No actor website is without a sin!
I've been collecting the actor website sins for quite some time and I thought I'd stop on by and list out the most common mistakes you might make on your actor website. I hope this helps. If you have any questions or suggestions, I'm always around. It's my first medium post so go easy on me... :)
- Having ads on your website - that must be the first thing I gotta say. There's just so many different sites that have more ads than content. It helps no one
- Having a website built in flash - it's pretty obvious to most of us now, but there are still services offering flash websites, yes, in 2016... don't do it, it will hurt your SEO and mobile showcasing
- Not keeping your actor website up to date - I really mean this one. If you've relocated to LA, don't let your website still claim that you're in Florida, if you have outdated credits list, add your new stuff, and last but not least, if you have a blog that has a single post from 2006, just remove the darn thing, it's an embarrassing waste of space
- Auto-starting your acting reel when website loads - it's official, auto starting a video has been voted one of the top ten most annoying things people hate about websites. Nobody wants that. If they do wanna watch your reel, it's only a click away, otherwise, closing your website is also just a click away. Choose wisely which click you'd rather receive.
- Having a non-responsive actor website - let's put it this way, if you have a website, open it up on your phone or tablet. If you can go from page to page and read all the text, you're good. If your text can be read only with a magnifying glass, please provide all your visitors with a free magnifying glass. If only part of your website can be seen, please make it the good part. ;)
- Uploading raw headshot files to your website - oh man, if I had a dollar for each time I had to wait more than 20 seconds for an image to load, I'd be able to afford my 300Mb/sec internet bill... that's right, I just went geek on you. In other words, people with slow internet connection might wait as long as 5 minutes to see the full headshot. Resize your images!
- Not spell checking your content - spell check your actor bio and ask a friend to do it for you! Know the difference between "aspiring actor" and "inspiring actor". If you're spelling is bad than your not going two make a good empression.
- Having a bio that compares to Les Miserables in its length - having a bio is a must, having a bio that's longer than 4 paragraphs is a no-no, having a bio that's longer than 10 paragraphs is a hells-no. When you're reaching these lengths, just start a blog.
- Not linking up you actor website and your social media profiles - if you create a loop between your website and your social media pages, you'll create a nice loop between accounts. For instance, if you link your Twitter to your website, someone clicks on it, and sees your Instagram link, they go there, and again, on Instagram you'll have a link back to the site. This way people can find all your stuff not just some of it.
- Not using any keywords in titles and headings - this is the easiest fix you can make to your actor website in just few seconds - change your homepage title to: *YOUR NAME* - *YOUR UNION AFFILIATION* *Actor or Actress* from *YOUR CITY*, *YOUR STATE* (example: Jane Doe - SAG-AFTRA Actress from Los Angeles, CA) - google will thank you for it (not literally)
