Why building a strong website is an essential step to success
The first place all traffic will divert to as a producer or DJ? Your website. Possessing a strong website is the key to the success of any artist, and integral in the promotion game of the modern world. With a phone-shaped computer in every pocket, you are just seconds away from potentially connecting with millions at any one given moment. For this reason, the website is the key component in building a strong arsenal of promotional tools. But how can you achieve such a feat? And why is it just so important? Let’s take a look at how you can get one step ahead of the competition when it comes to website construction.
Domain Name
Purchasing a domain name should include both the name of yourself/your band and be snappy and to the point. It should also match the handles used on your socials, with is not always as easy as it sounds. For example, www.dondiablo.com is clear, concise, and gives the visitor a clear indication of what they can expect. However, some producers don’t have it so easy, and still to this day, multi-million selling Detroit producer Marc Kinchen (aka MK) takes the @OfficialMK handle on Facebook, due to ‘@MK’ already being in use. These are important factors to consider when picking your artist name, and a quick scan of which handles and domain names are available is always a good place to start.
The mobile experience
With the average website now experiencing close to 80% of total traffic from a mobile device, building a fast and efficient mobile site has never been more important. George Anderson, the senior web developer for online web design business OneBite, added:
“Your site needs to be easy to use and navigate, the content is most important, but the experience on mobile is now considered far more important than desktop. With all social media now mobile too, make your site mobile-friendly FIRST, before adding desktop elements later. The most important thing is SPEED. Google ranks according to speed so you want your site as streamlined as possible, so it will load quickly – especially the content seen at the top of the page. The website must also feel secure, and for the user to feel safe using it, so it needs an SSL certificate (the small green padlock symbol), which gives the visitor a feeling of comfort.”
Content Management System
First impressions are everything when you’re looking to land a prospective client, or fanbase. The CMS (Content Management System), is the place where all your visions can come to life. So picking the right one is highly important. Not only do you want a clean and visually appealing design, you want to keep it fresh with new images, testimonials and other relevant content. WordPress is one of the most popular for this right now, due to easy layout, but you’ll also need to check how HTML and Flash-friendly your site is – this will be important when it comes to incorporating multimedia elements into the site later on. A WordPress theme is a template — all the framework for the site, the layout and many times come with gallery plugins and the like to create beautiful photo galleries. Once you’ve installed a clean and professional theme you think fits best with what your business wants to convey, it’s as easy as logging into the back end and swapping out text and images whenever necessary.
Your Content
One of the first things you’ll need is a short but clear biography. When it comes to creating a great social bio, much of your work hinges on the ability to provide snappy, catchy content, within the first few lines. Try to include at least one detail that sparks a bit of intrigue and will make you memorable. The use of ellipsis is encouraged – but only when used on the final word – to create that vague sense of intrigue. A great social bio can prove vital in social growth across all platforms. Get it wrong, and you may find that potential fans are changing tab before they’ve even had a chance to give your latest single a listen.
A place where fans can listen to your latest music is also key, so a hyperlink to your Spotify, a selection of press photos, and don’t forget lists of tour dates so fans can find out where they can see you. If you have a merchandise range, this is also essential, and helps create a bond of unity with your fanbase, who can wear the items at events, and spread awareness of your brand.
Multimedia
Image is everything. People are more visual than ever, and we live in a world where we eat and breath multimedia. Seeing quality photos and/or video clips of your various events (mix it up with various themes if you can) puts your client there. Hire a videographer to create a “hype-video” with music and text overlay, and leave the video on your homepage. This will give the audience a good idea of the ‘live experience’, even if they are yet to visit one of your shows.
A good DJ is someone who lives for the music. But the passion itself is not enough to make a career. A great DJ can think simultaneously both as an artist and as a professional brand owner. If you want your sounds to reach the ears and the feet of large audiences, you need to make the first step and establish a reputation, and the best way of doing this is through a strong website.
