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Music Website Redesign - Why, How, and When
By James Blakely
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We recently redesigned this site.
Redesigns are a big undertaking.
It is important that it is done right.
I wanted to give some tips on why, how, and when you should do it.
Why
There are many reasons why you want to redesign your site.
Your tired of the look, want something new, changing your bands "look", site just doesn't work, and many others.
What we need to look at is does your reason merit a redesign.
If you have a fan base then they are probably use to your sites look.
If industry personnel have research your band then there is also recognition of the old design.
You may also be looking at some down time for your site.
You need to think about really how this will impact your band.
Your website is part of your promotional materials for your business.
Businesses are always very careful when changing public perception of their company.
You should also consider how you will be changing the perception of your band with a new site.
Even a terrible design has already set up expectations about what your band is about, and you don't want to turn positives into negatives.
You only want to turn negative perceptions into positive ones.
How
This is obviously an important step.
You feel that a new design will help enhance your bands image.
You have decided it is time for a change and it will help more than hurt.
So what do you think about with your new design?
You should look at who your audience is.
We would all like to have everyone listening to our music, but that is just not realistic.
You need to think about what your fans and potential fans would find interesting.
An example would be metal fans liking a more apocalyptic look, or folk fans enjoying a more wholistic and earthy design.
You also need to carry over aspects of the old site.
You want to convey some familiarity to your users.
Making a drastic change in public perception can hurt you.
Most bands don't realize this until it is too late.
You are constantly creating an image, and breaking down old ideas should be done slowly for people who have liked you from the beginning.
An example of this is how many fans Metallica lost when they cut their hair and became truly mainstream.
They appealed to a new audience, but lost a large part of their old fan base.
Get feedback from a couple of people in your mail list.
Let them check out your site early to get some good feedback.
This will help your sites success tremendously.
You can get a preview of how most of your fans will react before you release it.
It will allow you to make a mistake in private instead of a large blunder that could hurt your career.
Don't kill your old site during development of the new.
You are setting up expectations of something bigger and better.
Always keep your old site running until the new one is ready to deploy.
This will allow your band to still have a web presence instead of "new site coming soon" or "Under Construction."
When
This is just as important as the how and why.
You may have some down time.
Try to avoid doing it before a major gig or cd release.
This could prevent people from knowing whats going on.
I always try to roll-over a new site on a sunday morning early.
I know that traffic is always lowest then.
I can test and make corrections live without confusing anyone.
It is always a good idea to try and not make changes to a web site when traffic is high.
You really need to think about the entire process before you make a decision to redesign.
It is an important decision and should be well planned.
You should never rush into an action or decision that has major repercussions on your career.
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Music Website Redesign
Why, How, and When |
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