# Music Websites



## jononotbono (Jan 4, 2018)

I'm currently trying to create a personal music website (for Film, TV, Video Games and Sound Design) and just wondering what everyone's websites are like. Would love to check everyone's out and could be educational at the very least!

I'm torn between ideas for a layout so I'm hoping this might lead to some creative discussion.

Jono


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## gregh (Jan 4, 2018)

I think you can agonise too much over web design for personal projects. Keep it simple and clear and that will do - very few are going to discover your website by chance and need to be captivated by a first glimpse. Instead almost all your traffic will come via people who follow a link and are already slightly interested at worst. I have barely used my websites over the years and normally just remake them every so often for something to do. It is about time to do that again - although I might just switch to facebook. 
On a practical note, I find using wordpress as the framework and something like DIVI for the front end the easiest way to go https://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/divi/


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## jononotbono (Jan 4, 2018)

gregh said:


> I think you can agonise too much over web design for personal projects. Keep it simple and clear and that will do - very few are going to discover your website by chance and need to be captivated by a first glimpse. Instead almost all your traffic will come via people who follow a link and are already slightly interested at worst. I have barely used my websites over the years and normally just remake them every so often for something to do. It is about time to do that again - although I might just switch to facebook.
> On a practical note, I find using wordpress as the framework and something like DIVI for the front end the easiest way to go https://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/divi/



Yeah thanks. I'm making one literally for when that "moment" happens and someone asks me for a link. There's nothing worse that not being ready for the moment. I've been looking at Wix and seems simple to grasp as well.


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## BenG (Jan 4, 2018)

You can also check out Squarespace which features beautiful templates that are easy to edit/customize. They also have a ton of analytics to determine where, when and how your traffic is coming in. 

Pricing is affordable and includes Domain, Hosting, Templates. (Student discounts also available)


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## jononotbono (Jan 5, 2018)

I'm a little torn about layout at the minute. Any thoughts on having the layout so it scrolls all on one page or having separate pages? I'm torn because the sad reality is most people check things out using their phones and tablets so I think it's important to make sure it's easy to navigate when people are no doubt on the move.


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## MatFluor (Jan 5, 2018)

I made one myself and hosting it on one of my homeservers. A simple website isn't hard to make, and services such as Wix or Squarespace are very nice.


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## germancomponist (Jan 5, 2018)

http://warmbutter.com/websites/


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## gregh (Jan 5, 2018)

jononotbono said:


> I'm a little torn about layout at the minute. Any thoughts on having the layout so it scrolls all on one page or having separate pages? I'm torn because the sad reality is most people check things out using their phones and tablets so I think it's important to make sure it's easy to navigate when people are no doubt on the move.


I think a small number of long pages - here is my site, which I will probably play with and rebuild soon as I haven't taken this all that seriously but probably need to. Have a look on mobile and a desktop or laptop so you can see how it works as a few long pages http://www.greg-hooper.com/


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## Jaap (Jan 5, 2018)

If its just for portfolio and such be sure to check out Reelcrafter: https://reelcrafter.com/


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## jononotbono (Jan 5, 2018)

germancomponist said:


> http://warmbutter.com/websites/



Perfect. Thanks!


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 5, 2018)

Professional website templates like the ones made in Divi are designed to work on every device. That means it doesn't matter the size of your monitor, what operating system you use, what browser you use, or what your phone or tablet is--it will always look great. But the majority of websites were put up a long time ago, never updated, and there are problems of all kinds.

If money and time is not an issue, hire a graphic designer. There are lots of good ones who can do one for a reasonable price, but you get what you pay for. You can then make simple changes (like change text and pictures, put up blog posts, etc.) yourself, but will probably need to go back to them and pay for major changes.

But if you put in a little time, you can make something yourself that will look just as good or better than the most expensive websites for less than $200, because you can keep messing with the design and improving it. The truth is that all websites take a lot more time than you think they will, and it's nice not to have to be going back again every day to a flat fee web designer if you have new ideas. Or to keep paying somebody who is on the clock.

Think of Wordpress as being like buying the full version of Kontakt, only it's free (you have to pay to host). Once you have set up a Wordpress site there are thousands of free and very inexpensive plugins that you can use for it. These do everything from back up your site every day to providing a cool slide show, audio player, or store. And unlike using standardized templates from Wix or Weebly, the way you assemble and customize the various plugins adds up to a site that is yours alone.

