Once upon a time, casting calls and auditions were limited to in-person performances; today, the internet is our oyster. With an actor website, anyone interested in your skill sets and capabilities can connect with you. You can then advance your career without having to get off the couch.
You must start with an inviting and well-designed website to attract casting directors, agents, and producers. If you don’t know the first place to start, then this blog will help. You’ll even see examples of how to apply your newly acquired insights to your portfolio.
How to Design an Actor Website
1. Gather your relevant materials.
Ensure you have all your relevant resources together before embarking on your website-building endeavor.
- Do you have a well-written biography and/or resume highlighting your accolades and unique skill sets to show off?
- Can your demo reels be linked to your site?
- Do you have a professional email address for interested parties to reach you?
- Are your headshots up to date and professional looking?
As Heidi Dean, a specialist in social media marketing for actors, says, “Great photos can be the key to a professional-looking website, so creating one without them may be a waste of time.”
2. Choose a CMS or web hosting service.
Unless you are a tech wiz, you will most likely choose a web hosting and builder tool. Most of these options offer pre-designed templates to make your job much easier.
You will want to consider many factors when deciding between the numerous service options. That includes
- Cost. Does the service offer a free trial, or do you have to commit immediately? Do they have tiered pricing? Consider what is included in each package to minimize your costs.
- Ease-of-use. Before purchasing anything, make sure you understand how to navigate the site and feel confident in your site-building abilities with them.
- Pre-designed templates style. Can you find some that fit your intended aesthetic?
- Additional customer support. Even if we don’t intend for it, we often find ourselves in some sticky situations when dealing with website building. Make sure your service can support you through whatever may arise.
Content Hub allows you to do all of this and more, and you can get started for free.
3. Decide your aesthetic and customization.
With a pre-designed template, you may be tempted to use the original design rather than adding your unique spin. However, if you don’t tie your site to who you are, you allow your site to blend in with every other actor's website on the internet.
First, decide on the aesthetic you want to associate with your public image. Then develop that into a brand identity for yourself and carry it through every facet of the website.
Ways to accomplish this include:
- Picking a few fonts and a color palette.
- Have an aesthetic to your images (action, dramatic, modeling, plays, etc.).
- Link your social media and IMDb page through icons.
- Customize your navigation tabs and buttons.
4. Build the site with your materials.
Create your specific career narrative through your website. Explain where you have been and, more importantly, where you want to go. Make it easy for your audience to follow and feel connected to you.
Incorporate the following elements:
- A captivating homepage.
- A resume that can be downloaded.
- A biography/about me section.
- Embedded media clips.
- Contact info.
Ensure each element includes your unique flair. Take creative liberty on these aspects, and highlight why you are a standout actor.
Remember the importance of website design throughout this task. You want to visually attract your audience and keep them engaged while directing them to your work. Don’t overwhelm your audience with too much information on one page.
5. Conduct a final read-through.
Once you hit publish, your site is public to everyone. Of course, you can make edits and adjustments, but it’s best to test everything before your site reaches employers.
Double-check each link. Read through and confirm everything is spelled correctly. Confirm your images have sufficient resolution. Even get a peer to scroll through your work; a second set of eyes never hurts.
6. Get eyes on your site.
Now, you're ready to publish your site and let it work for you. Of course, you also have to work to get your name out there, but what better tool to help you than search engine optimization (SEO)?
SEO is essential to gain exposure and attract as many people as possible. There are infinite resources available to aid you through this process, such as this guide to SEO, that can help you identify keywords and phrases to include in your messaging.
The Best Actor Websites
- Lior Raz
- Leah Remini
- Patrick Gorman
- Hiro Kanagawa
- Jonathan Van Ness
- Judy Gold
- Yasmine Al-Bustami
- Iliza Schlesinger
- Stephen Agyei
- Lizzie Markson
- Josh Grisetti
- Ruth Ann Miles
- Jacob Kemp
- Ali Wong
- Florence Kasumba
- Melissa Mahoney
- Issa Rae
- Adam Fontana
- Jonathan Jackson
- Eileen Grubba
- David Hywel Baynes
- Sierra Boggess
- David M. Girard
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Anirban Bhattacharya
1. Lior Raz
What we like: Lior Raz is an action-driven actor whose website certainly matches that. He draws us in with live clips from his award-winning TV series Fauda, creating a dramatic and cinematographic experience at first glance.
