A record store website collectors check every week
Collectors visit a record shop's website for the same reasons they visit the shop: what's new in the racks, when the next in-store gig is, whether you'll hunt down a record for them, and whether you buy collections. A record store website built with Anticode handles all four. It doesn't sync with your stock or sell thousands of one-off records online, so keep those on a marketplace and link to it.
Be honest about what the site is for
A second-hand record shop has thousands of unique items, each with its own pressing, condition grade and price. Listing them all is a full-time job, and most shops that sell online do it through a marketplace built for exactly that, with condition grades, release data and buyers already searching. Anticode has no stock sync, cart or shipping, so don't try to recreate a marketplace on it. Make the site the shop's front window and noticeboard, and link to your marketplace listings for anyone who wants to buy from afar.
That framing changes the homepage. Lead with this week's arrivals, the next event and the opening hours, not a grid of genres pretending to be a catalogue.
New arrivals, posted in minutes
New stock is the reason collectors check in. Keep an arrivals CMS collection where each entry is a crate or a weekly drop: date, a headline ("Jazz collection from a local estate, mostly 60s originals"), a list of highlights with condition grades, and a photo of the crate. Each drop gets its own page at /arrivals/<slug>, newest first on the collection page. Staff can add one from the dashboard on a Friday morning without touching the design.
Highlights work better than full lists. Ten records described the way you'd talk about them at the counter (pressing, sleeve condition, why it matters) get more people through the door than three hundred catalogue numbers. Say plainly that records go fast and that you don't hold them without a deposit, if that's your policy.
Want lists
A want list turns an occasional visitor into a regular. The standard contact form (name, email, message) can work, but a custom form gets better answers: artist, title, format, the pressing or label if it matters, condition they'll accept, price range, and how they want to be contacted. Up to 30 plain-text fields are available, so you can leave room for several records on one form. Through a connector, each want can become a row in a Google Sheet or Airtable base that staff check against new arrivals.
Buying collections
Many shops rely on buying collections for their best stock, and sellers search for it. Give it its own page: what you buy (genres, formats, condition), what you don't, whether you visit homes, how you value records and how you pay. Then a form asking for approximate number of records, main genres, condition, whether sleeves and inners are present, location and how quickly they want to sell. Sellers can't upload photos through the form, so ask for a few by email once you've replied.
Route these enquiries somewhere they'll be seen fast, such as a Slack or Telegram message to the buyer. A collection that sits in an inbox for a week often goes to the shop down the road.
In-store events
Signings, in-store performances, listening parties and special release days bring crowds. Put them in an events collection with date, time, artist, whether it's free or ticketed, and capacity. For ticketed events, point the button at a payment link; for free events with limited space, a simple sign-up form will do. Players from Bandcamp, Spotify or YouTube can't be embedded on a published page, so link to the artist's music instead.
The basics, done properly
- Opening hours, including the late night or early Saturday that regulars rely on, and any days you close for record fairs.
- How to find you, with a link to a map, since maps can't be embedded.
- What you stock: genres, new and used, formats such as vinyl, CDs and cassettes, turntables and accessories.
- Trade-in policy and what you pay in cash or credit.
The Brutalist (Archivo) design system has the zine energy many record shops have; Editorial (Geist) suits a calm jazz and classical specialist.
Limits
Questions people ask
Can I sell records online with Anticode?
A buy button can open your account's one payment link, pointed at a list at your provider, but there's no stock sync, cart or shipping. Most shops link to their marketplace listings instead.
How do I post new arrivals quickly?
Add an entry to a CMS collection in the dashboard. Each drop gets its own page, newest first.
Can people send photos of a collection they're selling?
Not through the form, which doesn't take uploads. Ask for photos by email after their first enquiry.