Divi is essentially a skin that's put over WordPress. It comes with a lot of plugins and designs. Soniccouture looks like a Divi site to me. If you go on there and see how the photos work and the way music is played, you can see the kinds of things Wordpress plugins can do. I'm not saying all the plugins on that site are Divi ones.

Divi costs $89 a year, but you only have to keep your subscription if you want to take advantages of features in new versions. A lot of the most popular WordPress plugins are in the $30 to $70 range. From a graphic design perspective, this is what it costs to get Spitfire-like results. Web design is much cheaper than music.

Of course graphic design is a time suck, and I know your main priority is making music. If you do hire a designer, I do think it would be good you to learn some of the basics and to have the designer set it up in Wordpress and Divi. That way you can then take over all future changes.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 5, 2018)

Also, if you go the DIY route, you can get a lot of questions answered like "what's a good hosting company?" on the the various Divi and Wordpress forums on Facebook.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jan 5, 2018)

My website is about as basic as it gets, but it ended up that way after input from several clients. It used to be loaded with "flashy" eye candy, etc, but became confusing for people just trying to find my music demo page. It's always a work in progress, but very simple to do yourself. Mine is hosted through Godaddy, and a complete idiot (like myself) can easily build a site with their tools; I pay about $6 USD per month for everything. I know there are other, such as Wix.

http://www.jeremyspencer.ca/

having an official website is crucial IMO, I find that potential clients aren't interested in Soundcloud, etc, and often ask for my actual website address. I think it gives you a professional edge. And in fact, my best gigs have materialized as a direct result.


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## pbattersby (Jan 5, 2018)

jononotbono said:


> I'm currently trying to create a personal music website ... just wondering what everyone's websites are like.



In case it's helpful, here's my web site. It's a simple Wordpress site but it gets the job done and I can and do customize it with a little bit of my own software.

http://virtualplaying.com


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## jononotbono (Jan 5, 2018)

Thank you everyone. Think I might have finally made a landing page haha.


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## Valérie_D (Jan 5, 2018)

Hi Luke, from 2008 to 2016, my website was more artist oriented : the main part of the website was a picture of me, my biography and I was listing my music prizes and compositions. In 2016, since I do mostly library music, I decided to recreate my website specifically for clients : collections of moods, FAQ, etc. http://www.valeriedelaney.com (www.valeriedelaney.com)


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## satYatunes (Feb 18, 2018)

If you are evaluating Wix then I will recommend you to take a look at Weebly as well. It's similar to Wix where you drag and drop widgets, components and plugins to create your website. It's a visual builder. I started with Weebly and created a decent website hence never tried Wix. I have heard good reviews about Wix.

One thing to keep in mind with all these DIY stuff is that you have to be very carefully as to what you are really getting. I would strongly suggest to read their terms and conditions. There are some catches/conditions which may not be relevant now but may hit you hard later. There are plugins and stuff with tiered pricing, etc. That's the reason I built my website from scratch so that I don't have to be dependent on third-party stuff. Deleted my Weebly site after I moved to my own site and hosting.

I am a graphic designer and web developer. If you are looking for a simple website to showcase your work then we can talk. I can provide step-by-step guide how to add more stuff and maintain your site on your own in future after initial design.


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## jononotbono (Feb 18, 2018)

satYatunes said:


> If you are evaluating Wix then I will recommend you to take a look at Weebly as well. It's similar to Wix where you drag and drop widgets, components and plugins to create your website. It's a visual builder. I started with Weebly and created a decent website hence never tried Wix. I have heard good reviews about Wix.
> 
> One thing to keep in mind with all these DIY stuff is that you have to be very carefully as to what you are really getting. I would strongly suggest to read their terms and conditions. There are some catches/conditions which may not be relevant now but may hit you hard later. There are plugins and stuff with tiered pricing, etc. That's the reason I built my website from scratch so that I don't have to be dependent on third-party stuff. Deleted my Weebly site after I moved to my own site and hosting.
> 
> I am a graphic designer and web developer. If you are looking for a simple website to showcase your work then we can talk. I can provide step-by-step guide how to add more stuff and maintain your site on your own in future after initial design.




Thanks. I’ve actually made a website since creating this thread. It is what I want at this point in my life but good to know you’re a web designer.


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