In this age of ever expanding technology and the ability to have information at the snap of a finger, it is virtually imperative to have a well-designed website. A comprehensive and well-designed website often plays a starring role in successful careers. Companies continually reach out to us after viewing our artist’s websites and offer our artists a variety of roles/engagements from opera and musical theater roles to featured recitals or soloist positions with orchestras all over the world. In the case of artist cancellations, which happens more often than you might think, the affected company is put in a place to hire a replacement artist very quickly. Therefore, the singer with the best website often scores the gig. Most managers peruse artist’s websites before hearing them live and certainly before signing them. The fact is that the quickest and easiest way to ‘check out’ an artist is through their website.
There are plenty of incredibly talented singers out there who perhaps lack the knowhow, skills, or perseverance to create a website that benefits them; that invokes the best possible perception of their talent, professionalism, and personality. Here are steps we find necessary to consider and include in building a great website:
- Find a good designer. Look at singers’ websites whom you like. Usually, the website designer will be listed and you can find out from there what they charge. We will say, you can have one designed as affordably as $19.99 per month with no start-up fee. Some designers can cost as much as $2500 or more. Classical Singer offers websites to singers for a very reasonable price in fact.
- Provide a video recording on your site. First and fore-most, what makes a good website is a good video, preferably with orchestra and from a live performance. Let someone whom you respect, watch the video to make sure it represents you appropriately. Live recordings are preferred over studio recordings generally because companies are then able to deduce, to a degree, how you and your voice might translate on their stage. Studio recordings, while wonderful to have, can be much more difficult to produce as well as more time consuming. In the event you must use a studio recording, we have found that in most cases the first take is almost always the best. We have known professional singers who record one aria 10 times and become so tired they cannot do anything else for several days. Don’t try to be perfect in your recordings. DO try to move the listener.
- Use “artistic” pictures. Make sure you have several pictures that represent you as an artist. “Artistic” pictures on a website are often better than photos that you would use to for an ‘employee of the month’ photo or a program booklet photo. The pictures and text should express who you are. Are you happy? Serious? Dramatic? Fun loving? Simple? Down to earth? Energetic? Elegant? Are you a stage animal or are you more stoic? Maybe you are several of the aforementioned and more. All these things a company/director can and should be able to deduce from pictures on your website. Once again, try to invoke something in the person viewing your site to make them want to know more about you and what you have to offer. Remember that this is the window into who you are as an artist.
- Use clear and succinct text. Make sure you have a home page, biography/resume or “about” page, a reviews page, repertoire page, press page and a recordings page(if you have any and hopefully you do) and a contact page. Calendar pages can also help in the event you are working a lot.
- Blogs, family or pictures with friends rarely add to the website unless they have a specific purpose to get you work. We suggest you do not include these.
- Keep your website updated! It is not professional nor sends a positive message that you are a working artist when your site is visited, to find a recording from 2005 or your bio from 2013 for example. Please keep your materials updated.
- Most importantly, have fun creating your website! You having fun in the process will translate to those of us who visit your site. Stay the course, believe in yourself, be thorough and you will SHINE!
