Question on making a free website

[Flash Harry]

I used a bit of space, a domain name and an HTML 5 template. Total cost about £10.

www.thesinners.co.uk

[64Guitars]

I do like that basic player & might give it a try, will it have the same issues on iPhone that the songcrafters players have?

Do you mean the stopping part-way through the song issue? I don't know. It will be interesting to find out. My guess is that it will have that issue on some songs. Although, I did notice the following warning on the Wix site:

Note: Please make sure that the MP3 files that you upload contain ID3 tags.

In fact, I got the impression that you might not even be able to upload your files unless they contain ID3 tags.

http://www.wix.com/support/forum/html5/editor/media-images-and-galleries/i-am-unable-to-upload-mp3-files


I suspect that some of the problems we're having with our own HTML5 MP3 player might be due to the lack of ID3 tags in some MP3 files. That's possibly why some songs work well and others don't. So I strongly recommend that everyone include ID3v2 tags in their MP3s before posting here at Songcrafters.

You may have noticed that I've recently added some text below the lower left corner of the MP3 player. It indicates whether the attached MP3 file has ID3 tags and, if so, which version. Everyone should use version 2.3 or higher (I believe 2.4 is currently the highest). ID3v2 tags are stored at the beginning of the file which is important for streaming. The older ID3v1 tags are stored at the end of the file so they don't work well with streaming because the information isn't available until the song has played through once. That's why some songs here don't show the song length when you first load them. If a song has ID3v2 tags at the beginning of the file, it can get the song length immediately and display it.

You should always include at least your name and the song title in the ID3v2 tags. I recently found one song that wouldn't play in our HTML5 player even though it had ID3v2 tags. On closer inspection, it turned out that all of the tags were empty. So always include at least your name and song title in the ID3v2 tags to give your songs the best chance of working well in our player.

Wix recommends the following ID3 editors for Windows and Mac:

Windows: http://www.id3tageditor.com/

Mac: https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/21456/id3-editor/

The one I use for Linux is called EasyTAG. It's also available for Windows.

And you can create/edit ID3 tags in Audacity by selecting "Open Metadata Editor" from the File menu. I recommend going into Audacity's Preferences and selecting "Show Metadata Editor prior to export step" on the "Import/Export" tab. Then every time you export your song to MP3, it will prompt you to fill-in the ID3 tags. That way, you won't forget.

[64Guitars]

I used a bit of space, a domain name and an HTML 5 template. Total cost about £10.

www.thesinners.co.uk

Great site! Looks really pro and it's easy to navigate.

[Flash Harry]

There are loads of free html5 templates here.

http://www.zerotheme.com/

The site took 2 hours to build and no skill on my part (I used the services of a friend who is a web developer)

[Oldrottenhead]

i went to see stix's band tonight they where of the chart awesome. i ecorded, first half was vaery distorted they where bloodberry loud. second half i recorded too quiet, encore i was pisseed and recorded silence, will see if anything is salvagable tomorrow.

could be their last gig, took them all day yesterday to set up their gear abd no time for a soundcheck. i blame stix bloody perfectionist. hopefully i will salvage something to show you.

[Blooby]

I used a bit of space, a domain name and an HTML 5 template. Total cost about £10.

www.thesinners.co.uk

Great site! Looks really pro and it's easy to navigate.

I echo that.  Great site without overkill.

I was comfortable with Google and figured out a way to embed a player, so I went simple and free (except for the domain name): https://sites.google.com/site/gainesvillemoo/.  It normally is forwarded to the domain www.museumofoddities.com, but there seems to be issues at their server over the last couple days.  There's also an Easter egg on it for John and myself.  At the bottom of every page in the center is a period that is a hyperlink. It takes the user to our song list (with keys and some sheet music). I use it if I'm making medleys for a setlist.

Good luck.

Blooby

[Hilary]

I've got a question - I've been inspired by Hook and done a website on wix (albeit a bit basic!) - now to publish. £74.25 for a year if I want a proper domain name and no wretched adverts + £6 not to have my name and address on a public register? Is this normal? Can I own my domain name in perpetuity? Sorry I'm rubbish at this stuff.

[Hook]

I've got a question - I've been inspired by Hook and done a website on wix (albeit a bit basic!) - now to publish. £74.25 for a year if I want a proper domain name and no wretched adverts + £6 not to have my name and address on a public register? Is this normal? Can I own my domain name in perpetuity? Sorry I'm rubbish at this stuff.

Good for you Hilary. I think it can be cheaper but part of what your paying for (I think) is the ease of the whole process. I decided to go with the 2nd cheapest plan also so I can get the domain name & no ads. Since I'll have my site up within 3 days of starting and it's just about everything I wanted in a site (90%) I think the $$ is worth it.

Flash & Blooby your sites looks great!

Ian- I do like Gritter's page & I have an alonetone page also but there are some limitations that in look & Lay out that I don't like. I do like how you can arrange your songs as CD's/playlists there. It won't be in my original publish but I hope to figure out how to present a cd for down load on my new site, perhaps a CD download page. If I can't do that I will probably have a friend make me the Hook site that we have previously discussed. Due to budget limitations & her time limitations it's  been put on the back burner for a while now, hence this self made endeavor. I love the site she made for my more profitable personality  www.sillysamthemusicman.com but it took her a while (she's just getting started) and it cost me $400 (major friend price) but it's exactly what I wanted! Since my game plan is to just give my Hook songs away I really would prefer this wix site to work out. We shall soon see!
Rock On!

[Blooby]

I hate to say this, but I feel that Facebook is almost a necessity these days to cultivate a following and keep them in the loop. Some bar owners even want to communicate through it.

Everybody I know personally who comes out to see me finds out through my girlfriend's Facebook posts.

[64Guitars]

I've got a question - I've been inspired by Hook and done a website on wix (albeit a bit basic!) - now to publish. £74.25 for a year if I want a proper domain name and no wretched adverts + £6 not to have my name and address on a public register? Is this normal? Can I own my domain name in perpetuity? Sorry I'm rubbish at this stuff.

Domain names cost about $10 per year and I believe they have to be renewed every year or two. If you fail to renew it, then someone else can take it.