What a Videographer Website Needs

What the site is actually for

Somebody looking at a videographer's website usually wants to settle three things quickly: whether you can make something like what they need, whether they can afford you, and whether you are free.

Some are businesses wanting a brand video or a set of training films. Some are organisers with an event on a fixed date. Some are agencies looking for a crew.

Each wants to see work like their own first, then the practical details. A site built as a showcase of favourite pieces answers none of that well.

The questions people arrive with

• Relevant work, in the kind of video they need.
• Typical budgets, or at least what drives the price.
• The process from the first call to delivery.
• Turnaround, from the shoot to the first cut and the final.
• Availability on a particular date.
• Practical terms: music, footage ownership, travel, drones and insurance.

The second is the one most videographer sites leave out. A visitor who cannot tell whether a project costs hundreds or many thousands tends to assume the worst and move on.

A reel that loads quickly

The showreel is the first thing most visitors look for. Keep it short, open with the strongest shots, and make sure it starts the moment someone presses play.

Host it on YouTube or Vimeo rather than the website's own server, which is rarely built for streaming, and show a still frame with a play button until someone chooses to watch.

Do not make it a full-screen background that plays on arrival. Browsers block video with sound until the visitor has done something, and visitors on mobile data pay for video they did not ask for.

Add captions. Plenty of people watch with the sound off, at work or on a bus.

Work grouped by type

A portfolio of forty videos on one page, in the order they were made, makes every visitor hunt. Group them by kind of work instead: brand, events, training, real estate, social clips.

Four to six strong examples per group is enough. Under each, say who it was for in general terms, how long it runs, how many shoot days it took, and where it was used.

That last detail tells a visitor whether the same approach would suit what they need it for.

Embedded players and page weight

Every embedded YouTube or Vimeo player loads its own bundle of code before anyone presses play. One is fine; forty on a page make it heavy and slow, especially on a phone.

Show a thumbnail for each video that loads the player only when clicked. Chrome now also supports a lazy loading attribute, which holds back players further down the page until the visitor scrolls near them.

The page then loads at the speed of a page of photographs.

Typical budgets, in writing

Exact quotes depend on the job, but most jobs fall into a few familiar shapes. Describe three or four common projects, what each includes, and the range most of them fall in.

Then say what moves the price: shoot days, crew size, locations, rounds of changes, motion graphics, licensed music and drone work.

Packages suit work that repeats, such as event coverage or property videos; custom work suits ranges. Either is better than a page saying every project is unique.

From the first call to delivery

Most clients have never commissioned a video, so set the process out in order: first call, written brief, quote, planning and scripting, the shoot, the edit, review rounds and delivery.

Say how many rounds of changes are included and what happens after that, and what the client provides: people, locations, access, logos and approvals.

State turnaround plainly: how soon after the shoot the first cut arrives, how long the final takes, and whether a rush is possible.

For event work, booked by date and often months ahead, add a check-a-date form asking for the date, place, type of project and rough budget. Say how a date is held: usually a signed agreement and a deposit.

A worked example

A two-person video production company making brand videos and event films for local businesses had a site built around a full-screen reel that played on arrival.

On phones it showed a still image and a long wait. The portfolio page embedded every video the pair had made, more than forty, and took an age to become usable.

There were no prices, and the contact page asked people to get in touch for availability. Most enquiries opened with the same two questions: roughly what it costs, and whether a date was free.

The rebuild put a short reel behind a still frame and a play button. The portfolio became five groups of five, each video loading only when clicked.

A budgets page described three common jobs, what each included and a typical range. A check-a-date form asked for the date, the location, the kind of project and a budget band.

The two questions every enquiry used to open with were now answered before anyone wrote.

Questions to answer before they are asked

Say who owns the finished video and the raw footage, how long footage is kept, and whether the music is licensed for the client's use.

Say whether travel is charged and from where, and that you carry liability insurance, since many venues ask for proof.

And say what drone work involves. Under Canada's drone rules, in force since June 1, most drone filming needs a registered drone and a certified pilot, and flying close to people or near airports needs the advanced certificate.

The counter-case

A videographer who works mostly for a few agencies may need little more than a reel, a client list and a phone number. The agencies already know the prices.

Large productions are priced from a script, and a range on a website can mislead. There, describing what drives the cost is the honest substitute.

For most, the basics stand: a reel that loads, work grouped by type, budgets and process in writing, and an easy way to check a date.

What to build first

1. Put the reel behind a still frame.
2. Group the work by type, five per group.
3. Load each video only when clicked.
4. Publish typical budgets and what moves them.
5. Set out the process and turnaround.
6. Add a check-a-date form.
7. Answer the ownership, music and drone questions.

Step four is the one most likely to change the first conversation. A visitor who knows roughly what a project costs arrives ready to talk about the project rather than the price.

Another trade whose clients need the work explained before they can compare quotes is covered in what a land surveyor website needs.

Frequently asked questions

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.