The rookie mistakes artists make with websites
Your website is the window to your brand as an artist, giving visitors an insight into who you are and what you represent. Often, visiting your website will be the first interaction a potential fan will have with your brand, making it vital to give a good first impression. There are a diverse array of artist websites in existence, each one representing that specific artist’s personality and style, linking visitors with all of their content. As a developing artist, building a website should be one of your highest priorities in order to further expand the reach of your brand. But creating a suitable website is no simple task, so we have taken a look at ten of the rookie errors you should avoid.
Not setting goals
One of the easiest traps to fall into when developing your website is not to set goals for yourself. Before you start, you should make sure you know exactly what you want your site to offer, how you want it to look, and what you are hoping to achieve. You should also make sure to decide what your priorities are, make sure you know which features are the most important to you. You may decide that the appearance of the website is your number one priority, or you may decide that usability is the most important feature.
Not conducting research
As with any major project, prior research is a huge aspect of making your project a success. Take a look at other artist websites out there and decide which ones you like and why, and if there is anything you would like to avoid. It is also important to look into any software you may need in order to avoid any unexpected costs down the line. You should also research SEO and make sure that as you build the site to be search-engine friendly in order to provide you with the most amount of clicks.
Not using CMS
One of the major rookie errors made when creating a site is choosing to build the whole site on your own. Learning code to build a site is incredibly time-consuming, and there are plenty of pieces of software on the market that can enable you to develop a site much more quickly. One of the world’s most popular CMS systems is WordPress, which allows users to build their sites with much less hassle than by writing code from scratch.
Ignoring the audience
Disregarding your audience is one of the biggest, and easily avoidable, mistakes you can make when building a website. Every decision you make should be made on the basis of your audience’s preferences. It is important to research your demographic and establish the kind of people who are going to be the most regular visitors on your site, then make sure that the site is fulfilling their needs. Especially in the design process, your key demographic should always be considered, as it is vital that they enjoy the look of your site.
No usability
One of the most important factors of building a website is usability. Without usability, a website is essentially useless. Making your website usable and effortless to navigate should be one of your biggest priorities. Make sure that navigating around your site is easy and consistent, any kind of difficulty encountered by visitors could limit the time they spend on your website. Your site should also not be overly crowded with information, try to limit large text segments in order to avoid losing your audience’s interest.
Not centralizing your content
It is always advisable to keep all of your content on one website rather than spreading it across multiple sites. Keeping all of your content in one place ensures that your audience will not be confused by multiple sites and will know exactly where to find the latest information on you and your brand.
Overdesigning your site
Be careful not to spend too much time overdesigning your website, trying to create the perfect platform can lead to a delay in launching your site. The truth is, all of those extra hours spent perfecting the homepage may not actually make much difference to your visitors. Of course, having an aesthetically pleasing site should be a goal when designing your site, but know when to limit yourself. It is all too easy to spend all of your time obsessing over the appearance of the homepage rather than working on the functionality of the site. Keep it simple and neutral, even the plainest sites can be brought to life by compelling photography.
Lack of SEO
An aspect of building a website that is never given enough focus is SEO. Making sure that your website is search-engine friendly can have a huge impact on the number of visitors clicking through to your site. It is vital to appear at the top of search engine lists, making it easier for your fans to find you. Make sure to research SEO and stay up to date in order to ensure that your site is as optimized as possible.
Not updating your site
One of the common misconceptions when building a site is that it can simply be left alone once it is completely finished. Your website should constantly be updated throughout your career, it should include up to date information and news. You will also find that over time websites naturally begin to appear out-dated, so it is important to stay ahead of trends in order to ensure that your website remains modern and user-friendly. Setting up your first website is a monumental step in your career as an artist, and is an exciting opportunity to expand your reach and showcase your brand. Putting together the perfect site isn’t easy, but if you are unhappy with any element of the finished product, there is always the option to make adaptations, nothing is set in stone. One of the most important aspects of managing your site is always making changes to further streamline your product. As long as you make sure to avoid these rookie errors, you are already on the right track to producing an effective artist website.