An artist website: what it needs and why you should own it

Most independent artists already have a home online. It is just not theirs. It is an Instagram profile, a Spotify page, a Bandcamp account or a link-in-bio page, each run by a company that sets the layout, the rules and the reach. An artist website on your own domain is the one address that stays put when those things change.

This guide covers what a site actually needs, what it does not, and why owning the address matters more than how it looks.

Rented space versus an address you control

Every platform profile is useful, and you should keep them. But each one decides what your page can show and how fans move from it. Instagram, for example, began allowing up to five links in a profile in April 2023, according to Search Engine Land, which also reported that the links open inside the app; PetaPixel noted that only the first is shown in the bio, with a count of the rest. That is a reasonable product decision for Instagram. It is also a reminder that the limits are theirs to set and change.

A domain works differently. You register it through a registrar, under a contract with that registrar. ICANN says registrations and renewals are offered in one-year increments, with the remaining term capped at ten years. In plain terms: you do not buy a domain once, you keep renewing it. As long as you do, the address points wherever you choose, whether that is a hosted site builder today or something else in five years.

That portability is the point. The address printed on a poster, in a press kit or at the end of a video keeps working even if you change hosts, distributors or social apps.

What the site needs: five pages

An artist site does not need to be big. Here is what we would build first.

1. Home. Your name, one line on what you make, the current release with play and buy links, and an email sign-up. If a visitor reads nothing else, they should know who you are and what to do next.
2. Music. Every release, newest first, with links to wherever people can listen or buy. Embedding a player is optional; clear links are not.
3. Shows or news. Upcoming dates if you play live, or short updates if you do not. An empty "Tour" page looks worse than no page, so only add it when it has something on it.
4. About and press. A short bio in the third person, a few approved photos and contact details for bookings and press. If you have a press kit, link it here. Our guide to the electronic press kit covers what goes in one.
5. Contact and mailing list. A booking email and a sign-up form. The list is the part of the site that compounds; see our guide to building an email list.

Optional extras, once those are done: a store (or a link to your Bandcamp), lyrics, and credits for each release.

What it does not need

You do not need custom code, animations or a blog you will abandon by March. A site builder template, your own photos and correct links will do the job. Spend the effort on keeping the home page current instead.

You also do not need a clever domain for search. Google's SEO Starter Guide says keywords in a domain name or URL path alone have hardly any effect on ranking, and advises choosing a name that works for you. Your artist name, as close to exact as you can get it, is the obvious choice.

How people (and search engines) find it

Google says it primarily finds pages through links from pages it has already crawled, and that a sitemap is optional but can help (Google Search Central). The practical move follows: link to your site from every profile you control, from your distributor's artist fields where they allow it, and from release descriptions.

The same guide says a good page title is unique, clear and concise, and accurately describes the page, and that compelling, useful content will likely influence search presence more than any other suggestion in it. For an artist, "useful" is simple: up-to-date release links, real show dates and a way to get in touch.

A short checklist

• Register your artist name as a domain and turn on auto-renew, so a missed renewal never takes the address away.
• Keep the registrar login separate from any one band member's personal email, or record who holds it.
• Build the five pages above, nothing more at first.
• Give each page a plain, specific title ("Shows", "Music", your name).
• Put the site address on every profile, release and press kit.
• Check the home page every release cycle and update it.

What we think

The best reason to own an artist website is not search traffic, and it is not looking professional, although both help. It is that the domain is the one piece of your online presence that no platform can redesign, rate-limit or retire on your behalf. Everything else you do online is worth doing, but it is built on someone else's terms.

That makes the site less a marketing project than a piece of admin, like keeping your metadata and splits in order. Keep it small, keep it current, renew the domain, and point everything at it. A five-page site that is right beats a fifty-page site that is stale, and a modest site you control beats a beautiful profile you do not.