His style is simple yet captivating. The hamburger menu at the top offers quick navigation, but the live images keep you engaged, so you want to continue scrolling. The color contrast allows for easy reading and consistency, helping us understand who Raz is as an actor.
2. Leah Remini
What we like: Leah Remini’s website draws you right into the dramatics, with a stunning single photo on the home page. While there is no scrolling feature, her menu on the top right is intuitive. The menu items help characterize Remini as an actor and public figure.
Remini highlights aspects of her career that set her apart, such as her charity work and her filmography, with summaries of each. Make sure your site shows a wide range of what you do.
3. Patrick Gorman
What we like: Patrick Gorman’s website feels like a genuine glimpse into who he is. We are greeted with a personal note from him welcoming us to his site and explaining his ideology and motivations.
Gorman’s site feels heartfelt and grounds Gorman as a person. This site also offers an effortless way to experience Gorman’s resume, as he has many clips in a grid layout that can be played within the website.
4. Hiro Kanagawa
What we like: Hiro Kanagawa’s site offers a strong display of his multitude of skills as both an actor and writer. He manages to pack his site full of content, such as a complete biography of his acting career.
One key feature is the pinned floating menu up top. As you scroll, the menu remains static, offering an easy-to-navigate experience. There are also downloadable CVs for each of his disciplines (screen, stage, and writing). The viewer can get exactly what they want from his site.
5. Jonathan Van Ness
What we like: Jonathan Van Ness has truly created a name for themself by conquering many spaces, from Netflix to cosmetics to starting their own hair care brand. After drawing you in with his gentle and inviting headshot on the home page, their site highlights these feats and more.
As you scroll, you see features of Van Ness’ work. Further, the text throughout their website is interactive; when you hover over a linked section, there are animated squiggly lines that add visual intrigue. Van Ness’s site is a prime example of a simple yet captivating design.
6. July Gold
What we like: The vibrant and bold colors immediately attract you to this site. Further, the consistency of colors and fonts makes the site easy to follow.
Gold’s website also embeds both her Twitter feed and her podcast episodes. These feeds are live, making it easy for viewers to stay updated on Gold’s media presence. Visitors can interact with the content in whatever manner they please.
We also love the favicon of Gold’s face. Creating a unique favicon can help your site stand out amongst the many open tabs on our computers today.
7. Yasmine Al-Bustami
What we like: Yasmine Al-Bustami’s website features a unique and bold choice on her opening home page. Namely, it is incredibly simple. There are no hero banners or other clickable icons. Instead, you see a dramatic and captivating image of her, establishing her aesthetic.
As you scroll, you are prompted with relevant links and information, ranging from Youtube clips for her portfolio to a detailed and playful biography with fun facts.
8. Iliza Shlesinger
What we like: This website uses art to stand out from the rest. The site’s front page features an animated portrait of Shlesinger instead of a traditional headshot. This helps paint Shlesinger as creative and playful, aligning with her career as a comedian and actress.
The website itself is easy to explore. Use Shlesinger as a role model for applying your aesthetic without detracting from your site's messaging.
9. Stephen Agyei
What we like: Stephen Agyei is a prominent comedian whose website displays that quickly. The playful tone of the images, fonts, and colors construct his aesthetic. You immediately gather who Agyei is in his professional career.
The section featuring his upcoming shows is the star of the site, making it easy to navigate and support Agyei, the clear goal of his design process.
10. Lizzie Markson
What we like: Lizzie Markson’s website is a perfect example of taking creative liberties when building a site to help explain and represent who you are. Markson’s colors, photos, phrases, and abstract aesthetic are playful, inspiring, and inviting.
Even the cursor is the sun behind the cloud emoji. This site makes you want to continue scrolling to learn more about them and their career, the prime objective of any actor website.
11. Josh Grisetti
What we like: Josh Grisetti’s website shows less is more. His short testimonials have a great effect on proving his prowess, while his gallery of photos displays his range immediately.
We also enjoy the download materials tab on his hero header. This link takes you to a Google Drive full of resources specific to casting and hiring. These resources do not distract from the site's aesthetic but are still accessible to interested parties.
12. Ruth Ann Miles
What we like: Ruthie Ann Miles’s website is one that really pays attention to the little details. She offers a downloadable headshot and a thorough resume tab.
Further, Miles includes a back-to-top button at the bottom of the page. This feature can never hurt and shows that you think about your page's usability.
