How to make a music website

A music website is one of the most effective marketing tools an artist can have to support their career. But if you’re just starting out, it’s hard to know what to include or how to get the most out of it.

This guide shows you how to make a music website in 10 steps, starting with choosing a builder and ending with tracking your results. You’ll create a music artist website that impresses fans, venue bookers, music journalists, and booking agents, and grows with your career.

How to make a music website:

1. Choose a music website builder
2. Choose a music website template
3. Add a header image
4. Choose your colors and fonts
5. Create a clear menu
6. Create your music website pages
7. Add a music EPK
8. Choose a domain name
9. Set up your website for SEO
10. Keep your website updated and track results

Why create a website for your music?

A website is the one place online that you fully own and control, even when social platforms change their algorithms or rules. Promoters, booking agents, press, and music reviewers get a stronger first impression from a dedicated artist website than from a social profile.

Your website also works as the hub for everything else you do. It links to your streaming and social profiles, sells your music and merch, and collects email addresses through a mailing list sign-up form. Every fan on your list is someone you can reach directly, without an algorithm in the way.

A website (with your own domain name) shows that you’re an artist who is serious about their music. You can shape its content around your current goals, whether that’s booking shows, releasing new music, or growing your mailing list. For example, a venue booker who hears your single on a playlist will look to your website for live videos and contact details.

Let’s walk through how to create a website that’s as functional as it is beautiful, and how to use it to its full potential.

1. Choose a music website builder

Start with a website builder made for musicians, so you can create a professional site without writing code. The right music website builder lets you share, promote, and sell your music in one place.

Look for mobile-friendly templates, a built-in music player, and a store for selling music and merch commission-free. A mailing list, electronic press kit (EPK) templates, and built-in search engine optimization (SEO) tools save you from piecing together separate services. Hosting, a custom domain, and responsive support matter too.

2. Choose a music website template

Choose a musician website template to give your site its foundation, since creating a website from scratch is a daunting task. The template provides the solid bones and structure, with no need for you to add code.

Once you've picked a template, add your music, text, and images. Bandzoogle templates are mobile-friendly, and you can preview your site on your phone to see how the header, menu, and music player look.

A few things to consider when choosing a template:

Artist branding

If you’ve been playing music for a while, you probably already have some branding in place, even if that’s just one image. Look for a template that fits what you already have: a large header area for a full band photo, a square main image for a social media photo, or space for a large logo.

Menu layout and position

Your menu will be set above, below, or to the left of your main image, where visitors naturally look for it. A horizontal menu is common, but a vertical sidebar menu also offers a creative touch. Choose a template with a menu position that you like as a starting point, and you’ll fine-tune the menu itself in step 5.

Website content

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

That extra width gives you room to arrange your images and text in clean layouts on every page.

Single-page website template

If you're an emerging artist, you may want to start out with a single-page website or EPK. In that case, pick a template with a wide content area and section background images to give your site some visual flow.

3. Add a header image

Put a high-quality artist image in the header area of your website template. A strong photo instantly connects you with visitors and gives them a sense of who you are.

First impressions

Your main image is the thing that tells visitors they’re in the right place. Choose an image that shows at a glance who you are and what you do.

Optimal image size

A landscape-style image works best, since it gives you the most flexibility when choosing a website template. Try to select an image that leaves space around the edges of the subject, which will help it scale nicely to mobile. You can also choose something abstract as an image placeholder and showcase your logo.

Header text and logo

If you don’t yet have a high-quality artist image, that’s OK. A large text title or logo at the top of the page can grab attention just as well, with photos placed throughout your other content. If you already have a logo, use it here and on your social profiles for consistent branding.

Music website example: Mel Fine

4. Choose your colors and fonts

Pick a few colors and one main font that match your branding, so your music stays the focus. Your fonts and colors do a lot of the work in your music website design. Start with a template that already suits your image, then customize its colors and fonts to match existing branding, or create something more out-of-the-box.

Consider these things when choosing your colors and fonts:

Stick to a few colors

The emphasis of your website should be you and your music. Your album artwork and photos already bring plenty of color. For your pages, backgrounds, and text, stick with two or three colors so your palette doesn’t distract from your content.

