Website's 10th anniversary!

29 July 2012 11:10

Tomorrow, Monday 30th July, is the tenth anniversary of the launch of the Zoë Wanamaker Official Website.  As many visitors will - like me - be at work then, I would like to spend some time on this lovely Sunday morning instead to reflect on what the anniversary means.

Since 2002, this website has evolved from a small, unofficial tribute to become Zoë's official website.  Along the way, its original address, www.geocities.com/zwsite, has been replaced by a much more memorable one: www.zoewanamaker.com!

Ten years of Zoë's career highlights

During the past ten years, Zoë has completed a tremendous amount of great work.  When the website began, only two series of My Family had been broadcast (eleven in total would eventually be shown); Zoë's eagle-like Madam Hooch had flown her broomstick into Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone fewer than twelve months ago; Zoë's wonderfully eccentric Ariadne Oliver had not yet joined forces with David Suchet's Poirot; and the sparky His Girl Friday was on the horizon, while other theatrical treats such as Much Ado About Nothing and All My Sons lay several years in the future.  I had not yet left school in 2002; later, I balanced the website with university studies and various administrative jobs.  Now I work in a very busy PR job, but still make every effort to find time for the website.

The website's development would not have been possible without the kind assistance of Zoë and her PA, Vanessa.  In addition, it has benefited from the input of many fans from around the world.  In fact, since the website began, I have received thousands of emails about all aspects of Zoë's career, from responses to the fascinating Who Do You Think You Are documentary Zoë made about her family history to enquiries about where Susan Harper's clothes were purchased.

Ten-point plan for improvements
To celebrate the tenth anniversary, I have begun work on a ten-point plan (shown below) to enhance the website.  I hope to complete all of the tasks in the plan during the next twelve months.

1.  Add more photos from Zoë's career
2.  Include more biographical details
3.  Add more articles and interviews 
4.  Improve the Film section
5.  Improve the Stage section
6.  Improve the TV section (this has already begun, with the 1970s TV pages having been enlarged and re-written)
7.  Expand the Extras section to include a variety of new resources
8.  Engage more with social media
9.  Create a video about Zoe's work (this is currently in progress too)
10.  Re-design the website

Here's to the next ten years!
The aim of the website has always been to provide the Internet's most useful, comprehensive resource about Zoë's career.  When you search for Zoë's name on Google, the website is now normally at the top of the search results, which is very exciting.

If you have any suggestions about what you would like to see on the website, please feel free to email me (Liz).

I have hugely enjoyed managing the website during the past ten years, and look forward to the next ten years - and beyond!

perma-linktweet this