How to make a music website

Are you making a music website but don’t know where to start? Or are you thinking about giving your current website an update? In either case, this comprehensive guide will show you how to create an effective music website that will impress both your fans and industry professionals.

Here is how to make a music website:

1. Choose a music website template
2. Create the color palette
3. Choose your fonts
4. Organize the navigation
5. Create the pages for your music website
6. Create an EPK
7. Sell your music on your website
8. Choose a domain name
9. Optimize your website for Google search
10. Promote your music website online

Why should every musician have a website?

You might be asking yourself whether musicians truly need a website in the age of social media. The short answer is: Yes. 

Your own music website makes a much better impression than supplying just a social media profile. A website shows that you're serious about making music and getting booked. In fact, it’s more important than ever to create a professional music website that you own and control. 

Here’s why:

You own the experience

With your own website, you have complete control over the design, content, and branding. Unlike social media platforms, there are no design limits, no sudden changes, and no distractions like ads and links encouraging visitors to click away. 

Your website visitor is there because they want to be there. Then it’s up to you to direct their attention, and make their visit a meaningful one.

You own the website address

Your fans and the industry will always be able to find you at your official website address. It’s a little slice of the internet that is owned by you, always. 

You make more money

If you’re selling music or merch, creating your own website is even more critical. You get to keep more money by selling to your fans, giving them a way to support you directly.

Plus, fans can join your mailing list when shopping from your online store. This makes it easier to let them know about new music, shows, crowdfunding campaigns, and more. 

You own the data

The best way to get in touch with your fans is your email list. Creating a music website allows you to collect that data, and maintain direct communication with your fans. There's no “export list of fans” option on social networking sites because they own that database.

You also get detailed data on your website visitors. This can help you understand your target market, see what kind of content drives visitors, where to put any advertising budget, and decide where to book shows.

How to make a music website

Now that you know why every musician needs a website, you’re ready to start creating one that will work for you. We’ll look at everything you need to make a professional music website, from template design, to mapping out the content, and promotion. 

Choose a music website template

Think of a template as the structure from which you’ll build your music website. Website templates for musicians contain the elements that you need, which you can then customize to suit your sound and fit your personality. 

If you’re making a music website for the first time, or want to change your look and feel, here are a few things to consider when choosing a template:

Artist header image

The first thing you’ll want to do is source a high quality image that conveys who you are and what you do. It could be your latest album art, yourself with your instrument, or your full band in action. You will use this image in the header area of your website template, with the purpose of instantly connecting your visitors with a sense of you and your music.

The optimal image is landscape-style, with space around the edges of the subject. This will give you the most flexibility when you choose a website template, and ensure your image scales nicely to mobile.

No artist image? No problem. Opt for a music website template that uses a logo at the top of your page instead, and use imagery throughout your content.

Menu layout and position

Your music website’s menu should contain 5 to 8 pages. Your menu is ideally set above, below, or to the left of your main image, where your visitors will instantly look to locate it. A horizontal menu is common, but a vertical sidebar menu also offers a creative touch.

If you build out your website to include more pages over time, such as discography pages, or fan subscriptions, you’ll want to use a template with a horizontal menu. This allows for sub-pages to cascade neatly under the main page items.

Content layout

If you plan to add a lot of content to your website (bios for all of your bandmates, or your entire back catalogue of music, for example) choose a template that offers a simple content area. 

This will give you space to create aesthetically pleasing layouts, page by page, for your images and text. To give your pages a spacious look, choose a template that includes a full-width content option.

One-page website templates 

When choosing your website template, you’ll want to first decide if you plan to create a site with multiple pages, or set up a one-page website. One-page sites are modern and sleek, with the content scrolling down a single page as the menu options are clicked. 

If you decide to create a one-page website, choose a template with a wide content area and the ability to add sections, and section background images.

Mobile-friendly website template

To make sure mobile visitors get a good experience, you’ll want to choose a mobile-responsive template. That means that it will adapt to look great on any screen or device. A mobile-responsive template will also help to optimize your website’s SEO.

All of Bandzoogle’s music website templates are responsive, so there’s no need to build separate versions of your site for desktop and mobile.

Make a mobile-ready music website in just a few clicks. Build your website with Bandzoogle today! 