An easy way to do this is to grab a few colors from your header image and add those colors to your sections, titles, and buttons. For more tips on designing your website, see 6 design tips for your band website.

Make your text easy to read

Every bit of text on your page, including your musician bio, song descriptions, and merch buttons, should be easy to read.

A classic example is black text on a white background, or vice versa. You’ll want a high contrast between your text and the background for best results.

Simple font choices

Keep the typography on your website consistent. Choose one content font and use that same font throughout all of your pages. This matters most if your sections use different font colors. Try using a simple serif typeface for the content font throughout your website for clarity. Save the fun, quirky font for eye-catching accents, like your section titles.

Music website example: 49 Winchester

5. Create a clear menu

Set up a short menu with clearly named pages, so visitors can find your music, shows, and contact details quickly. A clear, concise menu helps people move easily through your page content.

Make the menu easy to find

First-time visitors should be able to spot your menu right away. Place it where people naturally look, such as across the top of the page, and check that it stays easy to tap on mobile.

Use 8 pages or fewer

Limit your menu to 5 to 8 pages. This will create a menu thats uncluttered, and doesn’t overwhelm people with too many choices. If you have more content, add sub-pages that flow from the ‘main’ website page to keep things tidy.

Choose clear page names

Use simple page names that describe the focus of each page in your site menu. For example, “Music,” “Shows,” and “Contact” tell visitors exactly what they’ll find, which helps them quickly discover your content when they arrive on your website. Clear names also help your band website SEO, since they make it easier for Google to understand what is on each page.

Music website example: Ced Wynez

6. Create your music website pages

Create a page for each part of your music career, starting with Home, About, Music, and Contact. Once you’ve got your template, design, and menu in place, you’re ready to create the pages for your music website.

If you have plenty of content and music that you’re ready to share, break it down page by page to make a music website that’s organized, professional, and that conveys your career or current project.

Here is a breakdown of pages you can add to your website, and some content to add to each one. You can add anything you’d like, but these ideas will help you get started:

Home page

An effective website homepage should give your visitors a glimpse into who you are and what you are currently doing. Use a main image to introduce yourself, then place additional content on the page as context.

Start by adding a relevant call-to-action to buy your latest album, book you for a show, or watch your newest video, whatever your current musical goal is. Next, add some content that will remain constant on your Home page, for example your musician bio, a mailing list sign-up form, your social media and streaming links, a few of your best tracks, or a recent music video.

Your homepage is the most visited page on your website, so choose the content carefully and update it regularly.

About page

The About page is an important place for potential new fans to get to know you by reading your full story. It’s also a good spot for the media and industry to learn about your background and accomplishments.

You can include several versions of your musician bio on this page. Venues, festivals, and media outlets each have different requirements for artist information, so make it easy for them to copy and paste the details they need. It’s also a good place to add a photo of you or your band that’s different from the one on your homepage.

Music page

Your Music page is the main hub for everything there is to know about your music. Add your albums with detailed descriptions as well as the places to stream your music. This is also a good place to sell your music online,commission-free.

For more on how to set up your Music page, see How to create a perfect page to sell music on your website.

Store page

Include a Store page to allow your fans to support you directly. Your dedicated Store page is the best place to sell merch, commission-free, to make some money from your music online. You can sell anything you like on your own music website, from T-shirts to mugs and stickers. You can also set up and sell digital options including lyric books, sheet music, PDFs, lessons, and more.

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

Music website example: Pat & Sean

Photos page

Fans love to look at photos of their favorite bands, and a Photos page will keep them browsing your website longer. This is also a good opportunity to curate photos outside of social media and to tell your story as an active musician.

To keep your photos organized, create separate galleries that show off your promo shots, live shows, studio photos, or musical collaborations.

Videos page

Fans also love videos. Adding a selection of videos gives fans something to enjoy, and gives you more control over how your band is represented online to talent buyers or reviewers checking out your website.

To be sure your visitors aren’t left with an endlessly scrolling page on mobile, choose your best 6 to 8 videos for a Videos page. Then play around with laying them out in columns to get a balanced look. You can rotate these videos out as your career progresses, keeping the content fresh.

