NO B.S. ACTOR WEBSITE TIPS

Build a smart actor website in 90 seconds! Click here to begin.

Picking a domain name for your actor website

Actor Website Tip #1

Get domain names with your name or stage name in it. That's how people will find you.

Web For Actors: There are always different opinions out there on what the first step of getting the website should be. Without any doubt, I strongly believe that the f

Picking an email address for your actor website

Actor Website Tip #2

Get an easy to remember email, i.e. cast@yourname.com or hire@yournameactor.com

Web For Actors: Now that you've gotten a domain name for your actor website, you should be able to set up an email address under that domain. I understand that a lot

Custom design for actor website might be your biggest mistake

Actor Website Tip #3

Don't fall for the custom designed website trap - use templates.

Web For Actors: Time an time again I get contacted by actors asking me if I can keep their design and move their acting website over to IADB. It saddens me to hear the

Avoid ads on your actor website

Actor Website Tip #4

Avoid websites with ads. Your visitors should not be distracted by flower shop ad placements

Web For Actors: There are many options out there that will offer to get you your actor website for free. Be wary of those. The number one biggest issue with thos

Pay per upload actor websites

Actor Website Tip #5

Don't fall for charge per image / charge per video traps.

Web For Actors: Here's another scam you need to avoid. These websites truly frustrate me and I've only seen these scams when the client is an actor or a model, no othe

Say no to a flash based actor website

Actor Website Tip #6

No flash websites. Stay far away from flash.

Web For Actors: One last thing to stay away from when deciding on who's hosting your website. Avoid flash websites at all costs! There are too many reasons to li

Keep your actor website up to date

Actor Website Tip #7

Keep your website up to date. You don't want visitors guessing if you're still in the biz.

Web For Actors: I don't care if you listen to me about any other tips listed on this website, but if you won't listen to this tip, then you're truly doing yourself a d

Easy to edit actor website

Actor Website Tip #8

Make sure you can edit your website with ease.

Web For Actors: Okay, now that I've pointed out what to avoid, here's what you definitely want on your actor website: An easy to access content management system.

Actor websites should be responsive

Actor Website Tip #9

Make sure your website loads well on mobile devices.

Web For Actors: What it means for website to be responsive is that it will "respond" to screen size changes. In other words, it will look great no matter how big or sm

Actor website visitor analysis

Actor Website Tip #10

Use some sort of analytics information to see if your website is being visited.

Web For Actors: You probably have heard about website analytics before, but some may not have a clue what that's all about. And that's fine, you probably don't need to

Link up your actor website and your social media profiles

Actor Website Tip #11

Create a link loop between your social media profiles. If you have a twitter account listed, link it back to the website.

Web For Actors: I see a lot of actors missing this constantly. For instance, they advertise their website in a Twitter post, but when I go to the website, there is no

What to put on your actor website

Actor Website Tip #12

5 most important things on your actor website: headshots / resumes & credits / contact form & social links

Web For Actors: This may be basic knowledge, but I see a lot of actor websites out there that are missing this basic information, so here is the MINIMUM that you shoul

Get your Actor Website found online fast

Actor Website Tip #13

3 Ways to submit your website to the search engines

Web For Actors: First things first. You may ask: "well, how do I know if my website is on google or not". It's simple. Go to google.com, in the search bar type in: si

Use your background images carefully

Actor Website Tip #14

Avoid clashing foreground and background colors

Web For Actors: This is a huge problem that a lot of actor websites have, but their owners may not even be realizing it. Let's face it, not all screens were created eq

Don't upload raw headshots to your Actor Website

Actor Website Tip #15

Optimize your images. Headshots from you photographer are way too big in the raw format.

Web For Actors: This happens way more with actor websites and model website than any other websites out there. Here's a scenario. You get your headshots taken by a ph

Spell check your actor bio and ask a friend to do the same

Actor Website Tip #16

Know the difference between "aspiring actor" and "inspiring actor"

Web For Actors: I'm not saying it's you. I'm just saying there's a lot of bios out there that just don't look right. Some of them are too long, some too short, but pu

Keywords are great, but focus on strengths

Actor Website Tip #17

Don't list dozens of different hobbies in the skills section of your actor website

Web For Actors: I see this happening even among IADB'ers. We do have the filter option for important skills and less important keywords. But since we're talking tips,

List your actor website on your business card

Actor Website Tip #18

Don't forget to put your domain name everywhere you list your contact information

Web For Actors: Let's assume that you linked up all your social media to your website and you linked up your website to all your social media as I pointed out in tip

Who is the contact for your actor website

Actor Website Tip #19

Clearly list your representation on the contact page

Web For Actors: The primary visitors that you want on your actor website are people who will say, "yes, this is who I was looking for". Let's say that you have all you

Resize all your actor headshots

Actor Website Tip #20

Crop your images to the same size for best viewing experience

Web For Actors: I mentioned this briefly while talking about optimization, but cropping images is not only about page load speeds, it's about aesthetics. If you have

Include streams to your social media

Actor Website Tip #21

Active on social media? Why not include a feed / stream right on the homepage or in the footer?

Web For Actors: I recommend this only to actors who are active on social media! If you post on social media sporadically and have periods of time when you don't post

Avoid auto-starting any videos on your website

Actor Website Tip #22

Don't auto-start your actor reel as soon as your website loads, but if you do, mute it.

