Band Websites
So the time has come to advertise yourself on the interwebs. The inevitable question is: what do I put on my website? The question seems simple, but too many bands out there fall into the same pitfalls and don't even realize it.
First of all, let's get the basics out of the way. Necessities to your site include the obvious: band photos, show dates, contact information, band bio, and usually a news section. The issue here is how to incorporate that info while 1) making it look cool and 2) maintaining originality. Herein lies the first mistake bands make. Flash. Seems like a great way to get your info out in an exciting way. The problem is that too much of a good thing does exist in webland. The two things that can kill your site and cause people to navigate away before they even get the info they were looking for is slow load up time and gaudy flash. Both can irritate your visiters and make them not want to come back. It pretty much defeats the purpose of having your site.
The key here is to keep your site as simple as possible for your visiters. Most people will be coming to your site to either see when you're playing next or to get basic info about your band, not to be assaulted by dancing band logos. Even the smallest thing can turn people off to your site. Now, this isn't to say that flash animation is a bad thing. Used tastefully it can add a touch of class and give a good impression of what your band is all about. There are some amazing sites out there using Flash and other animations that really do a good job of incorporating all these ideas.
Another thing bands do that can do more harm than good is to get too artsy with their pages. Again, artful images can add quite a bit to a site, but too much can drive people away. Visiters don't want to play Where's Waldo to find your menu or your show listing. Make your menu easy to find and easy to navigate. Make it simple to get into your site and to get around. If I can't find out where your next show is within 20 seconds, I'm likely to close out and go to a different site. Seems like common sense, right? Yet many, many bands fail to do this.
It is important to set you band's site apart from 8 billion other band sites on the web. Just be careful when doing so. You may not realize your site isn't doing what it's supposed to, which is promote your band. Good luck on your band promotion.
