Recs for web site building

Ask questions and get answers about how to make music in any particular way. Hardware or songwriting or whatever.
Post Reply
User avatar
MicahSommer
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 411
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:09 pm
Instruments: Voice, accordion, keyboards, guitar, euphonium
Recording Method: StudioOne Artist / AudioBox USB
Submitting as: Micah Sommersmith, All The Robots
Pronouns: they/them or he/him
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Contact:

Recs for web site building

Post by MicahSommer »

I have been meaning for a long time to pull my online presence together into one place and am wondering if anyone has recommendations for web hosting and web site building resources.

I am happy using Bandcamp for my actual music and Youtube for my videos, but want to build a web site with my bio, info on booking/live gigs, contact, maybe some kind of blog, etc.

I know many people are here are super coders who can build their own beautiful robust websites in Notepad. Not me. I have a number of friends who use Squarespace and like it for its ease and all-in-one-ness, but maybe it would be just as easy and a whole lot cheaper to download WordPress and use some other service for hosting and domain name registration. Or maybe one of the thousands of other options I don't know about would be better.

What do you recommend, O songfighters?
"you did a skillful job pulling off the sexy" - RangerDenni
User avatar
jb
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 4159
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 10:12 am
Instruments: Guitar, Cello, Keys, Uke, Vox, Perc
Recording Method: Logic X
Submitting as: The John Benjamin Band
Pronouns: he/him
Location: WASHINGTON, DC
Contact:

Re: Recs for web site building

Post by jb »

Need more info to provide good advice.

What is your budget for getting it built?
What is your budget to maintain the site monthly or yearly?
What is your web-building skill set?

JB
blippity blop ya don’t stop heyyyyyyyyy
User avatar
fluffy
Eruption
Posts: 11028
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 10:56 am
Instruments: sometimes
Recording Method: Logic Pro X
Submitting as: Sockpuppet
Pronouns: she/they
Location: Seattle-ish
Contact:

Re: Recs for web site building

Post by fluffy »

If you just want a simple blog that people can follow, consider Tumblr. It's pretty easy to point your own custom domain to it, and it isn't bad for posting songs and gigs and whatever links and so on. I've been using it as my default "how to make a quick and easy site for sharing shit" thing and it's Good Enough for most of that. Plus, lots of community features that are useful but also easy to ignore if you don't care about them.
User avatar
roymond
Beat It
Posts: 5188
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 3:42 pm
Instruments: Guitars, Bass, Vocals, Logic
Recording Method: Logic X, MacBookPro, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Submitting as: roymond, Dangerous Croutons, Intentionally Left Bank, Moody Vermin
Pronouns: he/him
Location: brooklyn
Contact:

Re: Recs for web site building

Post by roymond »

Here's my new, unfinished, Tumblr: roymondmusic. Not yet sure about it...
roymond.com | songfights | covers
"Any more chromaticism and you'll have to change your last name to Wagner!" - Frankie Big Face
User avatar
MicahSommer
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 411
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:09 pm
Instruments: Voice, accordion, keyboards, guitar, euphonium
Recording Method: StudioOne Artist / AudioBox USB
Submitting as: Micah Sommersmith, All The Robots
Pronouns: they/them or he/him
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Contact:

Re: Recs for web site building

Post by MicahSommer »

Thanks for replying.
jb wrote:Need more info to provide good advice.

What is your budget for getting it built?
What is your budget to maintain the site monthly or yearly?
What is your web-building skill set?

JB
I'm not too keen on hiring someone to develop a custom site for me, and I'm willing to spend $10-15 per month, which is about where Squarespace hosting runs... so that might be the best option for me. Took a second look at Wordpress and it looks like it may be more intimidating than I thought.

I know my way around an FTP client and I like to think I pick up new skills fairly quickly, but I'm not really at a point in my life where I want to spend a ton of time and energy learning to build and maintain a custom site. [primary caregiver of tiny baby, pleased to meet you...]
fluffy wrote:If you just want a simple blog that people can follow, consider Tumblr. It's pretty easy to point your own custom domain to it, and it isn't bad for posting songs and gigs and whatever links and so on. I've been using it as my default "how to make a quick and easy site for sharing shit" thing and it's Good Enough for most of that. Plus, lots of community features that are useful but also easy to ignore if you don't care about them.
I am a Tumblr lurker and enjoy following other people, hadn't really considered it for my own stuff. I like the social/sharing aspects but feel like it might be a little too limiting.
"you did a skillful job pulling off the sexy" - RangerDenni
User avatar
jb
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 4159
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 10:12 am
Instruments: Guitar, Cello, Keys, Uke, Vox, Perc
Recording Method: Logic X
Submitting as: The John Benjamin Band
Pronouns: he/him
Location: WASHINGTON, DC
Contact:

Re: Recs for web site building

Post by jb »

Squarespace is swank. I use their competitor Wix for my band: http://magrocksdc.com

If you have the budget, it's an easy way to get a nice site without too much effort if you have at least some minimal design skillz.

JB

JB
blippity blop ya don’t stop heyyyyyyyyy
User avatar
MicahSommer
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 411
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:09 pm
Instruments: Voice, accordion, keyboards, guitar, euphonium
Recording Method: StudioOne Artist / AudioBox USB
Submitting as: Micah Sommersmith, All The Robots
Pronouns: they/them or he/him
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Contact:

Re: Recs for web site building

Post by MicahSommer »

jb wrote:Squarespace is swank. I use their competitor Wix for my band: http://magrocksdc.com

If you have the budget, it's an easy way to get a nice site without too much effort if you have at least some minimal design skillz.

JB

JB
Thanks, your band site looks pretty slick indeed. Can I ask what plan/tier you are on, and did you register your domain thru Wix or someone else - godaddy, etc... Also is your music player native to Wix or a third-party thing?

The main criticism of Wix I'm seeing is that apparently you can't switch templates once you've starting building your site; you have to start over from scratch...
"you did a skillful job pulling off the sexy" - RangerDenni
User avatar
jb
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 4159
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 10:12 am
Instruments: Guitar, Cello, Keys, Uke, Vox, Perc
Recording Method: Logic X
Submitting as: The John Benjamin Band
Pronouns: he/him
Location: WASHINGTON, DC
Contact:

Re: Recs for web site building

Post by jb »

I'll respond, but tomorrow. Need time to go look up what's on the site. I didn't use a template, really, because they didn't seem to want to apply to a "band portfolio" web site. A band blog, sure, a concert promotion site, sure.

More later,

JB
blippity blop ya don’t stop heyyyyyyyyy
Post Reply