5 Rules for Effective Piano Studio Websites

In today’s increasingly digital world, having a web presence as a small business is becoming more and more crucial. The number of options out there to digitally represent your practice can be really overwhelming (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Business…) but the simplest, and probably the most effective way to get your business online is a nice website . If you have a website, you can be more searchable by Google, and people can link to you on Facebook. It gives your business a digital home to which you or your customers can direct people.

Building a website that looks good and works well can seem like a daunting task, but if you follow these simple rules, you’ll be well on your way.

Rule #1: Have one.

While representing your business on social media platforms is important, it’s not enough on its own. Websites are the new business cards—the "hub" of your digital presence. Your studio website is your storefront. It’s a way for people unfamiliar with you to get a glimpse into your studio and decide if you might be the right teacher for them.

If you have the money, and you’re nervous about building a website yourself, it can absolutely be worth it to hire a developer or a freelance digital-savvy marketer to build something for you. There are, however, lots of great website-building platforms out there now that are extremely user friendly. A lot of people have strong opinions for and against different platforms, but I say—similar to the idea that the best exercise is the one you will do—the best website-building platform is the one you will use and the one that will allow you to make updates to your website frequently. (One thing I would add, however, is that you at least buy your domain name. Fantasticpianostudio.com looks much more professional than fantasticpianostudio.weebly.com ).

Rule #2: Keep it focused.

Your studio website should be about one thing and one thing only: your piano studio. If you have other business ventures (performing, gigging, health coaching, etc.) it’s best to set up a separate website for these things. You don’t want people to be confused about where they are when they land on your page. Someone looking for yoga classes is going to feel like they’ve gotten lost if they land on your piano/yoga studio page.

As a side note: In this age of influencers and professional bloggers, it is becoming increasingly more common for private piano teachers to blog and create resources for other teachers. This is something that can live on the same website as your studio, but I would argue that both aspects of your business would do better if you keep them separate. Separating them will do a few things:

1. It will keep your lead generation focused: only people looking for piano lessons will be filling out the form on your studio site, and only teachers looking for your products will be signing up for your blog newsletter.
2. It will give you more freedom to write about things on your blog that may not be “client friendly” like “How to work with difficult parents,” or “Piano teacher burn-out,” etc.
3. It will allow you to tailor each website to its specific audience (i.e. one targeted at your ideal studio clients and one targeted at fellow teachers).

Rule #3: Keep it simple.

When I was a kid, I never knew when to stop an art project. I just kept adding to it and adding to it as I had ideas, and the projects I brought home were cluttered and weird-looking because I didn’t know how to edit. Don’t get overly creative with your website. One or two memorable features or embellishments is more than enough. You’ve probably heard this quote from Coco Chanel: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” This is a great principle to keep in mind for your website as well. “Before you hit publish, go over your website and delete one thing.”

Another thing you need to keep simple is your call-to-action (CTA). There should be one thing that you want visitors to your website to do. Whether it’s to inquire about lessons, sign up for a trial lesson, or join your waiting list, it should just be one thing, and that one thing should be obvious and easy to do.

Have CTA buttons on every page, all leading to the same place. Most often, this will be to some sort of contact form. Keep your form simple too. Mine just has three fields: name, email address, and a place for them to leave a comment. I know there’s tons of information that you want/need for your own purposes, but this can all be gathered in a follow up email or on your registration form. You don’t want to overwhelm people with too much to fill out. Remember that most of these people will be on their phones.

Rule #4: Keep it consistent.

Equally as important as simplicity, having a clean and consistent look and feel to the site overall will help make it appear professional and well-branded to visitors. Many website builders have attractive templates set up that you can use as a starting point, but are still flexible enough to allow creators to edit the colors, fonts, and layouts if needed.

Choose 3-5 complementary colors, at most, and stick to those. It might be helpful to choose a color palette before you get started. Think about the mood you want to evoke with your website, then do a Google search for “modern cheerful color palettes” or “stunning website color palettes,” and you’ll come up with lots of great options that include the hex color codes (which will ensure that you are picking the exact same shade every time).

Similar to keeping the colors limited, it’s also best practice to not choose too many fonts. Consider using only 2-3 fonts total: one for the menu, navigation, and body copy; and one for headlines and section headers. For example:

1. Menus and Navigation: A bold, clean, easy-to-read sans serif font such as Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica
2. Headlines and Section Headers: A fun, more elaborate serif font such as Garamound, Georgia, or Sentinel.
3. Body/Paragraph Copy: Same font as menus and navigation, but non-bold.

If you want to incorporate any photos of your studio, ensure that they are as professional looking as possible. Including a headshot and biography in an “About Me” section will help make the website experience more personal and welcoming, so be sure to use a photo with a smile!

Rule #5: Make sure it’s mobile friendly.

Many, if not most of the people visiting your website will be doing so on a mobile device, so it is crucial that your website be mobile friendly. Most do-it-yourself website builders automatically create mobile-responsive websites, and if you’re using Wordpress, just make sure you choose mobile-responsive themes and plug-ins. Use the mobile view tool on your website builder, and test out your website on your own phone. Make sure all of your elements work well and are laid out logically in the mobile version of your website.

Putting together a website for your studio can feel overwhelming at first, but if you keep it simple and follow these rules, it doesn’t have to be. Luckily there are many user-friendly resources available online to help you get started, even if you don’t have any experience with creating websites. It will be well worth the investment, and will only increase your accessibility to potential new students, helping your practice thrive.