Websites

[BayAreaSM]

I've got a website. One of my professors insisted we make one, and I've been maintaining it ever since.

www.jessicalynnwhitington.weebly.com

Jessica,

I recommend splitting your resume in two. Post one for Stage Management/Crew and the other for Acting. (Since you don't want to list your birthdate, hair color, etc on your SM resume.) That way you can direct people to the exact resume you want them to look at.

Good luck!
-Les

[KMC]

I just did a major overhaul of my site and would love some feedback.

http://www.cheriebtay.com/

Thanks!

I like the layout and color scheme.  The grey is a nice neutral color that draws attention to the items you post on the website (photos, paperwork, etc..).  Having your own RSS feed is certainly an interesting idea - let us know if anyone subscribes to that as it may be a tool others are interested in if you have success with it.  The one thing that caught my eye is the "counter" at the bottom of the main page.  That aspect screams late 90s to me, but beyond that I love it. 

[MatthewShiner]

I have found an interesting web hosting site . . . and I picked out a new domain name and reworked my professional web page and hosted it here to see how I liked this service.

Rather then paying $xx.xx for a certain amount of bandwidth, storage and stuff you may not use . . . this has you pay for the actual data transferred . . . and given that a SMs web page may not be getting a lot of traffic this might be an interesting host solution.  Now, it's not a drag a drop answer, you will need a little savvy . . . but if I could figure it out . . .

Trust me, after the registering your site . . . which is about nine bucks, the rest of the cost per month for a low traffic site could be just a couple of bucks.

www.mwilliamshiner.com


the hosting site is nearlyfreespeech.net  (sorry, left this off)

[MatthewShiner]

Using earlyfreespeech.net  (sorry, left this off my post)

did it on iweb.

[MatthewShiner]

I would be careful about putting together a stage manager and photography web page.

Why not keep them separate? 

Stage Management and Photography might be seem fine, but where does one draw the line.

Stage Management and Cake Decorating.

Stage Management and Dwarf Tossing.

Stage Management and Hand Modeling.

Just saying.

[PSMKay]

Should I just get another domain name?  I'm not sure I want a different website for each thing I do (SMing, Photography, Dwarf tossing, etc)

Yes.  If you are planning on having any sort of career in photography, you'll want to separate the two - develop your personal brand as a photographer in the same way that you've developed your brand as an SM. 

Caveat: I own over 30 domain names and am actually using about... erm.  6 of them.  So take this advice with a grain of salt.

[SMLois]

I'd say I've taken a bit of a different route than most of the folks here. My website, www.loisbackstage.com, in addition to housing my resume, some testimonials from folks I've worked with, a list of upcoming productions & a photo gallery of previous productions is also the home to my blog.  What do I blog about? Mostly stage management, although I also share recipes sometimes (usually show themed - for example, Guys & Dolls Dulce De Leche Cupcakes).

I started the site knowing that everything I blogged about would be public and that I have to assume any company I work with has read what I've written.  But I have also gotten work because of it.  I blogged last December of my goal to get some equity apprenticeships this year and had companies contact me and offer me opportunities.  Companies that are now employing me as a CAEA member stage manager.  I've also had people come up to me at shows and say, "Hey, I love your website - I really enjoyed your post about SM Kits (or Tips for Show Calling or whatever the case may be).  For that matter, I've had people come up to me at bus stops to say they read my blog.  I've also had professors assign my blog to their students to read because it is the real-life experience of someone making a living as a stage manager.

I know this isn't a road for everyone and it does require some thinking and planning.  For example, any time I post about a specific show or process I get permission from those involved.  At times I even e-mail them a draft and ensure they are comfortable with what I am going to say and make changes as necessary.  I also decided at the beginning that I would never review shows on the site as that could lead to conflicts of interest.

I'd be curious to hear what some of you think about the site and having taken this route and whether or not you have any suggestions of things that should be removed or added.

[PSMKay]

Laura, are you looking for a critique? That's what this thread is for.

If you want a critique:

• The banner across the top is badly pixellated, needs to be sharpened.
• Study search engine optimization and make sure that you're including keywords throughout your site, and emphasizing higher up on the page the items that you want to get the most attention.
• Get rid of the "make a free website" button at the bottom - totally unprofessional and gaudy, especially since it's glaringly white against your dark grey background.
• Pick a font and stick with it
• Unify your color scheme more thoroughly.  You've got three colors plus white and black in that banner, and you NEVER use those colors again.
• On "about me" get rid of the tabs
• Use bulleted lists, not hyphens
• Separate your CSS from your HTML
• Don't use MS Word to format your pages, it's obvious when you look at the code that you've done so.
• Photo on the current projects page is badly pixellated and looks unprofessional
• Resume, while legible, is blurry
• On the production photos, standard user interface design is to allow a pop-up or expansion to full size of the thumbnail images.
• I don't know why you're posting set and lighting design portfolio pictures unless you're trying to promote a design career.

On the whole the site comes off as amateurish, and it seems to me like you are not willing to put in the effort to promote yourself properly.  Take a look at some of the other sites linked here for ideas on how to convert your current efforts into something more streamlined and professional, instead of slapdash and silly.  I realize that you've just finished college, but that's no reason to put up a half-hearted effort.

Next  time if you want a gentler critique I strongly suggest posting some text rather than just inserting a link as your very first post to the network.  We're 95% about sharing ideas here and only 5% about self-promotion, and I'm not terribly pleased that you chose to introduce yourself to with just a link.

[jNehlich]

wow.

...I have seen much, much worse websites from "professional" stage managers.

[PSMKay]

So have I, but I have no patience or respect for spammers.

[loebtmc]

I sent her a PM encouraging her to look around and see how we do things here, and to modify her post accordingly based on whether she meant it here, in Employment, for critique and feedback, or if she meant is as a quick intro.

[MusicTheatreSM]

I have found that a website isn't really useful for being searched or getting a random job.

I do think that the website is great to have to put on a business card. I have had many people ask for my contact information in the form of a business card. They can put it in their wallet and when someone asks for a sm recommendation, they whip it out and call me up.

Having a website with a resume/portfolio is nice to just give an overview of past experience and let those recommendations decide if they want to contact you or not.

I'm in the process of setting mine us, I have found a nice free way to set one up, and you can purchase the domain name if you want it more personalized. http://www.us.stagejobspro.com

[dallas10086]

I have found that a website isn't really useful for being searched or getting a random job.

I have a website via Tripod that used to get all my traffic, until I began using LinkedIn.com. In my email tag I have my phone number, email address, website and LinkedIn profile link and of all of those nearly 95% of my requests/referrals go to my LinkedIn profile page. They'll also tell you (depending on your account) who has looked at your page and from what company. Extremely useful!

[loebtmc]

My issue w stagejobspro is that you can't attach or upload a resume; rather, you have to type in show by show. This is fine if you are a newer SM with fewer credits and sites to add. It's a pain if you are even a little more experienced. And so far, I haven't seen a lot of really great jobs on the site. But (of course) that could change....

[iamchristuffin]

My issue w stagejobspro is that you can't attach or upload a resume; rather, you have to type in show by show.

Yes you can.....I'm not sure if it's the same method for you, but in the UK, once logging in, you click 'My Profile'>'Files' and then scroll down...

Chris