Improve my substandard web site

[hrwmusic]

Any tips to improve my web site

I realize that this thread is kind of self centered, and i apologise for that. But basically I am in the position when im trying to whatch my money best i can. I have a purevolume (love them) and i have recently made a new site at google pages.

http://www.purevolume.com/harrisonweber
http://harrisonwebermusic.googlepages.com/home

I was woundering, since im beging to take things seriously and have a very little show tomorrow, how i could improve my new google pages site? Are there any simple (or not) tips to look more professional, is there somthing that you dont like? I know that this is alittle much to ask, but i could return the favor what ever way i can if i could just get an outside perspective, since its hard to take a different view when im the one who is creating things. I was thinking somthing like ounce my solid album is final, i could get it reviewed, does anyone have any ideas on a creditable site that would consider the acoustic song writting style? A lyrics link? (one thing that sucks is that i cant have anything flash. or embedded, unless somone knows a way around googlepages?)

Thank you so much! This site is awesome in general, and is why ive been so productive with music. So ounce again, thanks to all, with or without a reasponse!

-Harrison Weber

 

[mjr]

I realize that this thread is kind of self centered, and i apologise for that. But basically I am in the position when im trying to whatch my money best i can. I have a purevolume (love them) and i have recently made a new site at google pages.

http://www.purevolume.com/harrisonweber
http://harrisonwebermusic.googlepages.com/home

I was woundering, since im beging to take things seriously and have a very little show tomorrow, how i could improve my new google pages site? Are there any simple (or not) tips to look more professional, is there somthing that you dont like? I know that this is alittle much to ask, but i could return the favor what ever way i can if i could just get an outside perspective, since its hard to take a different view when im the one who is creating things. I was thinking somthing like ounce my solid album is final, i could get it reviewed, does anyone have any ideas on a creditable site that would consider the acoustic song writting style? A lyrics link? (one thing that sucks is that i cant have anything flash. or embedded, unless somone knows a way around googlepages?)

Thank you so much! This site is awesome in general, and is why ive been so productive with music. So ounce again, thanks to all, with or without a reasponse!

-Harrison Weber

The overall look isn't bad at all. It's easy on the eyes, and the notebook paper look is a nice touch.

The only problem I see is that the site is a little empty, as far as content goes.

One thing you should seriously consider is getting your own domain name. You, and your music, will be taken more seriously with a real domain name. There are several inexpensive options available.

You can go to Network Solutions (www.networksolutions.com) and get yourself a domain there. I think it's $30 yearly to register a domain, and you can find hosting companies for $8 a month, or so. I currently use Brinkster , but I'm considering switching to PowWeb . You'll also get more flexibility, so that you can actually upload MP3 files, Flash, video files, and so forth.

For some good articles on marketing yourself, and some good tips on how/where to get reviews, you might want to check www.musicbizacademy.com. I've learned some very, very good things from their articles.

My advice as far as getting reviews: Research. That may seem like a blinding flash of the obvious, but consider the following:

Music reviewers are very busy people. Some of them may get hundreds of submissions per week, many, many of them unsolicited. So, the ideal thing to do is to go through music magazines that you enjoy reading, and find other periodicals and/or web sites that may do music reviews. Contact them via telephone or email first. This is very important to do, as it shows the reviewer that you are courteous of their time. In your phone call/email, thank them for their time, acknowledge that you know they're busy, and ask them if they would review your music. If they say no, thank them. If they say yes, ask them exactly what you need to send, to where, and to whom. Then thank them.

 

[hrwmusic]

The overall look isn't bad at all. It's easy on the eyes, and the notebook paper look is a nice touch.

The only problem I see is that the site is a little empty, as far as content goes.

One thing you should seriously consider is getting your own domain name. You, and your music, will be taken more seriously with a real domain name. There are several inexpensive options available.

You can go to Network Solutions (www.networksolutions.com) and get yourself a domain there. I think it's $30 yearly to register a domain, and you can find hosting companies for $8 a month, or so. I currently use Brinkster , but I'm considering switching to PowWeb . You'll also get more flexibility, so that you can actually upload MP3 files, Flash, video files, and so forth.

For some good articles on marketing yourself, and some good tips on how/where to get reviews, you might want to check www.musicbizacademy.com. I've learned some very, very good things from their articles.

