So you’ve decided to become a voice actor. Exciting! And then you make the mistake of Googling “how to start in voiceover”, and suddenly the to-do list never ends. Get a demo. Sort a home studio. Build a website. Set up socials. Get headshots. Learn about invoicing, marketing, SEO, showreels, agents…
It’s overwhelming. And underneath the overwhelm is a mix of fear (“everyone else seems so far ahead of me”) and impatience (“I just want to get myself out there!”). That impatience is completely understandable. But it’s also where new voice actors do the most damage to their own careers.
Before we talk websites: a warning
Please don’t rush. Coaching and your demo come first. Always.
You can all too easily – and all too quickly – ruin what could have been a great voice acting career by starting before you’re ready. First impressions stick in this industry. Casting directors and producers will remember someone who claimed they could “do voice acting” but clearly wasn’t ready, and that memory will follow you around far longer than you’d like. It’s much harder to undo a bad impression than it is to wait a few months and make a good one.
So start with coaching – and specifically, coaching from a voice actor coach, not just an acting coach. Voice acting is its own craft, with its own skills, and a coach who works in this industry knows exactly what casting directors and clients are listening for. Any good voice actor coach will guide you, be honest with you, and tell you when you’re genuinely ready to produce your first demo and start pitching for work. If a coach is pushing you towards a demo in your first few sessions, that’s a red flag – find another coach.
Coaching first. Demo second. Then the website.
Right – now let’s talk about your website
Once you’ve done the work and you’ve got a demo you’re proud of, the next question arrives fast: “Great! What’s your website?”
Cue panic. You’ve looked at other voice actors’ sites with their pages and pages of demos, client logos and glossy portfolios, and thought “I can’t compete with that”. So the website goes on the someday pile, and you keep sending people to a demo file in your Google Drive instead.
Here’s the good news: your first voice actor website doesn’t need pages and pages. It needs one. A single, well-organised page that has your demo, tells people who you are, and makes it easy to contact you. That’s it. You can build it in a weekend, and it will do more for your career than months of “I’ll sort it eventually”.
I’ve written before about the 6 pages you need for a successful voiceover website – and when you’re more established, that’s the structure to grow into. But when you’re starting out, a one-page website covers everything those 6 pages do, in a simpler package. We’ll sort the tech bits first (domain, hosting, where to build), then walk through what goes on the page, section by section, from top to bottom. There’s a simple checklist at the end so you can see the whole thing at a glance.
First, the tech bit
If there’s one part of building a website that confuses and overwhelms new voice actors more than any other, it’s the tech. Domains, hosting, builders, SSL, plugins… and a mountain of contradicting advice online about all of it. So let’s cut through the noise.
You need three things:
- a domain
- somewhere to host it
- and something to build your website with.
Your domain name
Your domain is your website’s address – the bit people type in. Keep it simple: your name is usually enough (helenbee.com). If your name is tricky to spell or easily misheard, then your first name plus “voice actor” is a good alternative (helenvoiceactor.com). Don’t overthink it, and don’t get clever – a domain people can’t spell is a domain people can’t find.
Always go for .com but also get your local domain extension too (eg .co.uk).
Domains and hosting
For both domains and hosting, I recommend 34sp.com (affiliate link). Their domains are good value, their customer support is genuinely incredible (real humans, who actually help), and their credentials are excellent too – all the energy they use comes from renewable supplies. I rate them so highly I’ve gone on record on their website saying so.
Where to build your website
The big names are Squarespace, Wix and WordPress (and within WordPress, there are template sites and lots of different page builders), plus plenty of other builders besides. They all have their pros and cons – there’s no single right answer, whatever the internet shouts at you.
Squarespace and Wix tend to be simpler to set up, but more costly to customise, and they can be restrictive with things that matter to us – like our all-important demo player. Wix’s audio player, for example, only allows downloads if you upload zip files, which is far from ideal for a busy casting director who just wants your MP3.
WordPress, unless you’ve got experience, can be much more complicated to set up, so the up-front costs can be bigger (you’ll likely need to hire someone like me to do that part). But the running costs usually work out lower, and WordPress is much more customisable – your demo player can work exactly the way you (and casting directors) need it to.
Figures showing how websites are built – percentage globally (figures from July 2026)…
- WordPress = 43%
- WIX = 4.5%
- SquareSpace = 2.5 – 3%
Set up a custom email address
While you’re sorting your domain, set up a custom email address to match it – you@yourname.com, not a Gmail or Hotmail address. It makes you look more professional and less like a scammer, and I’ve written a whole post on why every voiceover should have a custom branded email address.
Right – tech sorted. Now for the fun part: what actually goes on the page.
What should go on your 1 page voice actor website?
