Small update; we've strengthened the "security word" protection on mail form, guestbook and blog features. A few spammers had adapted to break the previous one, this update should keep those features spam-free.

Bandzoogle’s system lets you build your pages however you want. So where to start? Here are some rules of thumb to make a site that’s easy for visitors to navigate, and has a good “flow”.

First Impressions. Think of the first page as your introduction to visitors. There are two goals here; make them know they are at the right place, and make them interested in learning/clicking more. Simple is best; add a short bio, a mailing list sign up form, list of upcoming events and a photo or two. Banners and flash animations can have the opposite effect, by distracting visitors from more important content (like your music and mailing list).

Giving Directions. When your visitor hits your home page, where do you want them to go next? If it’s your music store, consider adding some text on your home page about it and link that it to your store page. In fact, anytime you are adding text about something that can be found on another page, link it to make it easy for your visitors to navigate. A side bonus is that adding internal links makes it easier for search engines, like Google, to find your content.

On Purpose. The key sections of your site should be easy to find and clearly named. Rather than having a cluttered page with a Blog and Photo Gallery, try putting them on separate pages and name them clearly. Then it is much easier for visitors to jump right to that part of the page. Also, visitors may not scroll down, so by putting fewer features on the page, you can put the important content right at the top.