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In this day and age, a country music musician who doesn’t have their personal Web site is missing a important business tool. A Web site offers information about you, a way to sell your CDs and merchandise, a way to connect with your audiences, and a way to connect with potential business partners. When designed properly, a Web site makes you look prefer a pro and is an amazing tool in advocate ing you achieve your goals. When designed badly, the website may be driving away potential audiences and business opportunities.

I research every musician that goes into my Web site, the International Country Music Database, so I’ve been to a lot of country music musician web sites over the last few years. Some have been exceptionally well-developed while others have been, to be honest, nightmares.

Indecipherable navigation, slow-loading graphics, and lack of contact information make it extremely c hall enging to get the information I need. Because I need the information, I try harder than the average surfer to figure out a web site. Many people probably just leave, never to return.

The goal of your web site should be to offer your visitors with what they are looking for. You want them to invest time on your web site because they have found the information they’re looking for and find it useful, not because they can’t find it.

In order to attract visitors to and keep visitors on your website, you need the following:

• A professional look - I am not saying this has to be boring or designed by a high-priced expert. What I am saying is that it can’t look prefer you just threw it together in a day. furthermore, avoid cutesy animations and graphics. You want the website to express who you are, but you furthermore want it to indicate you are a pro (even if you are just starting out!).

• Easy /intuitive navigation - If I can’t figure out how to get to other pages on your web site, how will I learn more about you?

• Clean design - Make it easy for me to read the text that you’ve on your website. Use colors that contrast well (black on white, for example). If I want to know about you, I need to be able to read what’s been written!

• Easy access to the information I’m looking for – This ties in with navigation, but is furthermore about what information you include on your web site. What are your listeners or potential business partners looking to get from your web site? That ought to drive what information goes on your web site.

The above points are beginning basics for creating a professional country music Website. Remember, you want to look prefer a pro and let individuals know you are significant about your career. For more suggestions on how to produce your website, see the next article in this series, Optimize Your Country Music Website : Part 2 – What to Include.