IMDb or IMDb.com is a popular website used by movie lovers worldwide. It is full of features like ability to create a watchlist, find out details about movies, sort movies by ratings and much more.
IMDb is run by Amazing which a Billion Dollar Company and has no restrictions in its budget allocated to IMDb. So Naturally you can not compete with IMDb using a small budget. Thats not just possible.
But there are plenty of fields where IMDb is lacking, and most importantly regional movies. For Every country and not just India. IMdb has poor quality of data when it comes to regional or non-english movies.
Are there any existing sites like IMDb Built using WordPress?
There are plenty. But I would like to focus on Bestoftheyear.in (also BOTY). Its an Indian Movies website which primarily focuses on Box Office collection of Movies. But the data structure is similar to that of IMDb. Here are some characteristics of BOTY from a developer’s point of view.
- Custom Post Types (Movies, Music, etc)
- Custom Taxonomies (Actors, Producer, etc)
- Star Rating Plugin
- Custom Theme
So Let’s talk about how we can implement the following:
1. Custom Post Types & Taxonomies
If you want to create a Movies Page then you simply can not create a regular post about the movie. That would be unprofessional and bad for SEO.
You must use Custom Post Type for movies.
Custom Taxonomies help you create separate Tag like structures for Actors, Directors, etc.
You could hire a developer to create a custom plugin customized for you needs and has all the taxonomies you want.
2. Star Rating Plugin
Use Ratings for Movie is very Important. People love to rate movies and view ratings of other users. The Best star rating plugin for WordPress is kk Star Ratings which is also used by BOTY.
But you are free to choose a star Ratings plugin which suits your needs the Most.
3. Custom Theme
A Custom Theme is going to give your site a Very Professional Look. If you plan to create a Professional Site with a free theme, the chances are very rare that you will get the look you desire. So its the right thing to invest in a custom theme.
4. Other Features
A Movies website contains many other features which you can implement in your website to make it look more like IMDb.
- Trending Posts Widget to showcase the most Trending Movies.
- Site Membership with Facebook Login
- A Related Posts Widget to Recommend Users to watch movies.
- An Option for user to create his Watchlist by Bookmarking the Movies.
Allocate a Monthly Budget for your website and spend wisely. If you followed our tips to create a website, please share it with us in the comments below.