5 Easy Hacks That Make Artist Websites Great
Sell Art Online By Making Your Artist Website Work Smarter, Not Harder.
Here’s the thing about artist websites: not every artist has one, but every artist needs one. Artist websites automatically make you appear more professional, put together, and approachable. We’ve put together 5 easy tips all artists need to know about in order to make your artist website work for you and to sell art online while reaching new art collectors – but first, we have to answer the question: why do artists need a website?
Why All Artists Need A Website
It doesn’t matter whether you are an established artist or just starting out: every artist needs a website. From first impressions to accessibility, a website is your gateway into becoming the professional artist that you want to be.
Your website is your digital calling card. For galleries, curators, and even art fairs like Superfine, our first impression of an artist and their work is formed by visiting their website. It’s a necessity for any artist who wants to be relevant today and sell art online to have a good, up-to-date website. A great artist website communicates your level of professionalism, awareness, composure and can even communicate how serious you are about your art.
Make sure that your domain name and URL slug is appropriate for the occasion – something like “www.yournameart.com” is always a sure bet. When your domain name and URL are clear, it becomes easier not only for galleries, curators and art collectors to find your work online, you’ll also find sales happening because of it! Building an artist website is a lot like building one for any creative entrepreneur and there are loads of resources online to help you do so!
Here are a few more reasons why every artist needs a website:
Your website can serve as your portfolio.
Show off what you’ve done and what you’ve got in the works by cataloguing your efforts on your artist website. Fine art is a highly visual experience, so it pays to make sure that the images you provide of your work on your website do your work justice! Not sure how the layout should look? There are many website templates that are image-driven for artists and creatives that can be installed for free on website hosting platforms like Squarespace and Wordpress.
Artists who exclusively use their website as a portfolio (for example, only posting pictures of past exhibitions) are missing a huge opportunity to make their website work for them as a marketing tool. Websites have so many capabilities for selling art online. We’ll tell you how a little later on in this post.
Bring your studio to collectors – not the other way around.
There are many reasons why an interested collector, writer or gallerist might not be able to attend an in-person studio visit with you, but that doesn’t mean it should be completely off the table! You may have an interested collector in another part of the country – bring the studio visit to their laptop or computer by creating a digital studio visit experience with video, images and copy.
What Information Should You Include On Your Artist Website?
The key to having an artist website that is easy to navigate lies not only in the design, but in how your information is presented to site visitors. The most successful artist websites present a clear roadmap of the site and the information it contains, broken down into a few, easy to navigate pages. But where do you start? Building a website from scratch doesn’t exactly seem like a walk in the park… luckily creating a great artist website only requires a few high quality pages!
These are the pages you absolutely must have on your artist website:
Home (Landing) page.
This is the first page that site visitors will see, so it’s extremely important to make sure it’s effective! Make sure your name is clearly displayed as the title of the website, the site navigation is easy to find and read, and that you choose an impactful image to hook visitors to stay on your artist website.
About page.
The two things that people want to know the most about you should be located on your About page. Those pieces of information are your biography and your artist statement. As with your art, your biography and artist statement should be true to you and effectively communicate not only who you are but why you make art in the first place.
Artwork page.
This is where your portfolio should live! There are many ways to set up your Artwork page, and every artist will find one that looks best to them whether that’s through a continuous scroll of images, folders of exhibitions or series, or otherwise. The important thing with this page is that it must be image driven. Introduce your artwork page with a brief statement about your work, like an excerpt from your artist statement.
Contact page.
Whether it’s through a contact form or your email address, encourage site visitors to be in touch with you for questions, collaborations, artwork inquiries, or even commissions.
5 Easy Tips For Creating A Great Artist Website
1. Keep your website up to date!
In order for your website to be an effective marketing tool for yourself and your artwork, it absolutely has to be up to date with your most recent artwork and information. Think about turning to the internet to find some information on the store hours and address for a local business you were planning on visiting. How frustrating would it be to show up at the address listed only to find that their hours had changed months ago, and they won’t be open for another few hours!
The same logic can be applied to your artist website. If an interested collector finds your site, but the most recent work on your website is from three years ago, they’ll lose interest or maybe even assume you aren’t creating anymore. An easy way to make sure your website is up to date is to set a day and time each month to review your website. You can even schedule it in your calendar!
2. Have killer, high-quality images.
Don’t miss this easy opportunity to wow art collectors and site visitors: make sure all the images on your website are high-quality! There’s nothing less professional looking on an artist website than low-quality, bad imagery. In fact, bad images on your website might even turn some people away, which means they definitely won’t be buying your art online.
If you’re just starting out and can’t afford professional photography of your studio or artwork, there are a few ways to ensure that the images on your website are up-to-snuff. Ask a friend! Many creatives who are just starting out are more than willing to provide services for a trade or lower rate. Good quality images will make all the difference.
3. Install an email newsletter signup form.
We can’t stress this one enough: install an email newsletter sign up form on your website! Your email newsletter is one of the most powerful sales tools at your disposal. When someone signs up for your email newsletter after visiting your website, it’s safe for you to assume that their intention to buy your work is pretty high.
There are many free options for installing an email newsletter signup form on your artist website. Check out MailChimp or Nutshell, a CRM system that works great for creative entrepreneurs. Squarespace and Wordpress also have native plugins you can use to build your email newsletter list.
4. Have a professional take a look at your artist website.
Whether it’s an audit or a full-fledged overhaul, it’s always worth it to have a content or marketing professional take a look at your website. They’ll be able to give you tips and pointers for making your artist website even more effective so that instead of spending hours trying to set up the perfect website, you can focus your time on selling art.
Many creative entrepreneurs fall into the trap of thinking they can do everything themselves without realizing the time and skill commitment something like digital marketing can require. There’s absolutely no reason why you should stress about making a great artist website. When in doubt, hire a professional!
5. Make it easy to purchase or inquire about art for sale.
Whether through a contact form, phone number, or online shop listing, it’s crucial when selling art online to make it as easy as possible for art collectors to purchase work from you. Long story short: make it known that there’s art for sale on your website!
This step is easier than you think. Squarespace and Wordpress have options to install e-commerce options onto your website so you can keep everything local on your page. You can also link out in the navigation to Shopify or another e-commerce platform like Etsy, RedBubble, Society6, or even that e-fair you’re participating in. Don’t lose the opportunity to make a sale through your website!
The bottom line when it comes to creating a great artist website is that the better it is, the bigger impression you’ll make on galleries, art collectors and art fairs like Superfine. The bigger the impression, the easier it becomes to sell your art online and in person! We can’t wait to check out your website when you submit to sell your art with Superfine.
We want to hear from you: have you created your artist website yet? What are some of your biggest hangups when it comes to creating your artist website? Or maybe you’ve just made a big sale from your e-commerce page… let us know in the comments!
Put Your Artist Website To The Test And See If You Qualify To Sell Your Art With Superfine.