Making a
fan website is a great way to show appreciation to actors, musicians,
athletes, artists or any other remarkable person that made an impact on
your life. If you play your cards right, your website can become a hub
for communication and conversation with fellow fans. And if you’re an
artist or entrepreneur, you can take your fan website one step further
and turn it into a side-income: offering unique merchandise and
collectibles will do the trick.
But how do you actually create a good fan website? Here’s a short
guide we put together to help you create and design a strong fan
website:
Tell Their Story
You’re obviously interested in a celebrity because they achieved
something great. Use your website to present their biography in a
compelling way. Don’t just copy what you read on Wikipedia – do some
research, add quotes from interviews, share little-known tidbits, and
most importantly, make it clear why this person is so amazing. It will
be fun for you too, because you’ll get to learn more about the person
you admire.
Check out Naughty Bee’s Beyonce Fan Website for Inspiration
Get Visual
Perhaps the most important part in any serious fan site are images
and videos. You definitely need good visuals on your website, and
diversity is a keyword here. If you only display headshots, for
instance, or if you play only videos from a specific event, your website
won’t draw a lot of attention. If you can show different aspects of the
celebrity’s life – behind the scenes, commercials, family life,
hobbies, charity work etc – other people who are interested in this
person are much more likely to spend time on your site.
Instagram is a Good Place to Find Backstage Images of your Idol
Think Copyrights
Remember, you are dedicating a website to a high-profile personality,
but that doesn’t give you the right to use any type of content related
to them. When you use photos, make sure you give credit to the
photographers, add links to the source and do not use images whose
reproduction and publication are prohibited. If your site is dedicated
to musicians or artists, don’t put any content available for download
without explicit permission from their representation.
Be a Host
As we mentioned earlier, a fan site is a great meeting spot for
people with similar interests. The fans of a certain star are basically a
community built around their shared admiration. Your site can give this
community a place to exchange opinions and talk about the things that
matter most to you – best album, hottest scandal, latest performance,
favorite photos and more. Using Wix’ Website Builder,
you can add chat rooms to your site with just one click. That way,
visitors will feel like they are an active part of your site. Check out
these two fantastic apps on the Wix App Market for best results: the GoChat app and the Rumble Chat app.
Promote Your Site
What’s a fan site without fans, right? Once your website is live, go
ahead and spread the word. You can use your own social accounts to
invite friends and followers, but you should also post the link on
forums and pages that are dedicated to your idols. Go to websites where
fellow fans hang out and let them know that they should not miss out on
yours. Fan sites often have link exchange with other sites devoted to
the same people, so you should inquire with other webmasters if they’ll
be open to do that with you.
Source: http://www.wix.com