The menu
Even a one-page website needs a menu at the very top. Instead of linking to separate pages, each menu item jumps down to a section of your page – Demos, About, FAQs, Contact. It helps visitors find what they need fast, and busy producers really appreciate fast.
My advice – don’t include links to your social media pages here. You CAN, however, include your email and or phone number. Why no socials? Because you don’t want to send a potential client on a 15-minute doom scroll of cats doing silly things, or those weird camping in snow reels I always seem to get (and – for some unknown reason – watch). They’ll forget they ever landed on your website. Put social links at the bottom. Always.
Your name and what you do
The first thing people should see is a simple title: your name and what you do. Something like “Helen Bee – British female gaming voice actor”. Aim for roughly 40-60 characters. It’s not the place for clever taglines or mystery – a client landing on your page should know within one second whose website they’re on and whether you might be right for their project.
Your demo – the star of the show
This is the single most important thing on your website, so it goes right at the top. Not halfway down. Not on a separate page. At the top, where nobody has to hunt for it.
Three rules for your demo:
- It must be on your website.
- It must be playable there and then.
- And it must be downloadable – producers often want to drop your file into their own systems or share it with a client, and if they can’t, they’ll move on to someone whose demo they can.
Now, a tip that makes a huge difference: when you get your demo produced, ask for the full version and the individual clips. A typical demo runs about 1.5 minutes, made up of 5-7 fifteen-second tracks. Lay out your demo player with the full demo first, then each clip underneath with a short description of the style – “warm corporate read”, “energetic gaming character”, “soft documentary narration”.
Why? Because it shows clients your range at a glance – your voices, accents and read styles – and lets them jump straight to the sound they’re looking for. And if you’ve only got one demo so far (completely normal when you’re starting out), splitting it into clips makes your player look fuller and more established. Same audio, much bigger impression.
And REMEMBER to name your demo file correctly too!
Include your name and the genre of work – something like Helen-Bee-commercial-demo.mp3
Why? Because people will download your demo, and look back at it in 1, 3, 6 months even 1-2 years later. If your name isn’t in the file name, how will they know who to contact?
Your opening paragraph
Under your demo, write a short introduction – think of it like your bio on social media. Who you are, what you do, and the kind of work you’re great at. Around 50-150 words is plenty.
This little paragraph works hard. It tells human visitors they’re in the right place, and it tells search engines (and increasingly, AI search tools) what your website is about. Skip it and you’re invisible to both.
Call to action buttons
You’ll see “call to action button” appear several times in the checklist at the end, so let’s cover it once here. A call to action (CTA) is simply a button that asks people to do something – in your case, “Get in touch”, that links to your contact section.
Why so many? Because you never know at which point someone decides you’re right for their project. Maybe it’s after the demo. Maybe it’s after reading your FAQs. Wherever that moment happens, there should be a button right there so they don’t have to scroll around looking for how to reach you. Make it easy for people to say yes.
Logo carousel (if you have one)
If you’ve worked with recognisable clients, a strip of their logos builds instant trust. If you haven’t yet – skip this section entirely. It’s absolutely fine. Don’t pad it out with logos of software you use or courses you’ve taken. You can add this section at a later date, and it’ll feel great when you do.
Testimonials
“But I haven’t had a paying client yet!” I know. This is the section every new voice actor worries about, and there are genuinely good workarounds:
Ask your coach for a testimonial. They’ve heard you perform more than anyone and can speak to your skills, your direction-taking and your professionalism. Or use feedback from a project you’ve done for a local charity, or a passion project you’ve created yourself. You don’t need a wall of quotes – one or two honest testimonials are far better than none.
A quick word about ‘trained by’ badges
While we’re on the subject of borrowed credibility: you don’t need “trained by” or “coached by” badges on your website. Outside the industry, those names mean very little to clients – and inside the industry, a row of coaching badges can actually make you look like a beginner. The exception is specialist training that’s directly useful on the job: stage combat, performance capture, firearms training and the like. Those are worth talking about, in words, in your about or why-work-with-me sections.
Voice profile – how I sound
This is a quick, scannable section of at-a-glance words describing your voice: your vocal playing age range, accents, languages, read styles and the areas of voice work you specialise in.
Clients love it because they can check your fit in seconds. Search engines and AI tools love it because it’s packed with exactly the terms people search for – “warm northern English female voice”, “conversational e-learning narrator”. A double win, for very little effort.
Why work with me
Every potential client looking at your page is silently asking one question: “What makes you different from all the other voice actors I could hire?”
This section is your answer. It’s not a list of credentials or your life story – it’s a direct case for choosing you. Maybe it’s your distinctive style. Maybe it’s your reliability and fast turnaround. Maybe it’s that you understand their industry because you’ve worked in it. This is where you move from “here’s what I do” to “here’s why I’m the best person to do it for you”.
Portfolio / featured projects
Your demo shows your voice. A project shows your voice in context – in a real video, a game clip, an audio ad. That context helps clients imagine you in their project, which is exactly what you want.