My advice as far as getting reviews: Research. That may seem like a blinding flash of the obvious, but consider the following:

Music reviewers are very busy people. Some of them may get hundreds of submissions per week, many, many of them unsolicited. So, the ideal thing to do is to go through music magazines that you enjoy reading, and find other periodicals and/or web sites that may do music reviews. Contact them via telephone or email first. This is very important to do, as it shows the reviewer that you are courteous of their time. In your phone call/email, thank them for their time, acknowledge that you know they're busy, and ask them if they would review your music. If they say no, thank them. If they say yes, ask them exactly what you need to send, to where, and to whom. Then thank them.

Thanks so much man, those links will deffientally be saved! I've only checked out one article on music biz academy, but it seemed really cool, so thanks so much!

Ive made some changes, to sweeten things up. as for now, i dont have any java script, or fancy html. But ive done some work with pictures to make things more up to date, and interative.

I'll be messing around with a few ways around the limitations, if anyone has any more suggestions, on anything, it would be great!

 

[mjr]

Thanks so much man, those links will deffientally be saved! I've only checked out one article on music biz academy, but it seemed really cool, so thanks so much!

Ive made some changes, to sweeten things up. as for now, i dont have any java script, or fancy html. But ive done some work with pictures to make things more up to date, and interative.

I'll be messing around with a few ways around the limitations, if anyone has any more suggestions, on anything, it would be great!

Ok, I like where you're heading with your site. You probably won't need any JavaScript or fancy HTML to make your site look elegant, if you do it right.

The only other suggestion I'd make at this point is on your home2 page. Take the guitar neck photo and the headphones photo and put them side-by-side. Crop the headphones image to make it the same height as the guitar neck photo. Put your text for "media" and for "what I'm thinking now" above the appropriate images.

If you can, move your PureVolume image from the bottom to near the top somewhere, you want that to be more prominent. Remove the counter at the bottom of the page.

You should still consider getting your own domain name. www.harrisonweber.com is available, as is www.harrisonwebermusic.com

You're on the right track! Good luck!

 

[hrwmusic]

Hey, google pages is really hard to work with, but is this what you had in mind?

http://harrisonwebermusic.googlepages.com/home2

Its great for non professional uses, but your right, i do need to get a domain.

It is such a big step, and it isnt even that expensive, especially because i wont be doing anything too complex.

Before i make my own domain, are there any web site editing programs, that are simple enough for me? What i do know of html is pretty slim

Anything at all (perferably freeware lol)?

Thanks so much man for your help!


__ -----______---_______---

edit: Hmm, do all hosting companys offer web tools? Are they any good?

Also, what is it that makes you want to switch from brinkster to powweb?

sorry for all the questions,
hrwmusic

 

[mjr]

Hey, google pages is really hard to work with, but is this what you had in mind?

http://harrisonwebermusic.googlepages.com/home2

Its great for non professional uses, but your right, i do need to get a domain.

It is such a big step, and it isnt even that expensive, especially because i wont be doing anything too complex.

Before i make my own domain, are there any web site editing programs, that are simple enough for me? What i do know of html is pretty slim

Anything at all (perferably freeware lol)?

Thanks so much man for your help!


__ -----______---_______---

edit: Hmm, do all hosting companys offer web tools? Are they any good?

Also, what is it that makes you want to switch from brinkster to powweb?

sorry for all the questions,
hrwmusic

Yeah, that's better. There's a small gap under the guitar neck image text that pushes the image down some. Also, the text beside the headphone image looks awkward.

As far as web site editing programs, notepad is honestly probably the best way to go, unless you want to pay anywhere from $50 - $200.

There's also a good HTML tutorial at www.w3schools.com that you could use.

No, not all hosting companies offer free web tools.

As far as me switching from Brinkster to PowWeb, it's more a matter of disk space and bandwidth. They offer me more disk space, and much, much more bandwidth for about $1 a month less than Brinkster, I get a TON of email accounts, and I can use a MySQL database.

 

[SillyBee]

You direct people to a webpage that brings you too your website (By clicking HERE).

When I see that I don't even bother




.

 

[hrwmusic]

You direct people to a webpage that brings you too your website (By clicking HERE).

