Hey all, I was just wondering- as an independent filmmaker, would it help my exposure and be valuable to buy a domain name and set up a website? and with that, do you guys think i should buy a template (pre designed) or create my own website?
Is a website good to have?
- Thread starter Filmmaker516
- Start date
Look at 1and1.com. They have good pricing on hosting AND they offer lots of design tempates/site building/setup tutorials, etc through their admin control panel. I've used them since 2004 and they've been very reliable.
Websites are good... but don't buy a template, instead install Wordpress and then you can choose from literally thousands of potential designs, and you can alter your text and layouts in a matter of seconds... and, it is of course also blogging software. The point of blogging is by having new content on the site on a regular basis the search engines push you up the listings and you get more traffic.
For film makers there is also the advantage that it's easy to embed video in any page... and you can change the video content quickly as well.
Wordpress and the design templates are free (unless you're going for a premium design). You can also host the site at Wordpress itself, I've never done that so I don't know the downsides or the ups of that option.
The only downside is the Wordpress learning curve is pretty steep.
Personally I can't imagine why anyone would use anything else these days. I think the days of static websites are pretty much done.
For film makers there is also the advantage that it's easy to embed video in any page... and you can change the video content quickly as well.
Wordpress and the design templates are free (unless you're going for a premium design). You can also host the site at Wordpress itself, I've never done that so I don't know the downsides or the ups of that option.
The only downside is the Wordpress learning curve is pretty steep.
Personally I can't imagine why anyone would use anything else these days. I think the days of static websites are pretty much done.
There are several other alternatives for working with dynamic content... Each have their perks, and they all have equally (or in several cases steeper) learning curves.
But I do agree the days of static pages are coming to an abrupt end.
Owning a domain name a& a good website are kind of essential for me as a filmmaker. More people know my site, sonnyboo.com than they know my name, Peter John Ross.
It shows a level of seriousness on you part - that you committed money to it, as opposed to someone who maybe has a Yahoo account and a YouTube page.
There are several other alternatives for working with dynamic content... Each have their perks, and they all have equally (or in several cases steeper) learning curves.
Yes, my static site is way overdue for an overhaul since I created it several years ago. I'll have a new one this year so I can start hosting my own video content.
dynamic pages can load fast too.
I'm currently in the process of switching over about 7 static sites to a dynamic content management framework. It's a major hassle, and while coding static pages is certainly easier initially it can quickly become an unwieldy beast to manage as the site grows or significant updates are required.
I'm currently in the process of switching over about 7 static sites to a dynamic content management framework. It's a major hassle, and while coding static pages is certainly easier initially it can quickly become an unwieldy beast to manage as the site grows or significant updates are required.