Hacking Hollywood The Dos and Donts for Actors Websites

By Taryn Southern

June 12, 2012

Taryn Southern

Im always a fan of the DIY mantra, but unless youre super skilled like Ben Whitehair or Ethan Newberry (actor/web designer/programmer extraordinaires), youre going to have to hire a web designer. Or start dating one. Both are acceptable solutions.

Either way, you still need to know exactly what your site needs, what to avoid, and most importantly, how to communicate these needs to your web designer.

Hopefully the following advice will help you avoid some of the more common website-related pitfalls. Happy web designing! Top 5Mistakes Actors Make on Their Websites

1. Amateur Design - Theres a lot of crap out there. ALWAYS look at a portfolio of someones work before hiring them. If their sites look like something straight out of Youve Got Mail, steer clear. An outdated website is worse than any website at all.

2. Third person blogs - Unless youre a huge star, its just plain weird to write your news and/or blog updates in the third person. Its YOUR website, so people expect for it to be personal. The exception with this is your bio, which can be written in first or third person, but avoid mistake #3 3. Overly pompous language - It is incredibly annoying to read bios peppered with cheesy self-importance, i.e. With her incredible work ethic and talent, Taryn is on the rise to becoming Hollywoods next big starlet! Barf. Think like a journalist and stick to facts. What are your credits? Hobbies? Feel free to be funny, just not egotistical.

4. Flash website - Ten years ago, flash was the bomb diggity. Unfortunately, its quickly becoming a useless format because its not compatible with smart phones and iPads. (Not to mention the loading times can often be quite annoying.) Make sure your website is being built in HTML5, the most common and adaptable mark up language on the web. 5. Un-updateable website - If you cant update your website with new photos, videos, bios, and/or news on your own, you have a major problem. Make sure that however your website is built - Joomla, WordPress, etc. - that you have access to a backend and you understand how to update the website elements. Have your designer walk you through the process when the site is complete so you can avoid having to email him/her with annoying updates.

Read this article:
The Do’s and Don’t’s for Actors’ Websites