Create the color palette

Once your music website template is in place, choose colors to customize the look and feel. These tips will help you select colors that will work for your website:

Choose a few colors for your website

As a general rule, you’ll want to stick to 3 main colors to keep the look consistent and professional: a primary brand color, a secondary color, and an accent color.

To start, refer back to your header image or your newest album cover, and pick out a few colors from those. Use these throughout your entire website to ensure that your design flows in a coordinated way.

Make the colors match your brand

Choosing the color scheme for your website can be a lot like choosing the colors for your album cover. You’ll need to make sure that your website’s colors work well with your music, your personality, and where you’re at with your music currently.  

You could choose one color that sums you up (maybe a punchy pink if you’re a pop artist, a soothing blue for an indie band, or a golden yellow for a folk musician). Then check out a color wheel like Adobe Color to help you find complementary colors.

All of our website templates come with a color palette in place, so if you’re unsure of a color scheme that might work, try out a few preset choices and see if any of those are close to the look you’re after.

Music website: OCEANDVST

Choose your fonts

Your music website is going to have a lot of text on it, from your musician bio page to your electronic press kit. Consider these points when choosing your website fonts:

Make it easy to read

To make sure your text is easy to read, choose a color that stands out from your website’s background. Black on white is the classic example, but any dark color on a lighter background will be good for legibility. Try using a simple serif typeface for the content font throughout your website.

Use a fun font for accents

If you love the look of a curly or handwritten font, use that for your site title, or your heading titles throughout your pages. This will give your website content some creative flair.

Keep fonts consistent

It’s important to keep the typography on your website consistent. Choose one content font and use that same font throughout all of your pages. That’s especially important if you’re using different font colors in your sections. 

For more on fonts, see: How to choose fonts for your band website.

Organize the navigation

Music website: Julian Taylor

An important aspect to making your music website is the navigation. Organizing your pages in a clear menu will help your visitors access your content easily. Here are a few key points to keep in mind when mapping out your website navigation:

Make your navigation easy to locate

This may be the first time on your music website for many of your visitors. Adding a menu that’s quick to locate is an essential way to make navigating your website as easy as possible for everyone who visits your site.

Clear page names

Give your website pages simple names. People have very short attention spans, and not a lot of time. If they have to guess at what content might be in a certain section of your website because the name is fancy or cute, there’s a chance they’ll skip it altogether.

Simple names that accurately describe the focus of a page also helps with your website SEO, making it easier for Google to know what is on each page.

Limit pages to 8 or less

It’s best to limit your main menu options to 8 choices or less. More than that, and your navigation starts to get messy. With less, you’re likely leaving out key information and content from your site, or some of the pages will end up being too cluttered.

Sub-menu pages

If you have more content than you can fit onto your main pages, add a few sub-pages to keep things organized. These will slide out or pop down under a main menu page in your navigation. 

For example, if you have a lot of albums, each with a great story to tell, give those their own page under your main ‘Music’ page. 

Create the pages for your music website

Once you’ve got your template, design, and structure more or less in place, it’s time to create the pages for your music website.

Don’t feel overwhelmed; even if you have plenty of content and music to share, break it down page by page to make a music website that’s organized, professional, and conveys your career or current project.

Music website: Noah Evan Wilson

Homepage

You’ll set the tone for your music website with a Homepage that offers a look into the rest of your content. This page is the place to guide visitors to the information you want them to see, and what action you want them to take.

An effective Homepage should start with a great header image that creates an impression. Add a relevant call-to-action to buy your latest album, book you for a show, or watch your newest video.

Next, use an image and text feature to include your picture and a short bio to make sure all of your website visitors; whether they’re fans, music bloggers, or bookers, know that they’re in the right place. 

For an introduction to your music, add a music player with a few of your best tracks. Make sure it’s obvious to see and easy to click play. You could also add a recent video on this page.

Your Homepage is a great place to capture email addresses to build your mailing list. Place a mailing list sign-up form on this page, either within your call-to-action header, or somewhere high up in the content area. 

Then add your social media links, so that people can find those quickly if they want to connect with you on other platforms.

If you’re making a one-page website, your Homepage will contain short snippets of all of your content in stacked sections on the page. In this case, you should still have a great header image with a call-to-action at the top, followed by your most important content. 

Your Homepage is the most visited page on your website, so you’ll want to choose the content carefully, and update it regularly. For a more detailed look at creating an effective Homepage, check out How to build the perfect homepage for your band website.