13. Jacob Kemp
What we like: This website goes above and beyond, highlighting who Jacob Kemp is as an artist and individual. It is incredibly interactive. Popups appear when you enter the site, and well-written summaries of each section make the content more digestible.
Play around with this site to draw inspiration for your portfolio. Interactive elements can keep visitors on your page for longer.
14. Ali Wong
What we like: This website offers a direct way to engage and entertain. The homepage is Wong’s promotional video for her Netflix comedy special, which immediately makes us aware of her prowess and character.
Additionally, as you scroll, each image is bold and takes up the entire screen, continuously displaying Wong’s personality and vibe.
This website proves that images can dominate the show, and words are not always necessary to describe who you are.
15. Florence Kasumba
What we like: Florence Kasumba highlights all the essential aspects that website visitors may want, such as a detailed CV and an impressive grid of photos in her gallery. This site is a clear example to follow when building your own.
Kasumba uses popups on her site to add extra motion. After staying stagnant on the home page, a popup of her recent work appears, such as her Vogue cover, with the option to head to the publication and read more.
16. Melissa Mahoney
What we like: Melissa Mahoney packs a ton of information into this site, yet it always feels clear.
She has much to highlight from her professional career as both an actor and teacher. Her work tab in the hero header has a dropdown feature that lets you see each subset of interest, so you never feel overwhelmed. She even offers a PDF version of her resume.
Mahoney offers both an aesthetically pleasing and super informative website packed into one.
17. Issa Rae
What we like: Issa Rae takes a different approach to an actor website. She has created her own subscription-based media production company, Hoorae, to consolidate her various film, television, and digital content companies.
She offers anyone access to these resources and other special offers, such as a private Q&A series, behind-the-scenes content, and discounted or pre-sale tickets. Rae has created a unique network of fans through her version of an actor website.
18. Adam Fontana
What we like: This website gets to the point of an actor website while maintaining a clear and pleasing theme. Adam Fontana’s website is straightforward and offers intuitive ways to navigate his work.
For example, he provides a downloadable resume and headshot under the resume section. You don’t have to go back or search for what you want, as Fontana makes everything accessible.
19. Jonathan Jackson
What we like: Jonathan Jackson has an apparent and pleasing aesthetic. He consistently follows a black-and-white theme, carrying us through each page. Jackson is also a talented musician and novelist, and he highlights that. You can easily explore all that makes Jackson the talented artist he is.
20. Eileen Grubba
What we like: Eileen Grubba’s personality shines through on her website and draws us right in. Her bright smile and vibrant background give us context to who Grubba is as a person and what her work as an actress looks like.
Each page is organized in the same, easy-to-navigate manner, making it very accessible. We appreciate the consistency throughout her website. Additionally, embedded videos allow you to watch her without leaving her site, allowing Grubba to gain more traction and attention.
21. David Hywel Baynes
What we like: David Hywel Baynes uses testimonials throughout his website to assert his credibility. Social proof is a powerful tool that shows you’re a pleasure to work with. We also appreciate how these quotes are accompanied by action shots, giving us a sneak peek into his trade.
Overall, this website is very easy to navigate to gather information about Baynes.
22. Sierra Boggess
What we like: Sierra Boggess’s website emits memorable positivity in every aspect. Her full-width background video on the homepage immediately pulls us in and engages us with the provoking buttons.
Her website is also a great example of how to make your site more accessible to all. Boggess includes accessibility options on the bottom left of the site. You can increase contrast, change the font size, pause animations, and more.
23. David M. Girard
What we like: This website is very to-the-point. Girard’s information is segmented by type so the audience can immediately find the relevant resources. The tone of this site also matches his straightforward approach, with the simple and dark color palette and font choices.
24. Benedict Cumberbatch
What we like: This website is unique. It’s set up and managed by some dedicated Benedict Cumberbatch fans, not Cumberbatch himself.
With many aspects, from a photo archive of over 150,000 images and links to all recent news publications regarding Cumberbatch’s career, this site can help inspire what you want to highlight on your own actor website.
25. Anirban Bhattacharya
What we like: Even though Anirban Bhattacharya’s career is in acting, he does not shy away from highlighting his other passion, namely drawing. This makes the website feel more personal and, as a fan, teaches us more about who Bhattacharya is outside of the screen.
This is optional for actor websites, but these fun flairs can help you stand out.
Getting Started
With these examples, you now have a complete picture of where you can go with your actor website. Draw inspiration from your favorites here, or create your own unprecedented style.
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