• What services do you offer?
• Why should I pay a professional for a website when there are free or more affordable alternatives out there that I can build myself?
• Is it easy for me to update my website myself and do I need to pay for updates?
• I'm interested, but I still have lots of questions. Do you offer free consultations?
• I can't find your rates on your website. How much do you charge?
• If I decide to have a website built, do I need to put down a deposit?
• I've noticed that many of your websites feature professional photography as part of the layout. Do you provide professional photography?
• Your websites look very clean and modern compared to many of the musician websites that I see. Why is this?
• How long will it take to build my site?
• Do you build Flash websites?
• Do you test your websites for compatibility in all browsers?
• Are your websites mobile/smartphone compatible?
• How much work will I have to do myself?

What services do you offer?

We offer:

• Website design and development
• Graphic design
• Branding and logo design
• Posters and flyers
• CD artwork
• Audio & Video Editing
• And more..

We have extensive knowledge and expertise in XHTML/CSS, Photoshop, PHP, HTML5, Javascript, JQuery, Content Management Systems and audio/video editing.

Why should I pay a professional for a website when there are free or more affordable alternatives out there that I can build myself?

A professionally designed website is an investment that is instantly recognizable and adds weight and confidence to your brand as an artist, especially in the eyes of venues, festivals, promoters and other musicians. A poorly-designed or template-based site can look amateurish and in the worst cases can do more harm than good - it's as simple as that!

We offer a personalized service, with custom graphic design, typography, navigation and layout to your taste. Your website will not only be totally unique, but will also stand out from the millions of template-based websites and blogs that many musicians are using these days.

With the demise of Myspace (which has been the preferred promotional tool of independent musicians for the last decade) there is no better time to raise your profile to the next level with your own personal website.

Is it easy for me to update my website myself and do I need to pay for updates?

It couldn't be easier for you to update your site yourself because our sites are built in PHP and integrated with the WordPress content management system (CMS). Each site we build has a password protected admin page from which you can login and edit your website. Posting news updates and editing pages, music, images and videos is all done through a simple, user-friendly interface. Everything is organized, categorized and time-stamped automatically. You don't need any special software or web development skills/knowledge!

These updates are completely free because you do them yourself. If you need something more complex however, (e.g. a change to the layout, graphics, navigation) then you may be charged an hourly rate for the time involved. Don't worry though - we make sure you are 100% happy with your site before it goes live.

I'm interested, but I still have lots of questions. Do you offer free consultations?

Yes. If you're in New York or Boston, please get in touch and we'll be happy to meet with you for a free consultation at your convenience - If you're not in New York or Boston, we'd be happy to meet with you on Skype. This is a great opportunity to ask all those technical questions, share your ideas and artistic preferences, show us some sites that you like, and get a detailed quote for your project. Obviously, once you've committed to having a site built, we will meet with you regularly throughout the development process to make sure you're happy with the direction, and show you what we've been working on. This can be in person, or through Skype - whatever is most convenient for you.

I can't find your rates on your website. How much do you charge?

Because all of our sites are unique, we cannot set a one-size-fits-all price. We do not charge by the hour - instead we will quote you a set price for your entire project once we know the specifics. Our rates are VERY competitive for what we are offering, so just get in touch for a basic quote and price list.

If I decide to have a website built, do I need to put down a deposit?

To protect ourselves from fraud and untrustworthy clients, we do ask for an initial deposit upon starting work on your site that is deducted from the overall price that we quote you. This ensures that both parties are totally committed to the project. If your project is particularly ambitious and involved, we may ask for an additional deposit half-way through the development process. On completion of your site, you will be invoiced for the remaining amount.

I've noticed that many of your websites feature professional photography as part of the layout. Do you provide professional photography?

We do not provide professional photography, but we'd be happy to recommend several great Boston-based photographers who specialize in musician and artist promo shots. If you already have some professional photos you'd like to use - perfect! Send them to us, and we can start getting some inspiration for the design. For layout purposes, we prefer not to work with amateur photos (photos taken with compact or non-SLR cameras) as we want your website to look as professional as possible. Of course, we can design a site for you that does not feature photography as part of the layout, and these can be equally effective and beautiful. Just let us know what you have in mind!

Your websites look very clean and modern compared to many of the musician websites that I see. Why is this?

There are many trends in website design at the moment that are popular only because certain technology or Photoshop tools have made them particularly easy to achieve. These include: vector artwork (floral patterns, cityscapes, etc) drop shadows, glossy icons, gradient fills, heavy use of background textures, etc. While these tools and effects may be very effective when used tastefully, they are frequently abused in website design today, and we tend not to use them in favor of more universal graphic design principles established over the last century. Crucially, we believe that good photography, good typography, and the use of space make a beautiful looking site, not gimmicky Photoshop effects.

How long will it take to build my site?

We aim to complete work on your site in one to two weeks, start to finish, including consultation and final testing. More ambitious projects may take longer. We are a small studio and will generally only work on one or two projects at a time. Therefore, if we cannot start work on your project right away, we will give you a date on which we hope to be able to start. Deposits are not due until work begins. However, if you have a particular time frame in mind, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Do you build Flash websites?

In a word, no. Many musician-friendly templates/web builders out there (such as Dynamod and Wix) rely on Flash technology. However, it is important for clients to understand that Flash technology is quickly being phased out due to Apple and Microsoft's decisions not to support it on their mobile and tablet devices. Flash requires a browser plug-in to work, which is resource-heavy and unreliable. Search engines cannot crawl Flash websites effectively, which will often lead to poor search engine optimization. Additionally, nearly all of the animation, video and music delivery functions of Flash can now be achieved using a new technology called HTML5, which is quickly becoming standard in the newest versions of Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Internet Explorer. Therefore, we will never use Flash for the layout of a site, and all of our animations and navigation are done with HTML/CSS and are 100% standards compatible. We are also currently moving towards using HTML5 and JQuery for our built-in audio players.

Do you test your websites for compatibility in all browsers?

After a project is finished, we devote a large amount of time to making sure your site is cross-compatible with all the major browsers and that there are no bugs. Unlike browsers such as Firefox, Safari and Chrome; Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) is not a standards-compliant browser and is a notorious source of bugs and glitches for web developers. To ensure that your site is compatible with IE, we may need to build a slightly different, simpler version of your site solely for IE. Also, we do occasionally miss something so if you find any bugs in your site after it has gone live, we will endeavor to fix them ASAP free of charge.

Are your websites mobile/smartphone compatible?

The basic layout of your site should be compatible with smart-phone browsers, although as there are now hundreds of different smart phone handsets and browser versions out there, it is quite likely that some bugs may arise on certain phones. If you require a simplified mobile-specific version of your site, we can build that for you as an extra.

How much work will I have to do myself?

We will expect you to provide us with the content for your site. For a typical musician site, this includes the copy for your biography and any text-heavy pages, the images you'd like in your gallery, the music for your music player, YouTube videos, etc. We will edit all materials for consistency, extensively proof any text, and provide sound editing/mastering for your music and video editing for your videos if required.