GUEST POST BY AMANDA: On Why It’s So Important to Have a Website

Today we are welcoming web designer Amanda to the blog! Amanda did a fabulous job of designing my brand, new website this summer, and I asked her to share with us why she thinks having an actor website is so important. I’ve already shared my thoughts about how crucial it is, but with her expertise, she does it so much more lucidly than I did!

Why Actors Need Websites

 It’s surprisingly common for an actor to have little or no web presence. The web isn’t the future, it’s the present. Here a few of the many reasons having a professional web site should be a high priority for today’s actor:

1.     Control The First Thing People Find In A Google Search

 People who want to work with you are going to google you. If your domain name is your name or includes your name, it will most likely be the first thing to appear on a google search of your name. That gives you 100% control of the first impression you make on anyone interested in finding out more about you. The images you want,  the information you want, the reviews you want.

 2. Appear Professional and Serious About Your Work

 What do you think of a business that you are considering using that has no website, or a shoddy website? That they don’t offer as good a service as the competition that has a sleek site? There are backward or not with it? As more and more actors get websites, you don’t want to be passed over for someone who presents an overall more professional package.

 3. Express Your Uniqueness and Complexity

 Your headshot is the most vital marketing tool as an actor, no one is arguing that. But a website is an amazing tool that can offer a deeper look into you as an actor than a single photo. Your home page could include more than one image, if you have multiple looks or types that you play. The design of the site itself and design choices such as color palette, fonts and graphical elements all assist in branding you and the image you put forth into the world.

 4. Have Your Reel, Headshot and Resume in One Place

 Rather than a headshot and resume stapled together and a link to a reel on youtube or an attached dvd, a casting director can quickly and easily view all three.

 5. An Immediate Way To Submit Your Headshot and Resume

 If you get a call for a job while you are away from your computer, you can quickly lead the caller to your website where they can download your headshot and resume, as well as getting a more complete look at you as an actor in the process. Or imagine meeting a casting director in an completely unrelated situation, and they are interested in your work; you don’t have your headshot or resume on you, but you could direct them to your website. (Here’s where it would come in handy to have a business card as well)

 6. Stay Current

 A website that you can update yourself will allow you to have all your latest information immediately available: your latest news, a new addition to your resume, a commercial you were in.

 There are many options to create a site from using tools like iWeb, building a site on a template site like squarespace. To come across as a true professional, have a site built just for you by an experienced designer.

 As it so happens, my company Web Design For Actors, builds web sites for actors. We offer a personal service of completely unique, affordable designs, updated by the actor. Visit http://www.customwebdesignforactors.com to learn about our service.

Thanks, Amanda! If you’d like to check out her work, head on over to her website, or check out what she did with mine. Make sure to tell her good ol’ Green Room Blog sent you!