When I see that I don't even bother

hmm, well i know what you mean. It is alittle pointless, even though..you did bother by posting,

--

But, i thought it added a level of professionalism, i mean it lets people know what they're entering. Its like getting the whole, My name is harrison weber, im an acoustic musician thing out of the way. So some one who doesnt know me, and gets to the link somewhere may go "okay cool, i like that style of music, and the site seems like its clean."

I know its good to get right to the point, but when there is just content everywhere (eventhough my site isnt as bussy looking as most), it can be alittle uninviting, you know?

Its like a preview, and reasurance. and maybe alittle background info too.

You see what i mean man?

 

[SillyBee]

hmm, well i know what you mean. It is alittle pointless, even though..you did bother by posting,

--

But, i thought it added a level of professionalism, i mean it lets people know what they're entering. Its like getting the whole, My name is harrison weber, im an acoustic musician thing out of the way. So some one who doesnt know me, and gets to the link somewhere may go "okay cool, i like that style of music, and the site seems like its clean."

I know its good to get right to the point, but when there is just content everywhere (eventhough my site isnt as bussy looking as most), it can be alittle uninviting, you know?

Its like a preview, and reasurance. and maybe alittle background info too.

You see what i mean man?

I posted because you asked

Yes I know what you mean. I would suggest losing the webpage to get to your webpage and dividing up the contend so you'll actualy have some into seperate pages via a menu on the left side.

I like the paper looking backgound and header. Its clean and clever looking.

 

[hrwmusic]

I posted because you asked

Yes I know what you mean. I would suggest losing the webpage to get to your webpage and dividing up the contend so you'll actualy have some into seperate pages via a menu on the left side.

I like the paper looking backgound and header. Its clean and clever looking.

Thanks man, i feel the same way... I should be doing that pretty soon, my only issue is lack of knowledge. I looked at things like bandzoogle, but i found it was too under-customizeable (if thats a word? probly not..). So yeah, it looks like this is going to be alot of work...lol.

but thanks....... and other tips besides that w3 school?

 

[mjr]

Thanks man, i feel the same way... I should be doing that pretty soon, my only issue is lack of knowledge. I looked at things like bandzoogle, but i found it was too under-customizeable (if thats a word? probly not..). So yeah, it looks like this is going to be alot of work...lol.

but thanks....... and other tips besides that w3 school?

W3Schools.com is going to cover most of what you're probably going to want to do. It covers HTML, JavaScript, CSS, ASP, ASP.NET, etc. tutorials.

Another good tip: You've got something good going with the look & feel of your site. Don't tinker too much with what you've got. Don't get over-fancy, either. Your site can be simple, yet elegant. It doesn't, in my opinion, need to be (nor should it be) over complex, with flashy images, dynamic content (with the exception of maybe MP3 files and video), and other "glitzy" features. Having too much glitz on your web site can actually drive away people.

To supplement your PureVolume site, you may want to go the .m3u route. Basically, an .m3u file is a text file that points to an .mp3 file, and makes it act like a streaming file (since most hosts don't support streaming, this is a good way to go!). Here's a list of Google search results to help you with .m3u files:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=create+a+m3u+file

As the other poster pointed out, you really don't need the "Hi, this is my intro page!"

Your "home2" page should be your main home page.

Here's another tip: Make it clear what's a hyperlink and what's not. Try not to make only images hyperlinks. People are used to hyperlinks being in blue text, and underlined. If you want to deviate from that, make sure that the hyperlink stands out somehow.

One final thing: Find a good, standard font, and stick with it. Don't go any smaller than 10-point font (13 pixels) or your page may be too difficult to read. Good (standard) fonts to choose are Times, Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica. The simpler thing to do is to specify your font within CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) as serif, or sans-serif (see W3Schools tutorial on CSS).

I noticed you've made most of the previously mentioned changes. The text that reads "My thoughts, playlist, friends and more." still looks awkward to the right of the guitar neck and headphones images. If you want to keep that text, what about centering it above the guitar neck and headphones images (and text!) and putting it there?

