Bandzoogle Review – Is It Worth the Money? (2024)

Bandzoogle is a modern music website builder that can make it easy for musicians/artists to successfully create a website. The platform aims to ease the way for musicians with hands-on experience and help them build their music platform.

Bandzoogle is a beginner-friendly music website builder with a good amount of features that helps the modern musician. Bandzoogle has plenty of features with a simple selection process to start up a website to promote your music, sell merch, host your electronic press kit (EPK) and much more.

It’s quite easy to get started and you’re initially guided through the process to select a theme as a starting point, but it’s well worth following some tutorial videos on Bandzoogle’s youtube channel if this is the first time you’re using a page builder.

Bandzoogle has a 30-day free trial period, afterward, you choose from three premium option plans that vary with features as well as the price, of course.

Compared to other website builders like Wix, Squarespace, Bandvista, and Musicglue, Bandzoogle is one of the best music-building platforms because it is specifically aimed at musicians/bands.

While Wix has more design options, Bandzoogle has some solid music-related templates off the bat. Squarespace may have more storage, bandwidth, and a more refined interface, but Bandzoogle has more music-focused content. Bandvista is more straightforward to use, however, it lacks design options compared to Bandzoogle. Also, the eCommerce of Bandzoogle is very detailed and commission-free as opposed to Musicglue.

Features

Since Bandzoogle is targeted toward musicians/bands, all the features are music-related. Bandzoogle offers each aspect of what a music website should contain. I’d say, for those who have the patience, this is a good platform to explore and use for your website building needs.

You can connect your website to various platforms, such as SoundCloud, Dropbox, Twitter, and Facebook. They offer eCommerce options as a way to better sell your music, merch, tickets, and promote live shows/events. Of course, this is something that every musician must have and is interested in.

Note: The platform does not take any commission from your sales.

From the community section to mailing lists, as well as the ‘Help’ window for further information. The reports feature lets you access and have a complete overview of your website’s traffic, i.e. how many visits, listens, views you have.

To be candid, there really are a lot of features on the platform. From blog/news features to crowdfunding options. I think the most impressive takeaway is the connectivity options that Bandzoogle offers. Connecting other platforms and social media for more full content overall.

Creating a Website with Bandzoogle – First Steps

The Bandzoogle platform starts with a three-step process which is choosing a theme for your website, adding an image to it, and setting a title/logo.

There are many themes on the website ranging from basic Rock, Folk, Jazz, Blues, etc. You can easily see the themes displayed and the selection process is pretty straightforward from there.

The main takeaway from the theme selection process is versatility. There aren’t just a specific set of options that offer a similar style from one to another, instead, they are very different and usable for solo artists, singers/songwriters, or have a more urban look for hip-hop artists.

You then get to add an image to the official front page that will be your future website. With options to edit and position as you choose.

This is a useful feature as the foundation is set in place. You just have to edit to your preference and the main page is basically done. A beginner-friendly approach so far, and I was surprised at how easy it was this far along.

Lastly, you get to set up the title or logo for your website which can also be edited. You can choose the type of font you like as well as the color of the overall webpage. Edit options are available of course, and you get to finish the process to have a basic website set up.

As you set up the basic steps, the platform allows you to edit further with even more details. You can load the website up with your music. You can set up a store where you can sell your merchandise as well as create an event calendar where you would display your gigs or upcoming concerts.

Adding Content

When it comes to content, Bandzoogle has a large number of options and edits with which you can customize your website. Also, you can set up selling tools like gift cards/bundles that will also show up on the platform.

Note: You can preview your webpage at any time during the editing phase to get a clear picture of how it looks so far.

The entire edit and creation phase is very beginner-friendly but you would have to watch a demo video or a tutorial. The edit is easy but the variety and selection can be difficult. I took a step back after the three-step process because of the amount of options and the lack of knowledge of how to process accordingly.

The best thing about the editing phase is that you can easily customize or select any area you want to change/improve without going through an entire process. An easy click-and-select option is always available which I find incredibly useful.

The main drawback of the website is that after the three-step process, it can get quite jumbled up a little. This is probably normal due to the massive amount of edit options that you can improve and further edit. As I mentioned, the demo/tutorial videos are very useful so be sure to watch them as opposed to skipping them.

You can easily add new pages to your home page for better navigation. By going to ‘Pages’, you select ‘Add Page’ and try to select what kind of content you wish to expand on. You have common page templates, EPK (Electronic Press Kit) templates, and special page templates like crowdfunding.

Adding content to new pages is fairly simple as the dashboard pops up wherever you choose to edit or add content. Afterward, preview your site to get a good look at how it turned out. Also, check the mobile version as the overview might be different and not to your liking.

