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What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:40 pm
by NicholasM
I'm looking to hear what platforms are preferred amongst musicians and recording artists.

Note: I'm not intending to hit up anyone with a sales pitch.

I typically recommend WordPress and Squarespace as their SEO compliant.

With some many CMS platforms out there, just looking for consensus.

I'm also happy to answer any questions.

Thanks.

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2016 4:23 pm
by DesireInspires
Yes, those are good.

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2016 5:04 pm
by Paulie
There are plenty of great web platforms out there. I'm currently relaunching my site and will be using Wordpress. I was using the very limiting Network Solutions hosting offering. The site looks ok, but I prefer more flexibility when editing.

www.bandzoogle.com is also popular, they attend the rally every year. Wix.com is pretty slick too, but I haven't checked out the details.

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 4:41 am
by edmondredd
I'm actually on bandzoogle.. I was contemplating moving to WP, but I guess it's a bit of a hassle. So for now, I'll stick to what I already have and revamp it when it's due :)

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:18 am
by hummingbird
I'm on Hostbaby.

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:09 am
by NicholasM
edmondredd wrote:I'm actually on bandzoogle.. I was contemplating moving to WP, but I guess it's a bit of a hassle. So for now, I'll stick to what I already have and revamp it when it's due :)
Migrating would require redirecting the URLs to the new ones.

Wordpress requires a lot of configuration. It's a much steeper learning curve. It takes some time to understand.

1. You need a child CSS to preserve any customization.

2. When you update the theme, that updates the parent.

The biggest challenge is website speed.

Javascript, lots of CSS (style sheets), uncompressed images will slow it down considerably.

Lastly is the theme. Some are coded well and others not.

The knock with Wordpress is there's a fair amount of HTML bloat. Craft CMS is gaining in popularity.

It requires a lot of maintenance. One must keep the plugins, theme, and WordPress platform up to date.

WP does give you complete control over every aspect. From a technical SEO perspective, it's preferred.

It boils down to resources and needs.

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:12 am
by LOCK88
hummingbird wrote:I'm on Hostbaby.
+1

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 2:20 am
by edmondredd
NicholasM wrote:
Migrating would require redirecting the URLs to the new ones.

Wordpress requires a lot of configuration. It's a much steeper learning curve. It takes some time to understand.

1. You need a child CSS to preserve any customization.

2. When you update the theme, that updates the parent.

The biggest challenge is website speed.

Javascript, lots of CSS (style sheets), uncompressed images will slow it down considerably.

Lastly is the theme. Some are coded well and others not.

The knock with Wordpress is there's a fair amount of HTML bloat. Craft CMS is gaining in popularity.

It requires a lot of maintenance. One must keep the plugins, theme, and WordPress platform up to date.

WP does give you complete control over every aspect. From a technical SEO perspective, it's preferred.

It boils down to resources and needs.
Seems like a lot to me :) Not to forget all the required plugins for the different media players, the contact form, and the store (and ecommerce), and above all that migrating your email and stuff.. I'll probably stick with what I have for now :)

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:18 am
by fuzzbox
I use WordPress templates which takes care of a lot of issues. :ugeek: There are hundreds and hundreds of them out there. I use https://market.envato.com/ You choose a template layout that fits your needs or one that is very close to and you can edit accordingly. I have two websites where one got hacked recently and I had to upgrade my template to help with security where PHP (the code that the website uses) had to be version 7.0. This has given me a bit of a headache has the suppliers of these templates are not responding to my calls for help... even though both are still in business. This is the frustrating side of this.

Anyway, I would try Envarto Market as a starting place and take look at bandzoogle as Edmond's website is impressive. ;)

Re: What Website Platforms Are Preferred For Musicians?

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 6:26 pm
by ComposerLDG
I use Wordpress. I host it with them, though, not as self hosted. This way, they take care of all security, backups, etc. I've used Hostbaby and other hosting services over the years, but I like the ease of Wordpress, especially when they are also hosting. Eliminates the hassles of backing up your own database, security, etc. Very easy to change themes, many plugins instantly available, and recently better ecommerce support.