Actor/Writer Website Design Analysis — Clearwater, FL

Trying to make it in the dog-eat-dog world of entertainment – especially acting and writing – is a lot like trying to build a successful website. There is a ton of competition, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it is easy to get lost in the crowd.

Creating a small business or personal website design is a job best left to the pros, but there are 5 essentials of business website design that you as the business owner have to pay close attention to to ensure you’re maximizing your chance of success. That’s why we put together real, live website design analyses every Friday. Now you can see these 5 essentials at work in real websites!

This week we’ll be analyzing the website of Matt Sharp, an actor/writer based out of Clearwater, FL.

See the site in action: themattsharp.com

Design:

What do we always say is more important than cleverness? No, not breakfast. CLARITY! You have to be super, ultra, crystal clear about who you are and what you have to offer, because you have 7 seconds to convey that information before a prospect leaves your website for good (and less than that with many other marketing avenues). Matt’s site is absolutely clear about who he is and what he does. You know it within the first two seconds of landing on his site. Combine that with the decision to feature his cover shot on the homepage and you have the makings of a website that will absolutely get the job done when casting directors come a-calling.

Marketing:

Here are a couple great marketing essentials from Matt’s site…

1) Personal Note – I like that the homepage copy is simple and directly from Matt himself. He welcomes you, tells you what you can do on his site, and provides the links to do it! Simple, but effective.

2) Blog Updates – I also like that he includes the latest updates from his blog. This allows you to quickly see what he’s been working on and get a feel for his personal voice and tone.

One suggestion I would make for the site is to have one call-to-action that stands out from the rest. Right now, there are all the links in the homepage copy, and the navigation bar, and a View Resume button at the very bottom of the site. I would move the View Resume button up above the fold and make that the main focus of the page, if that is indeed what he wants people to do when they get there! Either way, simplifying things with one preferred call-to-action makes it easier for visitors to know what they should do next.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

SEO is the practice of optimizing your website so that search engines can understand what your website is about and rank it for relevant keywords people might be using to search for sites like yours. The better your SEO, the higher your website ranks for certain keywords. Matt’s site certainly makes enough mention of acting, writing, and screenplays to let Google know what his site is about, but ultimately organic traffic isn’t going to be a major concern for Matt, because actors are not hired through Google searches!

Copywriting:

Now here’s where I think this site does an excellent job letting the visitor get to know Matt. The whole site is written in first person, so everything comes from the man himself. Especially on the Bio and Writing pages, you can really get a feel for who Matt is, and that will make potential employers feel more comfortable giving him a call.

Programming:

Programming is a behind-the-scenes dealio that you pretty much never think about (unless you’re a programmer), but the truth is: it’s super important. Without proper programming, you’re site will malfunction and you will look like a – for lack of a better word – poser. Matt’s site works great, so that’s not an issue. My one suggestion would be to make the site’s design “responsive,” which means it adapts to fit any size screen, whether you are viewing on your phone or a big ol’ monitor.

Introspection time! Does your site have all 5 of the small business web design essentials? Find out by downloading our Ultimate Small Business Web Design Checklist.

Best,
Joy