Being a website designer, of course you can assume this is going to be about the design of a website.. but not just any website..An ETA Website. Keep in mind while I forge on ahead that we all have different tastes.These are just a few pointers to help those designing their own sites or having friends or fans doing it for them.

Ask yourself this question: What is a viewer looking for? And then provide it. At least one good photo of the Artist, samples of his singing (mp3 or RealPlayer format or both), an up-to-date concert schedule, an email address and/or phone number for booking. A Links page is always good.. (practice reciprocal linking). Extras could include a Bio page, a Merchandise page and a Photo Album. A moderated Guestbook can be a good thing also, but always be able to view and approve entries before they are posted. There are alot of unsavory characters out there..

Submissions to Search Engines and good meta tags for roboting are a must.

Be true to yourself.. Honesty. Do not put anything on your site you know is not accurate.

Watch out for too much flash.. I love gifs, in fact I design most of my own. Animated ones, still ones, banners.. they all draw attention but when you have 10 to 15 flashing stars and lightening bolts on a page, the question becomes am I drawing attention to the animations or to the artist? The same goes for backgrounds.

Take it easy on java functions.. I know I love them too.. but in the near future, browsers such as Internet Explorer, Netscape and AOL will not automatically install java in their newer versions. So not everyone is going to know they have to download a plug-in order to view java enabled websites.

To frame or not to frame.. I do not like frames. The worst is being trapped in a frame when you are cruising a webring. Frames keep the viewer trapped on your site while everything they view is in a small window on the side. You do not make a viewer very happy doing this and it reflects on the artist.. face it everything on his site is a reflection on the artist. Always keep this in mind... Speaking of webrings.. join one.. I suggest Elvis Tribute Artists Webring. It is promo after all, and that is what websites are all about..promoting the artist.

Load time is not quite as important as it used to be as more and more people are online now through cable or DSL.. but still pages that load fast are a big plus. If you put a wave file up as background music, the page will take forever loading. Sure it sounds great while it is on your hard drive but then you did not have to download it to view the page. Others will have to. Most will not to chose to wait.

Respect for the man you pay tribute to. This is ,above all, the most important thing you can do. Viewers visit an ETA's website because they love Elvis and his music. You or the person designing the website have to show that this is why you are an ETA. You chose this line of work because you feel you have the talent to do him justice. Let your website show that.

Also show respect for other ETA's. No one asked you to judge them especially on your website. You are all in this together. Respect is something an ETA has to fight for just because he is an ETA. Elvis once listened to a tribute artist singing "Don't Be Cruel".. He jokingly said "he sang the hell out of that song" ....
Elvis had respect for the talent.