The internet affords a fantastic opportunity for those in the music industry. If you’re an artist or band looking to get discovered,

you can self-promote your brand in hopes of finding a fan base and getting discovered by a top record producer or label.

For others in the industry, the web offers you the chance to connect with potential clients or promote your services. Regardless of what area of the music industry you work in,

a quality website is an essential tool to further your career.

Some of you may wonder why you should build a website rather than promote your brand through Spotify,

YouTube, or even SoundCloud. The main reason you should build your own website rather than use another platform is that you can control the narrative.

Not only that, but it gives you a place to sell merchandise, tickets,

and let people sign up for newsletters to keep informed about what you are doing.

You can decide how your music is shared, how much is shared, and who controls your brand. With a personal music website, you have the freedom to promote your brand as you see fit,

and the freedom to monetize it without giving another company a cut of the action.

The best website builders will give you the tools you need to get your band or brand online and allow you a creative outlet to showcase your talents or services.

Wix

Wix remains one of the most popular website builders because it truly simplifies the process of creating a professional-looking website,

regardless of the industry you’re in. It all starts with Wix’s templates. There are dozens of templates for the music industry, including:

• Solo Artist
• Band
• DJ & Producer
• Music Industry
• Music Promotion

Among the music-themed templates, a couple stand out. Wix’s Musician Teaser template is set up nicely to introduce an artist’s music with great backgrounds,

sections for artists videos, and even clips of the artist’s music. It’s also pre-setup for fan mailing lists and social media for the artist.

The Music Booking Agency template is also a good choice, and I feel this one is multifaceted. While it’s set up to highlight artists,

it can just as well be modified to create an individual artist or band page. It has many of the same features as the Musician Teaser template,

but also has additional sections to book talent, and to showcase more information about the agency or band.

If you find that one of the templates is lacking a feature you need,

you can always check out the WixApp Market for a wide variety of tools. You can add custom photo and video galleries, video backgrounds, booking forms, calendars,

and even product webpages to sell your music or merchandise.

The main catch with using Wix is that you’re locked into whatever template you pick. If you decide to change it, you have to rebuild your website. Also,

you can’t modify any of the CSS or HTML code. That’s why there are so many apps available.

Don’t bother with the Wix’s free plan if you’re serious about promoting your brand,

as you have to use a subdomain and you have limited bandwidth and storage. The Unlimited plan is your best option,

as it offers the ability to host an hour of video directly from your webpage. And if you want to sell merchandise, pick Business Basic;

it allows for e-commerce and is only a few bucks more per month than Unlimited.

Site123

Site123 offers a decent selection of templates and has a collection of music-themed templates. However,

the truth is that there’s not much in the way of variety. The Mr. Producer template isn’t that much different from the DJ Party, Street Beat, or any of the other templates.

Most templates are straightforward and feature blog-style setups offering information on the musician, band,

or producer. You can also list upcoming tour dates, provide video and music clips,

and give your potential clients a way to contact you to book gigs and ask questions.

Similar to Wix, you can use the App Market to set up any features you want to add on your website. Want to create a concert gallery or fan webpage? If so,

the Huzzaz or Cincopa apps can help. There are options for setting up online store products, adding social media functionality, and more.

There are two advantages to using Site123 over other options. Many plans offer the opportunity to publish your website in multiple languages. They support over 80 languages, allowing you to market your music or services to a much wider audience.

The other advantage is that Site123 offers an inexpensive e-commerce platform. All paid plans provide at least some e-commerce functionality. You can sell tickets, T-shirts, digital downloads, and more via your website. If you have only a few products, then the Basic service will work fine. If you have a more extensive line, there are plans that will support whatever sized webstore you need for your website, and for cheaper than what other website builders charge.

WordPress.com

You’ve probably heard about how robust a service WordPress in general is. While true, that doesn’t necessarily apply to WordPress.com. The Free and Personal plans are minimal concerning templates and design features. In fact, it offers only one free template related to the music industry.

If you want full access to premium themes, you have to go with the Premium subscription. Then you’ll have a much more robust selection of templates to choose from, including over two dozen music-themed templates.

WordPress’ Wayfarer template is fantastic for individual artists and bands. It offers an excellent layout, and you can easily find videos, photos, and information on an artist smartly arranged in a modern-looking theme. You can even set up a blog and fan subscriptions on the template directly.

The great thing about WordPress, if you choose to go with Premium or better, is that you can fully modify your theme’s features, including changing the HTML and CSS code of the website. You can also monetize your website, which includes setting up an e-commerce store for your brand.

SimpleSite

Let’s be honest for a second: SimpleSite is probably one of the blandest website builders on the list. Its templates are very simplistic, and there’s none in the music genre. That said, SimpleSite does offer blank template designs and a group of functional blog style templates that can be used to create a great-looking music website with a little work.

So why mention SimpleSite? Two reasons. First, SimpleSite is the only provider on this list that allows for unlimited multimedia on paid plans. There are no limits to the amount of video, audio, or HD images you can post on your website, outside of your storage limit of course.

The other reason is that you can sell online products on all plans — even the free Basic plan. While the free plan isn’t ideal due to design limitations and the use of a subdomain, it’s still a nice touch. If you need a larger webstore, the E-commerce plan is a lot cheaper than similar plans offered by other providers on this list.

SimpleSite is best for groups just starting and who want to get their name out there fast and host a lot of content on their website.

Weebly

While SimpleSite’s templates are unremarkable, Weebly’s themes will blow you away. Weebly has the most modern-looking templates out of anyone on this list. That said, the selection is not the most robust. However, there are a few that are appropriate for those in the music industry.

One that I like is the Backstage template in the Blog section. This one is set up more as a music events or concerts blog, but can easily be modified to be a group or artist blog. The Personal section has the Oasis and Venue 2 templates that are great for individual musicians. In the Business section, the Creative Ambitions template is an excellent choice for a production company, record label, or talent agency.

Weebly offers a lot of creative features that will help you improve your template’s look or add functionality. The website builder includes a robust photo editor, and you can add video backgrounds to your pages. There’s also an app center that will allow you to add features such as mailing list subscriptions, concert booking tools, photo and video galleries, and more.

Weebly is built for business, and if you plan to sell products through your website, it’s a great choice.The Starter paid plan allows for up to ten products to be listed with low commission rates.

Jimdo

Jimdo allows you to build a website either by using its AI website builder, or by choosing a template and making modifications to it yourself. The only template that Jimdo offers for music is the Sunny Meadow Band template. It’s designed as a basic band bio webpage with discography, contact information, and general information on the band.

Despite the fact that there is only one music-related template, Jimdo does offer a webpage dedicated to helping musicians set up their website. It gives you tips on how to set up your webpage, starting with how to create or modify one of the templates to suit your needs. It then tells you how to pick a domain name, embed your music, sell your music and products online, add a calendar, and more.

Note that Jimdo’s website builder will allow you to add many essential elements like a photo gallery, calendar, and more. However, if you need more freedom to create, Jimdo is the only provider on this list that allows you to customize the CSS and HTML of your templates on all plans. You can add third-party plug-ins or other apps without having to pay for more advanced plans.

Also, if you want to sell products on your website, you must register for Jimdo’s Business plan. The Pro plan does not include e-commerce features.

Amplify Your Career in Music With A Quality Website

In the music industry, your website serves as a 24/7 promotional tool that can get your music and talent out to the masses or help other professionals find your services. It all starts by creating the perfect website that is an extension of your music or brand. The website builders above will get you online and can provide you with everything needed to help further your career in the music industry.