How to Build a Website for Your Cover Band

Dave Cool is Director of Artist Relations for musician website & marketing platform Bandzoogle. Twitter: @Bandzoogle | @dave_cool

 If you’re in a cover band that is looking to get booked at private parties, corporate events, and weddings, there are certain elements that you should have on your website.

We’ve written many posts about how to build a great website for bands. From creating your Navigation, the essential elements of your Homepage, to having a perfect Music page. We also released a free eBook: Building Your Website: A Step-By-Step Guide for Bands and Musicians (Download it here: http://bit.ly/buildyourwebsiteebook).

Most of the information contained in those resources will work for cover bands as well, but here are some key features and content that cover bands should have on their websites:

Navigation for a Cover Band Website

In our blog post The Magic 8: Essential Menu Options for Your Band Website, we suggest having the following menu options for a band’s website:

1. Homepage

2. About

3. Music

4. Shows

5. Photos

6. Videos

7. Store

8. Contact

However, for a cover band, this would be slightly modified:

1. Homepage

2. About

3. Song List (changed from Music)

4. Testimonials (new)

5. Shows

6. Photos

7. Videos

8. FAQ (instead of Store)

9. Contact

Key Elements for a Cover Band Website

Besides having slightly modified navigation, there are also some different elements a cover band should have on the pages. Here are the key elements to include for each section:

1. Home: On your Homepage you should include a great header image, a short bio, a testimonial from a previous client, a strong call-to-action to book your band or get more information, and a featured video (preferably a good quality video from a past live performance).
   
   Note: Jon Hart Weddings has a perfect Homepage, check it out: http://www.jonhartweddings.com/home
   
   

2. About: Your About page should tell the story of the band, with an emphasis on past experience, the types of gigs that you play and have played, as well as a few strong testimonials from past clients. Once again you should include a strong call-to-action to book the band.

3. Song List: Instead of a Music page that features music players and songs for sale/download, for a cover band you should have a Song List page. You can organize the lists by era, genre, or simply in alphabetical order by artist or song title.
   
   If your band is willing to learn new songs specifically for a gig, be sure to have information on how a client can go about requesting songs. You could even include a custom form right there on the page for a potential client to inquire about a certain song.

4. Testimonials: Positive reviews will help get your band booked at more gigs, so this might be the most important section for your cover band’s website. Even though you should have a few testimonials on your Homepage and About pages, you should also have an entire section on your site dedicated to displaying testimonials from past clients. You can spice up the page visually by including a photo from each event that the testimonial relates to.

5. Shows: Even though many of your gigs will likely be private events, it’s important to show how active your band is. If a potential client sees that you have a bunch of shows booked, that makes you look good.

6. Photos: You can use your Photos section to display high quality photos from past events, weddings, corporate gigs, etc. Photos that show the band in action, as well as an engaged crowd, can help get you booked.

7. Videos: Even better than photos would be to have a few good quality videos that show the band performing. This will give potential clients a very good idea of what the experience will be if they hire your band. If those videos show an enthusiastic crowd that is dancing, clapping, and cheering, even better.

8. FAQ: A section for Frequently Asked Questions can be helpful for potential clients, especially if you’re aiming to get booked at weddings or corporate events.
   
   Information about the steps in hiring the band, and what can be expected of the band before, during and after the show. You can also include what the needs of the band will be in terms of sound equipment (you bring your own, client needs to rent, etc.), and of course the band’s rates, and how payment can be made and when.

9. Contact: And finally, make sure to have a clear way to contact the band both by email and by phone. Many clients will still want to pick up the phone and talk to someone directly. You can also have a call-to-action for people to check out your FAQ page, and having another testimonial on the Contact page wouldn’t hurt either.

Dave Cool is Director of Artist Relations for musician website & marketing platform Bandzoogle. Twitter: @Bandzoogle | @dave_cool