Make your art website

July 9th, 2021

1. Are you an artist?

Definition

An artist is not just someone who paints, draws, and creates sculptures. Virtuosity lies in craftsmen, poets, and musicians too. Anyone who creates things with great imagination, expertise, and skill is an artist.

5 signs you are an artist

Art is subjective. Yet there are signs you have it in YOU.

  • Multitasking

You are full of ideas and have many projects going at the same time.

  • Constant evolution

You always find a way to make things better. Your own projects grow perpetually. Finishing a project would be an end to art.

  • Emotional chameleon

You are sensitive. Your mood changes all the time. Your desire is to convey thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

  • Individualist

You do not give a damn what other people think of your style, speech, or behavior.

  • Curiosity

You are curious and like to experience the unknown.

Objectives

Before you get started with your online art portfolio, presenting your pieces in a gallery or even selling your work online; make some preparations in advance.

Define your role and what it is you are creating. Are you a photographer who likes to sell printed images and give online classes? Perhaps, you are a curator who wants to create an online gallery and/or sell the art of rising young talents?

Determine the purpose and goals you want to achieve with your art website, as they define what will go on it.

Would you like to introduce yourself as an artist by creating a portfolio to accompany your resume? Maybe you are trying to vend craft works from various artists? This will require an online store and all the planning behind it.

Contemplating your goals, keep these key strategies in mind for the next steps:

  • Create the website with your heart and soul. It must be unique to your image.
  • Don’t limit yourself. Be confident. Your work has value.

2. Get creative with your website

Find your style

You decided to do it all: present yourself, your work, and sell. Take existing artists websites as inspiration. For example, the Yorkshire hero DavidHockney or cloud producer BernaudSmilde can suggest a page structure you may like to copy.

But, you are an individualist! How dare we suggest this to You!

You know what you want already. Webnode’s templates will give you the choice of any direction. On top of that, you can customize the pages to your world.

Customize any section of your website

Customize your website template

Create a website structure that exhibits your talent

Be clear

Make sure that your content is grouped. Distinguish between different genres or topics. For example, as a photographer, designer, or painter, you can classify the groups: ideas, sketches, and work and create individual sub-pages for them.

The important thing is to be as clear as possible so that your visitors find what they want to see immediately. Simplicity is the golden rule at Webnode and should be yours also.

Pages

Webnode provides micro-templates for your pages that are the must haves for your art website, such as:

  • Gallery
  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Testimonials

These can be quickly added and filled with images and background. This way you can also focus on your other projects.

Those are the basics, now to the extras. The blank page will be your friend. You can add additional content and express your creativity. Be careful not to fill it with all your ideas. This article about WebDesign might help you not to overload your pages.

Should you look for that unconventional touch for your backgrounds or give your images a unique frame, consider preparing and editing them in Canva before uploading them to your website.

Further content

What if the pages of your website are not enough to present your precious pieces?

Creating an online magazine that can be connected to your website is a sensible choice. You can present the work of several artists or work exhibited in different public places. LucidPress offers a free version and paid option to create your magazine. Isuu is a long known journal creator. Both can be embedded into your website through HTML Code.

Add a page with an embedded calendar widget or forms. Your admirers can to book classes or register for gallery tours. This will not just highlight your skills as a teacher or guide, it also spreads your contact further.

How to make a website to sell art?

Should you decide to make money through your work, you have options.

Either create an online store, or sell your work on an art platform or auction it.

Any of these options should be distinctly advertised on all your important pages. Link all pages to your selling point to attract the attention of your visitors.

E-Shop

With Webnode, it’s simple to open an online store at any point on your website. Plan ahead, and contemplate the strategies for your store well. If you are not a salesman, this guide will provide you the must-haves.

Selling and auction platforms

You can sell art on a platform, such as Artsy, Esty, and Saatchi Art. Platforms take the sales process off your hands and take care of all maintenance. In addition, they are already well known to art fanciers and you’ll have your audience immediately.

The link to such a platform can be established in no time with a button on your “about” or “gallery” page.

The disadvantage is such platforms generally demand a commission fee. You also have no control over their interface or changes to their policies and schemes. An online store that is part of a CMS is commission-free, but you need to do all the store maintenance, marketing, and sell your art proactively.