No paying clients yet? Same answer as testimonials: a charity project, or a passion project you’ve made yourself. Write a spec advert, voice a short animation, narrate a piece you love. One extra project alongside your demo is enough to start. Genuinely – one.
Your home studio
Most voice work is recorded remotely now, so clients want to know you can deliver broadcast-quality audio from home. A short section like this does the job:
“I usually record from my broadcast-quality home studio in [town/city], [country]. I can self-record or arrange live directed sessions via Source-Connect, Cleanfeed or Zoom. If you need me at another studio, I can easily travel to [locations] with prior arrangement.”
Then add a sample recording of your studio – a dry read with a few seconds of silence in the middle so clients can hear exactly the quality of audio they’ll receive. Silence is surprisingly persuasive; it’s where a good (or bad) home studio really shows.
(If you’re not sure your studio is up to scratch, Rob offers studio consultations and will help get it sounding sweet.)
About you
Here’s the secret about your about section: it’s not really about you. It’s about your clients and how your background makes you perfect for their job.
Show your personality, and write with confidence – even if you don’t feel it yet! And remember, it’s not just your voice skills that count. Your previous life is full of selling points. Worked 10 years in IT? You can problem-solve and handle tech without drama. Come from the medical world? You can pronounce the long, complicated words that trip everyone else up. Been a teacher? You know how to tell stories and explain complex information clearly, simply and without patronising anyone. That’s not “before” experience – that’s your edge.
And include a photo of yourself. It builds trust and confirms you’re a real human – something clients increasingly want to know.
FAQs
A Frequently Asked Questions section does the heavy lifting of answering the practical questions clients always ask: turnaround times, whether you offer revisions, how booking works and what file formats you provide. Instead of fielding the same queries repeatedly by email, you answer them once, where everyone can find them.
It saves you time, speeds up decisions for potential clients, and shows you’re professional and organised – you’ve thought the process through and made it easy for them. It’s also brilliant for SEO and AI search, because FAQs match exactly how people phrase their questions to Google, ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Contact
Make it as easy as possible for people to reach you, in whatever way they prefer. Include a contact form, your email address, your phone number and your social links.
Two important details here. First, use a custom email address that matches your domain – you@yourname.com – not a Gmail or Hotmail address. It looks more professional and less like a scammer. (I’ve written a whole post on why every voiceover should have a custom branded email address.)
Second, only link to professional or work social accounts – not your personal Facebook profile full of holiday photos. If you only show one, make it LinkedIn.
The footer
The footer gets forgotten all the time, and it shouldn’t – people scroll to the footer when they’re looking for something specific, so make sure it’s there when they do. Include your name and tagline, links to your website sections (demos, portfolio, about, FAQs, contact), your email, phone number and social links.
Don’t forget the legal bits
One last thing that’s easy to overlook when you’re focused on demos and design: cookies and privacy. If your website uses a contact form, analytics, or pretty much any modern feature, you’re collecting data – and that comes with legal responsibilities like a privacy policy and a cookie banner. It’s not the most thrilling part of building a website, but it’s genuinely important, and it’s more straightforward to sort than you might fear. I’ve written a full guide on how to make your voice website legally compliant with cookies and privacy – well worth ten minutes to get it right and give yourself (and your visitors) peace of mind.
Your one-page website, top to bottom
Here’s the whole page in order – your build checklist:
- Menu – linking to the sections below
- Title – your name and what you do (approx 50-60 characters)
- Demos – playable, downloadable, split into clips
- Opening paragraph – a brief intro to who you are and what you do (approx 50-150 words)
- Call to action button
- Logo carousel – if you have client logos
- Testimonial carousel – from your coach or project clients
- Voice profile / How I Sound – at-a-glance words describing your voice
- Why work with me – your direct case for being chosen
- Call to action button
- Portfolio / featured projects – even one project is enough
- Call to action button
- Home studio – where you record, how you connect, plus a studio sample
- About – your story, your transferable skills, and a photo
- Call to action button
- FAQs – the practical questions clients always ask
- Call to action button
- Contact – form, email, phone and social links
- Footer – name, tagline, section links and contact details,
- Legals – cookie consent and privacy policy
Just start
Your first website won’t be your last website. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it doesn’t need six pages, and it definitely doesn’t need to compete with voice actors who’ve been at this for a decade. It needs to exist – with your demo at the top, your personality in the middle, and an easy way to contact you at the bottom.
And next time someone asks “what’s your website?”, you’ll have an answer.
If you’d like support while you build it – honest guidance, real accountability from two people who know the industry inside out – come and join us in Be Seen, Be Heard, our monthly membership for voice actors. Websites, branding, home studio, the business side – it’s exactly what the membership is for. We’d love to have you.