Another thing to consider: maintain continuity with your site. This will be a big help to you (although more work!) and will convey a sense of professionalism. What do I mean by continuity? If you look at your home2 page, it's very nice. You've got a nice, soft background color, and the paper look is great, as I've mentioned previously. What you should do is maintain that same look throughout your website. In other words, that same look should be on your media, downloads, photography, etc. pages as it is on your home2 page.

You're definitely heading the right direction. Your inexperience may hinder your site development a little, but I'm sure if you follow the tutorials and the advice given in this thread, you'll be fine!

Good luck, and keep learning!

 

[SillyBee]

Another good tip: You've got something good going with the look & feel of your site. Don't tinker too much with what you've got. Don't get over-fancy, either. Your site can be simple, yet elegant. It doesn't, in my opinion, need to be (nor should it be) over complex, with flashy images, dynamic content (with the exception of maybe MP3 files and video), and other "glitzy" features. Having too much glitz on your web site can actually drive away people.

I agree 100%

 

[hrwmusic]

I agree 100%

Thanks alot guys, i'll get to work. I was planning on making everything notebook paper themed, but i thought it would be overwhealming...but now that i think about it, your right!

Ill start looking at the w3 thing, and see how far i can get!

and the m3u idea is great!

Thanks again,
-harry

 

[mjr]

Thanks alot guys, i'll get to work. I was planning on making everything notebook paper themed, but i thought it would be overwhealming...but now that i think about it, your right!

Ill start looking at the w3 thing, and see how far i can get!

and the m3u idea is great!

Thanks again,
-harry

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[SillyBee]

I agree 100%

If the webserver your using has PHP repeating code is a snap.

<?php include "/path/to/your/file/header.php"; ?>

This would be the same as typing the content of that file at the point you have the PHP include line in, for example, your About Me page.

This is also very handy for menus. Any change you make to menu.php would instantly be included on all pages.



.

 

[Recording Chick]

These guys are the only way to go www.bandzoogle.com . I love this service and can't say enough good things about the guys that run it.

 

[mjr]

Thanks alot guys, i'll get to work. I was planning on making everything notebook paper themed, but i thought it would be overwhealming...but now that i think about it, your right!

Ill start looking at the w3 thing, and see how far i can get!

and the m3u idea is great!

Thanks again,
-harry

You might also want to consider posting your music on NoWhereRadio and SoundClick.

 

[hrwmusic]

These guys are the only way to go www.bandzoogle.com . I love this service and can't say enough good things about the guys that run it.

i've checked out the free trial..and i can see how it is cool.

But i find it to be too generic looking...the format of your site seems to be limited so they all look very similar. Even though I am unskilled with html and all that, im looking for customization (spl?). Thanks alot for your reasponse though i do appreciate it !

 

[hrwmusic]

You might also want to consider posting your music on NoWhereRadio and SoundClick.

yeah..

i had a soundclick when i was REALLY just starting out. All i had was a video game-er mic (that was crappy even at that level..and the stand was broken).
but it just seems ugly, and i felt like i couldnt be found unless i linked someone to it...and i already have a streaming site. (just what i thought, not trying to offend!)

nowhere radio always seemed simple and cool though.

 

[mjr]

yeah..

i had a soundclick when i was REALLY just starting out. All i had was a video game-er mic (that was crappy even at that level..and the stand was broken).
but it just seems ugly, and i felt like i couldnt be found unless i linked someone to it...and i already have a streaming site. (just what i thought, not trying to offend!)

nowhere radio always seemed simple and cool though.

That's the hard part with marketing yourself, especially on sites like NoWhereRadio and SoundClick. Unless people are going there and playing your music, you won't be "seen".

One thing you might want to consider, to kind of get your name out, is come up with a nice little piece of text, explaining who you are, what kind of music you play, and that you have sample audio available. Almost like a press release. Then visit other music-related bulletin boards, newsgroups, etc. and put that information there. Come up with a good, solid signature for yourself, something like:

Harrison Weber (or whatever you go by)
Acoustic Music for the Independent Mind, Body, and Heart.
Samples At: http://www.purevolume.com/harrisonweber

and be sure to include that in every post you make. Make that "Acoustic Music..." phrase your catch phrase. Use it anywhere and everywhere you post (well, in relevant, music related posts).

If you have an email address you're primarily going to be using for your music contacts, you will definitely want to include your signature in it.