For example, the box office for the Smith Theatre Company could use boxoffice@smiththeatrecompany.com. They shouldn’t use boxoffice@aol.com, or boxoffice@example.com, or even worse, personname@comcast.net. If someone is looking through their address book or mailbox, they should be able to recall what that address is used for. If they see an address @smiththeatrecompany.com, hopefully they will recall the great show you put on, and will want to come back to see another.

An important part of this rule is that when your volunteers or staff reply to messages, their From address should be that same email address. Your email client allows you to set the From (and Reply-to) address. Set it as the theatre’s address. If you don’t do this, your reply to your patron may get caught by spam filters, or they may not know who you are and assume the message is spam. And again, it helps with your theatre’s branding.

ShowBizTheater Webhosting is a member of the SBT Network.

Use your Domain Name in All Email Addresses

Once your site is up and running, you should be vigilant and keep the registration information (your organization’s name, a person’s name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address) up-to-date. Information about your domain’s expiration will be sent to those addresses. Don’t let the expiration lapse! If you have less than one year remaining on your registration, renew it now!

Renew your domain for at least two years. You can renew for up to ten years, which is very convenient. But the risk with a ten year registration is that someone will forget about the domain name, and in ten years it will fall between the cracks and no one will take the lead in getting the domain name renewed.

ShowBizTheater Webhosting is a member of the SBT Network.

Register Domains for at Least Two Years

Why should you not do these things? One reason is branding. You want your patrons, volunteers, donors and employees to remember you, not your ISP. Another reason is is flexibility. What if your ISP gets sold? Shuts down? Changes its name? Forgets to renew their registration? If any of those events occur, your site won’t be accessible. What if your ISP increases the price of web hosting significantly? If you change your ISP, your old URL won’t be valid any more, leading to confusion when people try to visit your site.

You can register the domain name of your choice at many places, starting at around $10 per year. Some places are even less expensive although watch the fine print. Avoid tying your domain registration into other services, such as web hosting itself, or your broadband connection. You want to be able to change your web host if there are problems, or if you find a better (significantly less expensive, more options, better tech support) plan elsewhere.

ShowBizTheater Webhosting is a member of the SBT Network.

Get Your Own Domain Name

ShowBizTheater Webhosting is a member of the SBT Network.

Site Setup

I’ve been involved in the web since 1995, and have seen the standards evolve, technology advance, and more and more people come to the web. Unfortunately, since many theater groups are run by volunteers, the site is neglected, or is difficult to work with. Let’s see if we can learn some new skills, tweak the work that has already been done, and improve your theater web site.

ShowBizTheater Webhosting is a member of the SBT Network.

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