fans all over the world, YouTube is a great platform.
- Spotify – Although users are exposed to constant advertising, the large collection of music has made Spotify a popular choice.
Summary
Between the SEO tools and marketing, as well as other features found on the website builders or content management sites, you can rest assured that your fans, as well as new audiences, will be able to hear your music. Make sure you get your band online now because your fans are waiting for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do musicians really need a website?
Musicians need a dedicated website since having a website makes them seem more reliable and authoritative, resulting in their music being taken more seriously.
Is WordPress good for musicians?
WordPress is the perfect choice when it comes to building a website for a musician. WordPress allows you to create a professional-looking website without any technical requirements.
What should the musician’s website include?
The content on the website can include your story and bio, media like videos and pictures, a blog about your opinions, your upcoming events and shows, the latest news about you, a community forum, and so on.
What are some websites musicians can use?
Best websites where musicians can host music include YouTube, Audiomack, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Bandzoogle, and so on.
I've been navigating the web hosting waters for years now. As the Chief Editor at Verpex, I team up with some awesome writers to dish out the good stuff on hosting. Got a Master's in Journalism, so I always have an eye out for quality. Whether you're just dipping your toes or you're a seasoned surfer, I'm here to make everything web hosting feel like a breeze
View all posts by Julia Lozanov