• Get a web site: If you are serious about your band, you need a web site.  MySpace pages are a good start, but that should not be the end of it.  Here are the steps to getting your own web site for cheap:               
  
  1. Search for a suitable domain name: the name of your web site should obviously relate to your band name in some way and should be easy to remember (try to avoid obscure abbreviations).  Unfortunately, there are many evil entities on the internet, and one new technique I've personally seen is "stealing" a domain name as you search for it.  Certain entities want to register your newly discovered domain name before you in hopes you might buy it from them for a higher price.  For this reason, you want to search on a site that is secure (uses https:// address).  One such site is GoDaddy (http://www.godaddy.com) - they have resonable domain registration prices and are reputable.  They also have a secure search tool so you can find the perfect name without worrying someone will steal it literally seconds after you find it (these entities "watch" the traffic going to certain domain-related sites and "lift" your searches, without anyone knowing.
     
     
  2. Register your domain name: Using a site like GoDaddy.com or Register.com (there are plenty out there - if you use another site, check their reputation by searching for their name to see if anyone has had problems with them).  You will be offered many extra services as you register your domain - unless you know what they are and know you won't get them with your web site hoster, avoid buying them, you'll just be wasting money. 
     
     Very important: When you register your domain, use an email address that won't go away!  Definitely do not use an email address from the domain you are currently registering either!  Use a yahoo, gmail, hotmail account; something that can't be removed easily and have it auto-forward email to an account you commonly use if needed.  I have heard/seen too many people lose their domains because they never received their renewal emails (another option is to have auto-renewal, but you still have to keep your credit card information up-to-date).  Once again, evil entities on the "net" watch for sites that are frequently hit and are not renewed.  They will register your domain after it expires and put up a dummy site that will be vaguely related to the domain  name in hopes of confusing an unknowing visitor into clicking their links so they can generate revenue.  Domain names always get registered minimally for 2 years at the start, and thereafter you can decide how long you want the registration to be (I wouldn't recommend yearly - do at least 2 years or more so you don't have to worry about this).
              
     
  3. Find a Web Hoster: After you have secured a domain name, you need to find a place to host your web site.  I have seen a wide range of prices for various features from different web hosters and the one I have found to be extremely cheap and yet reliable and full of features is Total Choice Hosting (http://www.totalchoicehosting).  For about $48/year, you get all the features you would need for a dynamic site (php/mySql).  This is just my opinion and I'm sure everyone you ask will have a different choice, so ask around and compare.
     
     
  4. Design Your Site:  This is probably the most tricky part of having a web site.  Everyone knows somebody who calls themselves a "Web Designer".  If you decide that designing your site is beyond your capabilities (messing around with that html, etc.), it is best to leave it to someone who knows what they're doing.  Check out other sites that a designer has created to see if it is what you are thinking.  Remember, fancy sites are not always the best sites.  The purpose of your site is to inform, not "dazzle" your visitor.  A clear and concise site is always better than a flashy, convoluted site.  A Flash site may look pretty, but they often involve "wait" screens and very often don't tend to be worth the wait - a visitor's attention span is very small, so quick loading sites are better.
     
     
  5. Submit Your Site: After you have your site up, make sure to submit it to the search engines to make it easy for people to find.  Google, Yahoo, and most other search engines will have a feature where you can submit your site for them to search.
     
     
• Frames: When creating your web site, it is often easier to use "frames" to keep your menus on-screen, but this makes it hard for people to link to specific pages on your site.  Scripting languages like php and asp make including the same menu on different pages very easy.
  
     
• Flash: Flash sites are very often pretty, but they have one serious flaw.  Search engines, like Google, Yahoo, Ask, etc., will not be able to search your pages and you will not pop up when people search for your band.  If I don't know the exact name of your web site and the search engines can't search the content on your pages, my chances of finding your site are very slim.
  
     
• Mailing list: Have a subscription/mailing list to inform people of new things about your band.  Most people listen to a bunch of bands and it can be quite a daunting task to check on them all periodically to see if there have been any changes.  Mailing lists can be easily managed using a service like Yahoo Groups.  Let people know what the band is up to or if you have shows coming up.
  
     
• New site coming soon: If you are going to revamp your site, don't remove the site and put up a message that says:  "New site coming soon!".  You would think this would not be very common, but it seems to be.  It would be better to write something on your current site to let people know that an update is on its way.  If a visitor is unfamiliar with your band and wants to find out about you, "New site coming soon!" is not very informative.  Also, updates always take longer than planned; always.
  
     
• Gracenote (CDDB): If you release a cd, a nice touch for your listeners is to enter the cd information into the Gracenote database (formerly known as CDDB).  This is a library that music players like iTunes and QCD use to automatically bring up the name of the artist, album title, and song titles.  This is much better than popping in a cd and seeing a dozen tracks of "Untitled Track".  You can enter your information in using either iTunes or, my personal favorite Windows music player, QCD (http://www.quinnware.com).  In iTunes, Control-click the album and select "Get Info" to fill in the album information.  For the track, you can either click on the individual fields or Control-click and select "Get Info".  This should update the Gracenote database.  In QCD, right-click the tracks and select "Edit".  There may be other players that make this easy - if you know of one, please let me know.
  
     
• Banners: Have a section of your web site where people can download photos and banners to use on their sites.  This is free advertising and you should definitely take advantage of it.  If it is not explicitly listed on a site, ask any site that has to do with your style of music if they will link to your band site or put up your banner.  Emails are free and the worst they can say is "no".
  
     
• Compilations: If you're an unsigned band, another good promotional tool is compilations.  Try and find any record label that releases music of your style and that also releases compilations and see if they will put one of your songs on the compilation.  Sometimes this may gain you money for the sale of the compilations, but consider the compilation as another form of getting your band noticed, so don't worry so much about royalties.
  
     
• Music samples: It is always a good idea to offer samples of your music on your site so that people can see if they like your sound.  If you do put up samples, make them at least 60 seconds and make them an interesting part of the song (not just the first 60 seconds of a song, especially if you have a long intro to the song).  If possible, consider putting up longer segments, but perhaps in lower quality (no one is asking you to give away your music for free, of course unless you want to).  Another option is to string together segments of your songs into one long sample.
  
  If you do offer samples, please, please, please offer a "playlist" file for people to listen to these samples.  Downloading each sample separately can be very aggravating to a listener.  Below is an example of an M3U file, which most music players will recognize and play.  It is merely a list of files to play.  Please note, you must include the full url to the files or it won't work.  The extension of the file should be ".m3u".
  

  exampleplaylist.m3u:
  http://www.mybandsite.com/sample1.mp3
  http://www.mybandsite.com/sample2.mp3
  http://www.mybandsite.com/sample3.mp3
  ... etc.
  

• Translations: In today's music scene, music is not restricted to any one geographic location.  To help those who do not speak your language (and also to help the blind), it is always a good idea to fill in the ALT field of an image tag.  Menus are often graphical representations of words, so it is a good idea to put the word or phrase in the ALT field.  This way, if a visitor uses a translator or screen reader to view your site, even if they cannot read the word, the ALT field will be translated and let them know what that menu option is.
  
  If you offer several different language choices for your site, please, please, please carry through with this and truly have other translations.  Often, when I visit a site, I am given the choice of English or the band's native language.  Many times, the English link states "Under Construction".  If you do not have the time to offer an alternative language translation, just take that link down.
  

I'm sure there are other suggestions that I have not thought of - if so, please let me know.  Also, if you have a favorite domain registrar, web hoster, or music player that I have not listed, please let me know.