Judith Leyster ~ B. 1609, Haarlem • D. 1660, Heemstede
I’ve been crawling around musicians’ websites for decades, receiving transmissions of inspiration. It followed naturally that I’d also start to experiment in the visual medium. Having a few strange sight issues (light/bright sensitivity, dizziness when things get too busy or animated) meant that I had to limit how I design a bit. Fortunate side effect — a style!
Over time, I’ve observed three broad types of websites for musicians — any genre. All have stunning potential within the Squarespace platform:
Simple Singles
Often gorgeous. These can contain all sorts of content, but each element’s got to have impact. One page, semi-short scroll. If you’re a touring musician, it can function as a press kit. The photo professionally rendered and strikingly beautiful, the copy succinct and compelling — magnetizing your visitors right away. 1-3 of your very best music clips, and a quick Bandsintown integration if that fits for you. Otherwise, a simple calendar suffices. If I have all of your elements on hand, it can be ready for you in 1-3 days.
Five Pagers
These are the most common, and my favorite to create. Though the wording varies, the menu’s something like: Home, About, Music, Blog, Contact. You can get fanciful. If I receive all of your lovely photographs and copy for each page by the Friday before our design week, the creation process starts early Monday, we view it together around Thursday, and it’s finished by the following Friday. How does that happen? Planning beforehand that’s pleasurable and thorough! I help you streamline and simplify your choices and easily upload them, plus send you a colorful questionnaire well in advance that helps me know all of your preferences.
Legacy Sites
A wild card, anywhere from six to 10+ pages. “Legacy” can certainly mean that you’re still here and active! The commonality — maturity and a substantial body of work. From a simple portal site that points to an artist’s varied output to one that is sort of a holistic reflection of everything s/he is (think artistic visuals, blog/journal, workshops, an extensive online store, multi-medium work), a legacy site takes an intentional, organic approach that may result in a website that looks a lot like a Five-Day Design, or is much more extensive. The commonality: a great deal of energy and care.
Online presence is a fluid thing, especially for musicians. Thankfully, our method can flow right along with you.