Shows page

If you’re a performing musician, include an Events or Shows page on your music website. This dedicated page will help you get a better turnout to your upcoming gigs.

Include details on show times, cover charges, opening bands, and the venue. You can also sell tickets to your shows directly on this page.

Promoters or venue bookers may also check out this page for further information, so keep it up to date and round it out with recent performance photos, press quotes, or a live video.

Contact page

A Contact page lets fans, potential bookers, media, music reviewers, and more know how best to reach you or your team. Place it as the last item in your menu to make it easy for site visitors to find it.

Set up a contact form with custom fields for name, email address, and more. Once filled out and submitted, you’ll get that info emailed right to your inbox.

You can also add your social media and streaming links, and a mailing list sign-up form to your Contact page.

Landing pages

If you create a music website with the above pages, you’ll end up with a well-rounded, professional website.

However, you can add more pages to fill out your online presence. For example, landing pages let you measure your music marketing campaigns right from your website. These pages can use your other built-in features too, like your merch store or mailing list sign-up form.

If that’s something you want to explore, check out How to use a music landing page on your website.

You can also create a page that contains a Smart Link, or a path to all of the places your fans might want to listen to your music. See How to create a Smart Link for your Music release for details on how to do that.

Music website example: Tony Levin

7. Add a music EPK

Add an electronic press kit (EPK) to your website to centralize information for media and bookers. If you’re actively promoting a new album, gathering press for your music, or looking to book more gigs, creating an EPK gives industry contacts everything they need in one place.

Here’s what should be in your music EPK:

Artist bio: Include a short and a long version of your bio in your EPK. That way venues or promoters can easily use the bio that works best for them.

High-quality photos: Provide a selection of your most recent promotional photos, with vertical and horizontal options. You can also add 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 fans 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 request a copy.

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

Press and reviews: Include relevant quotes about you and your music, with links to your best reviews and interviews. This makes it easy for presenters and media to grab a quote that references 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, orads, or performed at noteworthy festivals or conferences, include this information in your EPK.

Contact information: Provide 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 access your social profiles.

Add these elements to your press kit to reach your music-related goals more quickly, and keep your EPK up to date as your career progresses.

8. Choose a domain name

Choose a custom domain name that matches your artist or band name. Your domain name is your website address (URL), and owning one 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, consider yourbandnamemusic.com or yourbandnameband.com to keep your branding consistent.

If you already own a domain name, you can 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.

Once your domain name is set up and your content is in place, you can submit a sitemap to Google. This tells the search engine what is available on your website to be indexed, and will help your artist name or band website appear in search results.

9. Set up your website for SEO

Set up your website for SEO, or search engine optimization, so it comes up in search results 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.

To drive traffic to your website and help with your SEO, post your URL on all of your social media profiles, the sites of venues you play at, and on your business cards. This helps to position your website as the main online hub for your music, and can help Google display a knowledge panel for your band.

Check out this quick checklist if you want to start optimizing your website for search: Complete SEO checklist for musicians. Or, download our free SEO eBook for more in-depth details, here: A complete guide to SEO for musicians.

10. Keep your website updated and track results

Update your website regularly and check your site stats to see what’s working. A site with current shows, recent releases, and fresh photos gives fans a reason to come back, and shows bookers that you’re active.

Keep your content current

Review your site whenever something changes in your career. Add new releases to your Music page, remove past dates from your Shows page, and change your homepage call-to-action to match your current goal. For example, once your new single is out, swap a pre-release teaser for a link to stream or buy it. Refresh your bios and EPK as you add new achievements too. Outdated info, like a tour that ended last year, can make a booker assume you’re no longer active.

Track your results

Your website stats show how many people visit, which pages they view, and where they come from. Check them after a release or campaign to see what drove traffic. For example, if most visitors to your new single’s page came from Instagram, that’s a good place to focus your next promotion. You can also watch your mailing list sign-ups and store sales to see which pages turn visitors into fans and customers.

For more detail, connect Google Analytics, and use Google Search Console to see which searches bring people to your site.

Music website example: House of Hamill

Whether your goal is to book more shows, release and promote a new album, or just start building up your online profile as a serious musician, a professional website is a must-have for any musician.

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 online. Let us know if we can help along the way!