Too many rock band websites focus on gimmicks, unecessary Flash animations, unintuitve menus, huge dark moody graphics that take an age to download - even on a decent connection.

Now I understand they have an ‘image’ to maintain, and they’re not a dull blue-chip organisation. But come on fellas.

Fans come to sites to find out about new albums and singles, latest tour dates, see what the band is up to, etc. Maybe download some video or images from a recent gig. Whilst doing that, I’m sure some nice design is more than welcome, but not when it gets in the way of what the visitor is after.

Accessibility and usability are thrown out of the window more often than not. In fact, to say they are thrown out of the window probably suggests that they were even considered in the first place.

I’ve picked out two band’s and their respective websites, to show how it can be done.

Muse

A case in point is the Muse website. Muse are a great, innovative band, producing some of the best new rock music in the UK at the moment. But have you seen their site?

At first glance, it looks quite interesting. Well, that’s when you get by the annoying landing page that asks if you want the UK or US site.

On the main homepage most of the screen is taken up by a large image - which is fine. But it seems that this is to the detriment of the content and navigation which has been given a ridiculously small font-size, and a quirky menu system. The menu looks fun and different, until you try and use it.

Anyway, the site as a whole is a let down. Which is a shame.

Therapy

So, there are a lot of bad sites out there. But it’s not all bad news.

Northern Ireland Indie-Metal rock band Therapy? have moved away from the crowd, and have a website of which they should be proud. Lots of useful information, lyrics, full discography and in-depth details of the songs and their history.

The design is clean, very easy to use, and very accessible.

A loud, in your face rock band - with a site that works. It might not be what you expect from rock ‘n’ roll, but I like it.