About page

Be sure to tell your story on your music website with a Bio, or About page. This is an important place for potential new fans to get to know you through your background and accomplishments. It’s also a good spot for media and industry people to read your full story.

You can include several versions of your bio on this page. Conferences, festivals, and media outlets have different needs for artist information - so make it easy for them to copy and paste. It’s also a good place to add a different photo of you or your band.

For tips on writing a musician bio to put on your About page, check out How to write an effective musician bio (with examples!)

Music page

Your music website should act as your main hub on the Internet, so your fans should be able to find all of your music, lyrics, and album info there. 

Create a dedicated Music page on your website. Whether you’re promoting a new album, offering a peek at an upcoming single, or adding your back catalog for your fans to listen to, arrange your content into columns or sections so that your music is easy to find. 

Don’t forget to include some context about your music as well, and give different options to listen and buy - either at a fixed price, or allow your fans to set the price.

Make your music page stand out with these suggestions: How to create a perfect page to sell music on your website.

Music website: Car Park Social

Store page

A tangible way for fans to support their favourite artists is by buying merch directly from their website. You can sell anything you like on your own website, from t-shirts to mugs or stickers, or digital options including lyric books, sheet music,, pdfs, and more.

Whether you decide to try creating print-on-demand merch products to save you from storing inventory, or you post limited edition items like cassettes, set up your products with images. Then describe each item, explaining why your fans will love it. 

Selling products on your Store page means you’ll keep more of the money (100% using the Bandzoogle Store Feature), and you’ll get the email addresses of the buyers to keep in touch with those fans over the long term. 

Make sure to add a clear way to contact you on this page. When people are shopping online, they want to know that they can easily reach the seller if they have any questions.

For merch ideas and more details on setting up your online store, check out The ultimate guide to selling band merch online.

Photos page

It’s no secret that fans love to look at photos of their favorite bands. If you include a Photos section, it will keep fans browsing your website longer. This is also a good opportunity to display different angles of your personality, and to show that you’re an active musician.

To help organize your photos, create different galleries to show off your promo shots, live shows, studio photos, or musical collaborations.

Videos page

Rather than sending your fans off to YouTube, focus their attention on your videos, embedded directly onto your music website. This allows you to curate which videos people see, giving you control over how your band is represented online. 

Place your most recent, or most popular, videos at the top of your Videos page, and rotate these out regularly to keep the content fresh. Stick with 6 to 8 videos max on this page, to be sure your visitors aren’t overwhelmed with choice or left with an endlessly scrolling page on mobile.

Shows page

If you’re a performing musician, another essential element on your music website is an Events or Shows page. Make it easy for fans to get info about your upcoming gigs, with details on show times, cover charges, opening bands, and the venue. 

If you found some success with live streams during the pandemic, include a previous live stream performance, and details about any upcoming virtual shows.

If you want to sell tickets to your shows online (and commission-free), you can do that with the Bandzoogle Calendar feature. When a fan buys a ticket to your show, they’ll get a printable ticket by email, and you'll get a guest list to give to the door person at the venue. You can also include a live stream link directly in your ticket if you plan to sell access to virtual shows through your website.

You can round out your Shows page with your best live video, so fans (and bookers) can get a sense of what your performance would be like. 

Contact page

Finally, make sure to include a Contact page on your music website. Placing the Contact page as the last page in your menu makes it easy for site visitors to get in touch with you.

On this page, include info on how best to reach you for booking, media inquiries, and fan correspondence. Use a custom form with fields requesting specific information to be filled out, compiling the details into a neat email to be sent right to you. 

You can also add your social media links and a mailing list sign-up form to your Contact page, giving fans additional ways to connect with you.

Create an EPK

Music website: Natalie Imani

Another essential page on your music website is your EPK, or Electronic Press kit. If you’re actively promoting a new album, gathering press for your music, or looking to book more gigs, create an EPK to centralize information for media and bookers. 

Here’s what should be in your artist EPK:

Artist bio: Media and venues may have different word count needs for bios, so it’s a good idea to include a short and a long version of your bio in your EPK. That way, they can easily use the bio that works for them.

Photos: Include your official promo photos, with vertical and horizontal options, as well as black & white versions. You can also include your album cover artwork for music reviewers if you’re looking to get press for a new release.

