I personally think some of the best hidden jewels on the web today can be found on independent music artists websites scattered across the web. With the rising popularity of social media networks, many individual artist websites have taken a back seat to what is now considered mainstream. Which is a shame…because cookie cutter, subdivision type designs will never replace the creativity of a uniquely designed website for or by an original artist.
For those of you that have decided web mastering and maintaining your own website is the only way to go, then here are some tips to help you get them most out of your own web space.
Make the connection right away.
I can safely say the majority of the artist websites I visits, the artist fail to make any kind of connection as to who owns the website or why was it created in the first place. The artist intro, bio, biography, about me etc; should never take a back seat to all the other content on the site such as; art, music, video, design and images. There must be some unwritten rule among artists which states, “Art or any kind of music posted on a website tells the whole story”. Maybe…maybe not! In my experience only the artist can tell the story in their own words. Don’t leave up to the visitor to have the patience or the slightest bit of initiative to figure it our on their own.
Title and Description
If there is one glaring omission I see over and over again with music artists website, are pages without meta titles or meta page descriptions. I really don’t expect artists to get into the nuts bolts of one page SEO for search engines. But every artist who owns a personal website should at least get a basic understanding and learn to utilize the some of the fundamental techniques to being found.
Social media
Lastly, social media networks are a great way to extend your network and to let visitors see another side of you that is often missed trying to cram your life story in couple paragraphs. I am often able to piece together an entirely different individual than just reading a bio alone. So having additional outlets definitely has its benefits.
I can safely say, many artists use social plug-ins to get the most out of their network, but there are still artists out there who ignore the potential benefits they can offer or fail to link to external media accounts when they do have them.
There are many online resources and articles with a lot of useful information dedicated to improving the user experience on artist website. So check into them. But start with these tips because they are often some of the most overlooked by indie artists.