Websites enable you and your art to be found online.

But why have one?
This page looks at:
  • Why an artist needs a website
  • Why the design and functionality of the website matter
  • Why your business name matters
  • How to have an impact on the internet

Why have a website?

They are ubiquitous
  • They are now a normal part of many artist's marketing toolkits
  • Virtually all painters now have websites.  It's now 'normal' for professional artists have one
  • Younger artists are now much more web aware. They might prefer a blog or Tumblr site to start with.
  • Check out my blog post about The Websites of Contemporary Painters in the UK. This contains my observations made about the current status and state of play of artists' websites in the UK.
  • Plus this is my update - Artists websites in 2018 - about what has changed and what has not - and what needs to change! It looks at: the plus points, the design, the words, the weaknesses and the faults.

They help get your name known
  • If artists have websites which use an 'own name' domain name, they can be found online pretty quickly and easily. With a little effort it's possible to rank #1 in Google (but see 'Your Art Business Name Matters! below')
They help market your artwork
Your website provides information about your credibility and authenticity.
  • Galleries now screen artwork online rather than via portfolios
  • Collectors often screen an artist's work online before making an investment ( "who is this artist?" / "what else have they produced? / where have they exhibited? )
  • Include current information about galleries and/or exhibitions - and people know where to go to see your art 'face to face'.
BUT you still MUST be active in marketing yourself and your art.

"Build it and they will come" concepts of websites were debunked a long time ago. Just creating a website will NOT generate traffic!

They help sell your art
  • You can sell your art direct from your website
  • You can link direct from a painting on your website to the gallery which is selling it
  • You can link direct to the third party site where you are selling art

Why design and functionality matter
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Websites stand or fall by their DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY as well as their content. 

​See also Web design for artists
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Photo by Edho Pratama on Unsplash
Websites can impress if they work well.
  • Some websites are very impressive
  • BUT some provide a very poor impression
    (e.g. the images are too small, the design is 'poor' and/or amateurish and/or they load too slowly)

Speed is increasingly important as a factor determining how websites rank in Google.
  • Some websites load very fast while some are very slow. This often depends on whether both code and image file sizes have been optimised for fast loading.
  • You can check out the speed of your site - and how to improve it - using Google's PageSpeed Tools.

​Browsing is increasingly done via mobile devices.
A website is not fully functional if it cannot be viewed on a tablet or a smartphone. The emphasis is now on websites which can be viewed on any device of any size.

To do this you MUST use a responsive template which enables a version of your website to be viewed on every format and size of screen.
Image size and quality is very important for artists
  • Tiny images do NOT help to sell art.
  • People linger longer on websites which make it easy to see the images.
  • Some websites display good sized images of artwork which load fast.
  • Other artists have websites which make it difficult - for galleries, art collectors or ad hoc purchasers - to review images
  • I can't think of a faster way to lose visitors than to make people review artwork one by one in the order determined by the artist.

NB - Flash does NOT help to impress.
  • Not all artists are aware that the iPad does not support Flash. Hence any website that uses Flash cannot be browsed via an iPad.

Your Art Business Name Matters!
​

You need to decide pretty early on what you're going to be known as online - and what your 'trading name' is going to be

Check out what happens when you search the internet for your name. 

Have you got competition?
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examples of domain names for artists
  • Having an unusual name means less difficulty in finding you - if people know how to spell it!
  • Having a very common name can mean you will remain anonymous and unknown on the internet. You need a website domain name which ends in 'art' or 'artist' or 'fine art' or 'painting'.
  • Having the same name as a famous person causes confusion. Consider how best to highlight how you are different from the famous musician/sportsman/politician/actor etc. Try using initials or use a different professional artist name for 'trading purposes'.
  • Banks require a trading name. Check with your bank about what documentation they require if you trade in a name different to your own and maintain a bank account in that name.
REFERENCE:
  • It's all in the domain name! This is about: (1) How to make a website domain name work for you as an artist and (2) One reason why your artist's website is NOT found on the first page of Google when people look for it.

How to have an impact on the Internet!
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If you've been selected for an open exhibition / art competition...

Make sure you use the opportunity for some free publicity to raise your profile via your website.

DO make sure that:
  • You get a website sorted BEFORE the announcement of selected artists or the shortlist for the big prize!  Even one page with one image and details of how to contact you is much better than nothing at all. (see About.me and Squarespace cover pages - this is my about.me page)
  • You place an image of the chosen work in a pretty prominent place on your website - and then highlight this using the name of the competition. You'll find that one action will generate traffic.
  • Create a news page on your website and keep it up to date - including announcements of all art competitions you've been selected for.​
  • You use the same name for the competition and your website - it makes it a lot easier to find you!
All about you!

Make sure your website includes the basics. These are
  • your name - it's absolutely amazing how many artists' websites never reveal the name of the artist!
  • how to contact you - you can use a form; you don't need to reveal your email address. You can also use an image of an email address as opposed to a live link (see my 'about me' page on my portfolio website to see what I mean)
  • Your biographical information - this should identify what is unique about you (eg where you live and/or have your studio).
  • an image of you personalises a website and makes it more friendly to viewers. It doesn't have to be a "studio portrait".