The benefits of using Bandzoogle

Bandzoogle is a beginner-friendly music website builder with a good amount of design options to get you started. With a diverse set of tools at your disposal, the creative process is filled with options and is on a step-by-step basis. Tutorial videos are a must since the content will be overwhelming at first.

If at any time you feel stuck, there is a tutorial video to help you out. Also, you can further research and learn how to successfully create and complete sections with a simple YouTube search. There is useful content on YouTube for how to customize and create a website with Bandzoogle.

The platform offers a good base for successful eCommerce to be set up, which is useful for beginners and even veteran musicians/bands. The option to sell tickets, merch, and music through your platform is a goal for each musician/group.

The ease-of-use is the primary focus and remember – it is targeted specifically for music, meaning that all the options and features are music-related content.

Payment Plans and Pricing

Bandzoogle offers a 30-day free trial to test the platform and check out the features it contains. Afterward, you get to choose from three payment plans which can be of subscription nature, or on a month-by-month basis. The main takeaway is the website takes no commission fees after you’ve launched it or even sold some merch or music.

The first is the Lite option which is the most affordable ($8.29/annually or $9.95/month) of the three. It offers the basic plan with limited features like only 10 pages, 10 tracks, and up to 100 photos on the website. It has a maximum of 100 fan subscribers for your mailing list but does offer music downloads, and most of the editing features on the platform.

The second choice is the Standard option ($12.46/annually or $14.95/month). It offers a slight bump in numbers compared to the Lite option. You get 20 pages, 50 tracks, and up to 500 photos uploaded on the platform. With the Standard option, you can also sell your merch on the website. You get a larger number of fan subscribers that can be on your mailing list, this time with up to 1000 fans. As for the edit options, it is the same as the Lite choice.

The third and final choice is the Pro option ($16.63/annually or $19.94/month). This is the premium choice and offers unlimited pages, tracks, and photos to be uploaded to your platform. You also get access to custom fonts and video headers for a more sleek look. The best thing about the Pro options is the option to sell tickets for your shows online, printing on-demand options, and lots of other useful features. The mailing list has no limitations with the Pro option and advanced mailout reports.

In my opinion, the Pro option is the most useful one as it is a slight bump in price but offers the most with the amazing value-for-price ratio. Also, you get access to SEO tools, which are available on all three options.

Bandzoogle Alternatives

There are a few great alternatives to Bandzoogle that are worth considering as well. Some of which are Wix, Squarespace, Bandvista, Musicglue, and others.

Wix

Wix is one of the best website builders out there which is why it’s incredibly popular and the first choice for many. While Wix is not strictly music-related, it does offer a huge variety of design options as well as music-related templates and features. Wix is one of the best due to its versatility as a website-building platform.

When comparing Wix with Bandzoogle, it is crucial to mention that Bandzoogle offers strictly music-related content, and eCommerce is specifically designed for music selling, merch, tickets, as well as features like calendar events, gigs, etc. Granted, Wix has more payment options and more design variety.

Squarespace

Squarespace is an all-rounder option for website building needs. It is immensely popular for businesses and the likes, but again, it is not strictly music-related. Squarespace breaks away from others with its unlimited storage and bandwidth that is unmatched.

For music needs, Bandzoogle still comes out on top due to its music-friendly content and design options, as well as extra features. Not to mention that Bandzoogle is also more affordable while still offering better music-related content.

Bandvista

Bandvista is a music-oriented building platform that shines with its ease of use. The pricing is very reasonable and also offers a 30-day free trial just as Bandzoogle does. Due to the music-related content aim, Bandvista comes close to Bandzoogle but falls short when the design is concerned.

Bandzoogle beats Bandvista in terms of design variety as well as online store features. Granted, Bandvista is also commission-free but lacks online store features that are quite important when it comes to musician/band websites.

Musicglue

Musicglue is an impressive platform with a great resume and is eCommerce-focused. With an incredibly affordable starting price, Musicglue also comes close to Bandzoogle in a few aspects. With an amazing portfolio of users like Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, it’s not to be taken lightly.

With great eCommerce features which they stand by, Musicglue is a great alternative to consider, however, the downside is that the platform takes a 2% commission fee. Again, Bandzoogle is the more suitable option and the more all-rounder.

Verdict

Bandzoogle is a great website builder for musicians looking to create a professional website. It offers a wide range of features and options that cater specifically to the music industry. With affordable pricing and a free trial, Bandzoogle is an excellent option for any musician starting online.

Compared to other website builders like Wix, Squarespace, Bandvista, and Musicglue, Bandzoogle is one of the best options for musicians looking to create a website specifically for their music. It offers a good amount of features and options, all music-oriented. For musicians and bands, Bandzoogle is an excellent option to consider.