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This article is for bands who haven't sorted out their Internet presence yet, or for bands who have and are having problems, or for bands who just want to improve their webhosting! My Top Tip is my mantra: be business like, keep it simple and over deliver on the content!
When creating your Internet presence, there are three main points for you to consider.
They are are:
- Domain Name
- Webhosting
- Website Design
Computers use numbers, we use words! Our actual website address is:
66.160.152.93 but we use: UnsignedBandPromotion.com because it's easier to remember, just!
When you sign up with a webhost you are usually issued with a long domain name,
eg: http://www.webhost.net/~YourUserName/
which is just as hard to remember as the numbers. So a good webhost will often provide a free or cheap domain name,
eg: YourBandName.com, YourBandName.co.uk, YourBandName.net etc.
...with free set-up.
A band's website needs a short memorable domain name that is the band's name, that's what fans, friends and family would expect. But what happens if your band name is being used by someone else either as a trading name, as a domain name or both? Sh*t hits fan! You will have to:
- establish who has the right to use the name
- re-think the domain name, e.g. try:
- [Your-Band-Name.com]
- [YourBandNameBand.com]
- [YourBandNameMusic.com]
- [YourBandNameUK.com]
- try negotiating with the other party (seek professional legal advice) (sounds expensive whatever happens!)
- completely change your band's name and therefore your domain name
It's time to do some proper investigation...
Your band's name needs to be one or two memorable words that reflect your band's image and/or sound, etc. Choosing a band name isn't easy, when you've eventually made your selection, make sure it's O.K. to use it.
Test your chosen band name:
- by entering it into the search engines ["Your Band Name"] ["YourBandName"]
- by seeing if the URL is available, the domain extension should be: .com or .co.uk .com is preferable
- by seeing if it's already registered at:
- by seeing if it's already been trade marked:
- Independent Music Law Advice can represent you and deal with all your legal issues
The webhosting services industry is very competitive and consequently there are many bargains to be found, with webhosting costing a little as $4 per month. But - with my mantra ringing in my head - I've got to say; "Be business like", start out as you mean to go on, positively and professionally. Just don't go for an obviously free webhost that uses pop-ups and splashes garish banners all over the place. If you've got no money, start off with MySpace Add Unsigned Band Promotion to your friends 
There is only one way to go for the serious band, a Virtual Domain. For 99 times in a 100 it is your best option. A Virtual Domain is shared hosting - your domain name and website runs on a shared web server. (I'm trying to keep this short & simple!) There are three types of webhosting (apart from buying a server!):
- Shared hosting is the default option for most webhosting companies. Shared hosting means your band's website is being run on the same server as a number of other websites (it's comparatively cheap!)
- Dedicated hosting, you guessed it, your website has its own server, it's all yours. You would only require this if you have a massive website and need the extra bandwidth (expensive!)
- Collocated hosting, a bit like a dedicated server for control freaks; the webhosting company actually connects your hardware to the server and throws in, software, technical support/maintenance and security, etc. (very expensive!)
There are four points I consider important when choosing a web hosting service:
- Price
- Technical Support
- Reliability
- Professionalism
Oh! and 5. What you actually get. I recommend iPowerWeb because they're top in all five!
iPowerWeb's Business Pro package is the #1 selling webhosting solution on the Internet and they offer a reliable all-inclusive hosting package for unsigned bands looking to the future. iPowerWeb have combined three different packages into one powerful solution - this is just a small taster what your get:
- Storage 3,000 MB webspace
- Transfer 50 GB
- 300 e-mails
- Full website stats
- OS Commerce shopping cart, Agora shopping cart and a PayPal shopping cart
- 24/7 toll-free tech support
- Choice of bonus packages:
- Free domain & design templates
- Free transfer & free marketing
Here is what they have to say about themselves:
"Our most popular package is our one year webhosting service plan which costs $95.40 - Terrific Value. Month after month for the last year we have sold more webhosting accounts than any other hosting company in the World. Our Membership package is incredible; Free Marketing, Free Content, Free Easy to use Web Builder + 3,000 Megs of Space, 50 gigs of traffic, 300 Email accounts; more than enough for the overwhelming majority of all sites on the Internet. In addition to all this we are always here for our members with Award Winning 24/7 Customer Support via Toll Free Phone
& Email,"
What to do
Start of by asking yourself a question, "What are we trying to achieve with the band's website?" Your answers will quickly highlight what type of webhosting plan you require. Then go to the leading provider for the best deal - iPowerWeb - they offer the most powerful, affordable and reliable webhosting plan, with over 220,000 satisfied members; and I am one of them.
"What are we trying to achieve with the band's website?"...
A band's website reflects the band's image. If your website contains: counters, marquees, blinking text, gratuitous animation, massive images, pop-ups and flash, it will be: amateurish, irritating, a turn-off and unnecessary. Your visitors might think you are like that too!
But that's not what I mean when I ask "What are you trying to achieve with the band's website".
I mean:
- Do you want to sell CDs and MP3s from your website?
- Do you want to run a mailing list sign-up form and send auto-response emails?
- Do you require dynamic HTML and content?
- Do you want to run a blog with comments?
Then you will need:
Resources
You are free to: copy, distribute, display and make commercial use of this article on your website or ezine, under the condition that you give Unsigned Band Promotion full credit and include the following information:
- Unsigned Band Promotion are online band promoters whose promotion techniques focus solely on the band's website. They are continually looking for alternative and new ways to get bands websites noticed by fans, search engines and the music industry - http://www.unsignedbandpromotion.com/
- Link to this article:
<a href="http://www.unsignedbandpromotion.com/webhosting-for-unsigned-bands/">Webhosting for unsigned bands</a>
For more information regarding copyright conditions see: Copyright © Unsigned Band Promotion
info@unsignedbandpromotion.com
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