Web For Actors: More and more actor websites I stumble upon seem to auto-start a reel or trailer or some other video as soon as the home page loads. This is just bad a

Open external links in a new tab on your actor website

Actor Website Tip #23

Open your resumes in a new tab / window.

Web For Actors: This may be my biggest issue that most people don't realize! How many times do you go to a website, click on something and a new page opens up. Then w

Make sure the company building your website uses new technology

Actor Website Tip #24

You want a modern looking actor website, not an antique

Web For Actors: The best way to see if a company you're trying to hire to build you your actor website is active and using the new technology is to ask them for a rece

Modern looking actor website

Actor Website Tip #25

Websites for actors should have the clean and modern look

Web For Actors: This statement might be ambiguous, and so, I'm not sure if it will be very helpful. I think that the Biggest Mistakes section of our website will do th

Actor website providers should do what they advertise

Actor Website Tip #26

Don't trust a skinny chef

Web For Actors: There are many sayings that describe this behavior: "Do as I say not as I do", "Don't trust a skinny chef", there was something about a bald barber and

Never pay per change

Actor Website Tip #27

Avoid any pay-per-change offers when seeking a company to build your actor website

Web For Actors: I constantly see these popping up everywhere and they're trying to capitalize on you, so why give them the time of day? Here's a screenshot of on of

Never pay upfront for your actor website

Actor Website Tip #28

Make sure your actor website comes with a free trial

Web For Actors: In Poland we have a saying which warns you about buying the cat in a sack . If you're paying upfront for a design you haven't seen yet, you just don

Not everyone can design an actor website

Actor Website Tip #29

Make sure your designer knows a thing or two about acting

Web For Actors: I'm so tired of the cheesy clip arts and non-related images of globes and handshakes on all the actor websites. I'm sure that all the casting directors

Use the right keywords on your actor website

Actor Website Tip #30

Use location and occupation keyword, i.e. "Actress from Toronto" - SEO matters.

Web For Actors: So what are the most important keywords for you to use on your actor website? Which keywords will allow you for best branding online? Let's start with:

What else goes on your resume?

Actor Website Tip #31

List your training - if you can, list your teacher names. If someone searches for them, they might find you.

Web For Actors: One thing that seems to be missing from a lot of actor websites are solid credentials. Listen, you paid for all of these acting classes. Years of train

Why is your actor website blank

Actor Website Tip #32

Don't advertise your website until it's ready

Web For Actors: When I work with actors individually, the process is as follows: Create and populate your actor website Get a domain name and an email address Get

Are you wowing your visitors?

Actor Website Tip #33

Put your best foot forward - always show your most impressive work first.

Web For Actors: I hope that goes without saying that you need to wow your visitors. You don't want to give them a Joe Shmoe with a sub-par website experience. Instead,

Personal information on your actor website

Actor Website Tip #34

Be careful with listing your personal email or phone number

Web For Actors: You may or may not be aware of controversy of whether or not people should use their email and phone number on their website. Some people use tricks t

Make your acting reel easily accessible

Actor Website Tip #35

If you have a good reel, put it (or a link to it) on the homepage along with resume and headshots.

Web For Actors: If your reel is impressive and of a great quality I would even recommend putting it on the homepage instead of your main image, but in any case you sti

Two clicks rule for your actor website

Actor Website Tip #36

Getting to any desired content should never take more than 2 clicks.

Web For Actors: I used to build real estate websites for many years, and we've always had a standing rule of "three clicks". What it meant is that no content should ta

Navigation of your actor website matters

Actor Website Tip #37

Use easy to read URLs for each page sections

Web For Actors: Not only does it look more presentable to your visitors, but search engines also appreciate the clean URLs for each page on your website. Having a pag

Short actor bios welcome

Actor Website Tip #38

Actor bios should not be long. Keep it brief and use keywords. Save the rest for your blog

Web For Actors: There are many articles on actor bios out there that will teach you how to write these. This tip is not about that. This tip simply says: keep

Engage your viewers with behind-scenes photos

Actor Website Tip #39

Behind the scene photos. Yay or nay?

Web For Actors: There's a big back and forth toggle war on whether or not behind-scene photos should be used on your actor website. When I first started hosting actor

Sitemap is the menu for search engines

Actor Website Tip #40

Add an XML sitemap to your actor website

Web For Actors: Depending on your design structure and code quality, you may want to consider adding an XML sitemap to your actor website so that Google knows how to n

From Theater to Film: Transitioning From Stage to Screen

03.08.2024 Unlock the Secrets of Successful Transitions: Master the Art of Acting for Both Stage and Screen!
Check it out »

5 Reasons Not to Host Your Actor Website on WordPress

02.23.2024 Discover the Hidden Risks of Using WordPress for Your Actor Website!
Check it out »

Niche professional websites for people in the film and TV industry.

Weeee, you found me!

I'm your buddy Bottie, I was hiding behind the scenes, but now that you've found me I'd be happy to tell you what I'm doing.

Actor Website helper: Bottie

I just wrote a few fun facts about Web For Actors

Would you like to take a look?
Click here to check them out. I hope it will cause involuntary audible response.