Music: Make your latest music available on your EPK, with links to Spotify or Apple Music so they can also listen to your music on their preferred streaming platform. In case a reviewer wants to download your full album, include clear information on who they can contact to get a copy.

Video: Embed one or two of your best videos. If your goal with your EPK is to get more shows, add high-quality live videos to give bookers an idea of what your live show is like. If you’re looking to get press or reviews for your music, embed your most popular music video, or the video for your latest single.

Press/reviews: Include relevant quotes about you and your music, with links to your best reviews and interviews. This will make it easy for someone to grab a quote to talk about your music.

Notable achievements or recent highlights: If you’ve won any awards, had success on streaming platforms, had your songs placed in movies/TV/ads, or performed at noteworthy festivals or conferences, include this information in your EPK.

Contact: Include detailed information on how to get in touch with you, your publicist, or booking agent. You can also add your social media links so bookers and media can quickly check out your social profiles.

Book more shows with a professional digital press kit integrated into your own website. Create your EPK with Bandzoogle now!

Sell your music on your website

Your website is the ideal place to sell your music online since you’ll make more money with commission-free sales. While streaming isn’t going anywhere, many fans are happy to support artists by purchasing digital downloads, particularly new releases or singles.

To get started with selling music on your website, add a call-to-action to your Homepage before you release a single track or a new album, to drive traffic and pre-sales.

Once released, add your album or single to your Music page. Offer lots of ways to buy your music. You can create bundles with your music, and offer previous releases for new fans looking to buy your entire back catalog.

With online music sales, you get to keep the majority of the revenue, plus collect email addresses to keep your fans informed about your future projects and shows. Your sales will also be reported to SoundScan, which can generate buzz for your album.

Include physical options like CDs, vinyl, or cassettes, and offer signed versions for those items for your super fans. To drive more sales, you can try putting items on sale, or offer time-sensitive discounts.

Another option in addition to selling your music online, is selling fan subscriptions for access to your music. With subscriptions, you can set up tiers at different price points, giving your fans the chance to pay monthly in exchange for sneak peeks, access to your full catalogue, and other perks.

If you plan to sell music online, make your website an essential tool in doing so, offering extra content and context to your releases. Make sure you update your website regularly to include all of your music, giving fans a way to support you directly.

Selling your music successfully online is a huge topic, so if you want to learn more about it, check out: The complete guide to selling your music online.

Music website: Wolfmother

Choose a domain name

Once your music website has taken shape, complete with design, pages, and content including your music, you’ll want to choose the website address, or domain name. Having a custom domain name means owning a little slice of the Internet for your music and your brand - so choose your name carefully. 

Even with other domain extensions available, registering a ''.com'' is still the standard. Ideally you can find yourbandname.com, but if it’s not available, you can consider yourbandnamemusic.com, or yourbandnameband.com to keep your branding consistent.

If you already own a domain name, you can always keep that same one, and point it to your music website through your band website host. You can also create a custom band email address with your domain name for an extra professional touch.

Optimize your website for Google search

​​Once your website is loading under your chosen domain name, you’ll want to be sure it is listed in Google search results. To help drive traffic to your website, you’ll need to make sure that fans can find it easily. This is where SEO (search engine optimization) comes into play.

SEO is free, and is a very effective tool used by millions of businesses to drive traffic to their websites. For musicians, it’s a great way to get more fans engaged, listening to your music, and exploring your content. 

Optimizing your website for SEO isn't as tricky as it sounds. Check out this quick checklist if you’d like to try it out with your website: Complete SEO checklist for musicians

Promote your music website online

We hope this guide to making a music website helps you work through the steps to creating a website that showcases your brand, and your music, in a professional way online.

However - it doesn't end here! Once you’ve finalized your website, you’ll want to make sure everyone knows about it. To promote your website, post your url far and wide. Add it to all of your social media profiles, venues you play at, and on your business cards. This will help to establish your website as the main online hub for your music.

From there, focus your attention on promoting your music website in a handful of places where you are most active. Make your website a central tool to help in your music marketing strategy. Create Landing pages for marketing campaigns, driving traffic to your website to sell merch, tickets, or to collect email addresses. 

From releasing a new single to selling previous albums, to applying for festivals or grants, or teaching music lessons, a professional website is a must-have for any musician. Just be sure your content remains current and engages your fans, creating a community around your music.