Building a Music Website or Artist website is critical for Musicians and Bands today. Over the years I have seen some Dreadful websites that artists have launched online. This is mainly down to lack of funds and the artists having a go at building a website themselves. The results of this in most cases is not good.

If you have the money you can have a developer create one for you. This will set you back 500 to 1000 euros. For that, you will get a very nice looking website but the charges don't end there. Websites need to be maintained and updated on a regular basis. They also need to be optimized so google and the other browsers can see and show them on their pages. Think of a website like a new car. You have to take care of it and keep it serviced so it serves you well. The same applies to your website.

Two Critical Foundations needed for artists

There are two critical foundations needed for artists. The first one is finding a physical Music venue where you can play regularity and build a fan base. I have written about this in a previous Blog. You should check it out first before reading any further. Reality Check for the Irish artist is a comprehensive look at the workings of a venue and how the artist should engage with it fully. There are lots of tips from myself who has worked for over two decades in the business.

The second Foundation is your website. The venue is your first Home and base of contact and website being your online base of operation. Get these two right and you are rock solid for life.

If you are one of those Artists that do not have the funds to build or have your website managed, Then you have other options. Those options are building the website yourself and maintaining it yourself. It can be done and done very well with a little patience. The website you are reading this blog on was created by myself and is maintained by myself.  A few years ago I had no idea about the digital world and now I am quite proficient.

So what needed?

Well, you don't need a lot of money for starters. You need to buy a domain name which will cost you about 10 to 20 euros a year. You will need a server that will host your Website and Domain. That ranges from 50 to 100 euros a year. You can pay this per month with no upfront fees. Finally, you will need a platform to put all of your details onto and launch it onto the internet.

This might seem very complicated but it's quite easy. I used the Irish Company Irish Domains and I find them very good. You can do everything I mentioned on this site and begin to work on your website almost straight away.  I have being with this company now for over 6 years with no problems.

You can buy your domain, server and start building your website from one of their platforms. I use WordPress myself. It's very good and there are lots of tutorials on youtube, showing you exactly how to build a great looking WordPress website. Irish domains also have extensive information on how to set everything up along with support to help you with any questions.

Tutorial for Beginners

Yearly cost

The yearly cost may surprise you.  It can cost as little as 100 euros a year. That's about 2 quid a week.  I manage 3 websites myself and my cost is a little over 200 per year but one website is very affordable for any artists out there.

There are lots of free music templates out there so no added cost is needed. You can invest in a very smart music template but it's completely up to you. Templates or Themes for your website range from 20 to 70 euros. That's a one-off payment by the way so no need for any yearly payment for this service. I use Envato Market . They have some really cool themes for any Artist out there.

Final thoughts

So there you have it guys. Lots of information for you to consider. There is no excuse for a bad website these days. With a bit of research and following a few tutorials you will be well on your way to a beautiful website.

Please comment if you have any questions or need any more further information. I will be writing a few more blogs on this topic as there are many things you need to know about maintaining your website. I will be writing about plugins necessary and how to optimize your website. How to write blogs and any other topic to help you succeed in the music industry.

Please feel free to ask me to write about any topic that you may need information on.