Website Design Elements You Need to Know

As a voice over actor, your voice is obviously your biggest tool. It’s what defines you as an artist, what your brand is built around, and how you get work. But it’s not the only tool at your disposal. Your website is another, and it’s absolutely one of the most important.

Your site is at the foundation of your overall web presence, and it’s the main source for information about you as an actor. So yeah, it’s a pretty important part of your toolbox.

Because of its significance, keeping your site fresh, user-friendly, and filled with the right content should be a top priority for you. No one wants to visit a cluttered, dated site that takes forever to load. Not only does it reflect poorly on you, it can actually cost you work.

With this in mind, here are a few design elements you may way to apply to your own voice over website, especially if it’s in need of a little facelift.

●     Responsive/interactive - Responsive websites aren’t anything new. All this means is that the website can adapt to whatever type of device the visitor is using, whether it’s a traditional computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. Because so many people use smaller, handheld devices, it’s critical that your site is viewable on them. Bonus points if you can add some sort of interactive feature too, like a place for visitors to leave a comment (and don’t worry, you can adjust the settings so that all comments must be approved by you before they’re made public).

●     Scrolling - Back in the day, websites were more “page turner” than “scroll-able.” In other words, you had to click to navigate to new content, rather than just scroll down. Scrolling is so much easier, though, and usually results in a better experience for the user - especially if they’re using a tablet or phone.

●     Font matters - Unless you’re a design person, you probably spend too much time thinking about font. But font is important, and it can impact a visitor’s experience on your website more than you realize. If you’re using an old, tired-looking font, it just makes your whole site look bad. Keep it fresh, easy-to-read, and in line with the overall style of your website.

●     Images/video - Your site should include a reasonable amount of imagery and video as well, because this adds variety and sophistication. This may include both background and feature elements, but make sure they’re high quality and truly add something to your site.