A choir website that recruits singers and fills the concert hall
A choir website talks to two groups. People thinking of joining want rehearsal times, whether they need to audition or read music, and what it costs. Audiences want the next concert and tickets. A good choir website answers both on the home page and keeps the concert list current.
For singers: lower the barrier
The commonest reason people don't join a choir is uncertainty: will I be good enough, will I know anyone, do I need to read music? Answer each directly on a "Join us" page:
- Rehearsals
- Day, time, venue, how long, and whether there's a break with tea. Mention parking and step-free access.
- Joining
- Whether there's an audition, a voice placement chat, or no audition at all. Say what an audition involves, in detail, because the unknown is what scares people.
- Reading music
- Whether it's needed, and what support there is (learning tracks, note-bashing sessions, a buddy in the section).
- Voice parts
- Which sections are looking for singers. Many choirs need tenors and basses; say so.
- Cost
- Termly or annual subscription, concessions, music hire, and whether the first few rehearsals are free.
- Repertoire
- The kind of music you sing: classical, gospel, folk, pop arrangements, contemporary.
The join or audition form
A custom form tied to a site function can ask for name, email, phone, voice part (or "not sure"), singing experience, whether they read music, and which rehearsal they'd like to visit first. The thank-you page can show the next step: "Come along to a rehearsal; the musical director will hear you sing a few scales at the break."
Send new-singer forms to the membership secretary by email, or to a Google Sheet with a connector so the committee can follow up. Forms don't take file uploads, so if you ask for a recording for auditions, ask for a link to it instead.
For audiences: concerts in the CMS
Keep concerts in a CMS collection with fields for title, date, time, venue, programme, soloists, conductor, ticket prices and a ticket link. Each concert gets its own page and address, which is useful for posters, QR codes and venue listings. After the concert, keep the entry as an archive of past performances; it shows singers and audiences the choir's range.
Programme notes and texts for the audience can also go on the concert page, so people can read them on their phones instead of a printed sheet. Recordings can't be embedded on published pages, so link to them where they're hosted.
Tickets and subscriptions by link
| Payment | Suggested route |
|---|---|
| Concert tickets with seat or capacity limits | A ticketing platform, linked from each concert page |
| Simple unreserved tickets | The account's one payment link, if there's a single ticket price and capacity is easy to manage by hand |
| Member subscriptions | A provider page listing term, year and concession options, opened by the payment link |
| Donations and friends schemes | A fundraising platform, or a choose-your-amount page at your provider |
Each account has one payment link, which every buy button opens, so use it for the payment you take most and send the rest to a ticketing platform or a product list at your provider. The link comes from Stripe Payment Links, PayPal or a similar provider; the site itself doesn't take card details or track who has paid. Tell members to keep their receipt as proof of subscription. See payment links for the providers that work.
Smaller pages that matter
- Our musical director and accompanist, with short biographies and photos.
- Hire us: for weddings, memorials and corporate events, with an enquiry form asking for date, venue and the music wanted.
- Friends and supporters: how a friends scheme works and what supporters get.
- Contact: a general address rather than a committee member's personal email.
Design for a choir
Editorial (Geist) suits a chamber choir; Playful (Fredoka) a community or children's choir; Organic (Figtree) a folk or gospel group. Use photographs from real rehearsals and concerts rather than stock images of sheet music. Keep the next concert and the "Join us" button visible on the home page. Related pages: theatres and bands.
Limits
- No ticket inventory, seat plans or door lists; link to a ticketing platform.
- No member logins or members-only rehearsal tracks; share those another way.
- No embedded recordings or video.
- No file uploads for audition recordings.
Questions people ask
Can people join our choir through the choir website?
Yes, through a join or audition form that tells them the next step on the thank-you page and reaches you by email or a connector.
Can we sell concert tickets?
Link to a ticketing platform for reserved or capacity-limited events, or the payment link for simple unreserved tickets at one price.
Can members download rehearsal tracks from the site?
There are no members-only pages, so share learning tracks through a private link or your usual member channel.