All screenplays on the simplyscripts.com and simplyscripts.net domain are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. This screenplaymay not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.
So, I'm close to getting a website for my scripts. Just wanted to get opinions of peeps who currently have their own sites...
- How much did you spend on it? - Is it worth it? - How has it benefitted your Screenwriting? - Are you better with it than without? - How do you promote it outside of SS?
And anything else you can think of. I've got about a grand to play with and I want to spend it wisely. Thanks!
Well you certainly don't need a grand, save that for competitions entries, pitching and coverage!
My site is http://www.anthonycawood.co.uk it's built using Moonfruit, costs me about £70 a year, plus I renew my domain every 2 years for about £10.
The site is easy to use and you can choose from a range of templates so there's no coding to do or anything overly complicated.
And I genuinely feel that it's worth every penny.
There are other site building services out there, e.g. Wix, Godaddy etc... many have trial periods so have a play and see which you prefer.
Benefits - It makes me look professional and that I take my writing seriously. - I can keep all my work together. - I can promote myself and my successes. - I'm visible in search engines, and have optioned one feature because a producer found me via Google. - Producers looking for scripts can be pointed at it and see the breadth of my work.
Outside of SS I promote it via - Facebook and Twitter. - I include it on my email footers. - I mention it to every producer/filmmaker I talk to - I list it on other sites like Stage 32 etc
Thanks, Anthony. I'll check out some you mentioned. I notice on your site you don't make your features available for viewing. Do you keep a treatment available for those, or do you send out the script to whoever asks?
Thanks, guys. Good points on the free ones. Will definitely look into it. Didn't realize how many website builders there were - seems to be a whole bunch.
I can't really answer your questions as such, but I'm in the process of upgrading from a basic Webs site (too slow and clunky). I spent the best part of a day playing around with various site builders and found Wix to be the most user friendly - but there's not much in it with the other brands.
Like Warren says the free version just carries the ad banner, but it's fairly minor and they've some pretty reasonable rates for the upgraded package. More than enough storage to host a few pdfs and it's easy to use. Like Dave says, it serves as a form of backup.
My short scripts can be found here on my new & improved budget website:
I used Wix to build it. I THINK that's regarded as the best web builder to use. Or at least, the best free one.
- How much did you spend on it? - Nothing. Customer support was also free, and my page was easy to set up. - Is it worth it? - Yep, it's free. - How has it benefitted your Screenwriting? Maybe my stylish looking site makes me want to write more for it, I suppose. - Are you better with it than without? Yes, instead of having to send people a whole bunch of files, I can just show them my site. It's a huge timesaver and it makes me look much more professional. - How do you promote it outside of SS? I share it on a range of comedy websites and on Facebook.
Also, if you have some money to spend, you can use Wix's more advanced services. Some tell you how many hits you're getting and stuff like that, and I think you get detailed demographic information.