A third option is to auction your masterpieces. You can do this live as an event during an exhibition or virtually on online platforms such as Artsy, eBay, Artnet, or Invaluable.

E-ShopOnline platforms & auctions
advantagesfull integration
no commission
control of design, maintanance and selling process
cost effective
less work
links your site through a button
leaves advertising & selling to others
potentially more sales due to well-known and established platforms
disadvantagesinitial time investment
you sell as a nobody
no integration
expensive, as it includes commision fees
no control of design

Advantages and disadvantages of selling your art in your own E-Shop or online platforms

It isn’t an easy decision. You can test both. Create an e-shop selling a selection of treasures and put other favorites on an auction. Taking part in an auction will also increase value and popularity.

Should you commission art, your work needs to be presented as a service. Reviews of your clients will give others trust in your skills and execution.

3. Let people see and speak

Build your network

The hardest task in the field of creators, virtuosos and craftspeople is to make yourself known and remain popular. Sharing your talent on social media will help you with your breakthrough.

Social media can help you to make yourself popular as an artist.

Social media can help you to make yourself popular as an artist.

Increase your social media followers with successful marketing strategies: people bringing likes and reactions to a social media profile on a smartphone

Think beyond the commonly used Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. They are like backgroundsingers of a band. Social media management tools will make it easier to post your hottest news almost automatically. This way your social media accounts runs with less effort, so that you can focus to establish yourself in niche platforms.

Concentrate on your professional connections, not the likes and fans only. The LinkedIn of the art world is ArtMavens, a thriving global hub for art professionals. Connect with Vendly to collaborate with experienced salespeople to bring your arty objects to the market.

Soundcloud, TikTok, YouTube let you present your audio and video if you are a musician, singer, or comedian. Consider these even if you do pottery and your voice resembles Marge Simpson on good days. See a video as a better opportunity to introduce yourself to people on your website.

Website visitors, curators, event managers who see you in action in a video will connect better with you, your style, and technique. It will make you more human and approachable too. Video material will become essential should you decide to give classes. Here platforms, like Skillshare can bring you some extra pocket money and hopefully popularity.

Showcase your talent

You share your art on your website, your online store, your social media accounts, videos, and art hubs; and yet this is not enough? There is more:

Deviantart is a platform that brings together all existing types of arts and drawings through painting or infographics and more. So is ArtStation and Behance. Platforms for conceptual art, graphic design, animated digital art, and more are a vast universe.

Staying grounded and local could be your first step to branching out. Dribble will take you along here. It brings local creators together sorting communities of artists by big cities around the globe. This is a good way to share your works of art and get reviews from your nearest and dearest.

Besides, all the media, don’t forget that your website is the place where you present, share and sell your talent, skills, and ingenuity.

It is your anchor point, your base from which all other sources spread and lead back. Remember, through your website, you can control your visitors and relevance by maximizing your Website SEO.

As soon as you appear in the higher ranks of search results, people who do not know you will find your website. From here they will move on to your social and other channels. This useful SEO-Series will specifically help you with your Webnode art site.

Your art website is the center point that links all social media and professional platforms together.

Your art website is the center point that links all social media and professional platforms together.

Opinions

Feedbacks

It is important to get feedback. Positive opinions and even negative comments can improve your work. You can do this with third-party services. Trustpilot or Google Reviews will be sensible if you commision art, teach classes or sell art.

Dedicate an entire testimonial page to your website to let your sponsors, collectors and partners endorse you. You have 100% control on your testimonial page. Use it as another way to present your skills.

Discussions

By adding a discussion forum your customers, students, and fans will be invited to participate with your content.

Contests

You can hold a contest for your students about who put together the best photo collage of the season. Alternately, you could have a contest where your recent buyers share the oddest location where they placed your art in their apartment. Don’t be offended when you see yours next to their cat’s litterbox. It is all about interacting and sharing. This will have a double effect, supporting your website and helping you discover other works of art!

We trust in your creative mind to come up with even quirkier ideas.

Summary

A lot of thinking goes into how to create and place your art content online. This guide gets you started making your art website and considers the publicity beyond it.

Are you planning to create your own website? Try this step-by-step guide.