Before you copy another artist’s website, you first need to understand your own business model. Do you sell original artworks directly from the studio? Are represented by galleries? Sell art products, prints, classes or memberships? Each artist’s business requires a different approach to their business strategy to attract art lovers, build trust and make it easy to convert these art lovers into buyers and repeat collectors.
There are a number of website platforms available today — functionality, price and design options vary and in the end, the one you choose will depend on how you exhibit and sell your art. Galleries and established artists will often use professional art sales CRM’s like cohart.com
Perhaps you started to DIY your website to share your art with the world, but now you realize that there’s this whole other side you actually have to learn, to build a professionally looking website that sells your art.
Now if you are struggling to make art sales online, I totally get it. I’ve been designing websites professionally for two decades and there are 5 major things to creating a great artist website that I wish artists knew about before they got started that I want to give you. I will break down several key points that are important to keep in mind, whether you DIY your website or hire a professional.
Starting with platforms like Shopify, Squarespace, or Wix can feel limiting. While they provide a basic foundation, you’ll quickly find yourself juggling a patchwork of tools for email marketing, sales, payments, and more. This fragmented approach can hinder efficiency and complicate your workflow.
Instead of piecing together a tech stack, why not streamline your operations from the start? Cohart is the all-in-one solution trusted by professional artists. It seamlessly integrates studio management, sales, marketing, and client relationships into a single, powerful platform. Leveraging Cohart as your back-end powerhouse also mean you no longer need an e-commerce website or plugin. As your art practice evolves, Cohart grows with you, providing the flexibility and scalability you need to thrive.
If you’re ready to work with a pro, my company Vivid Creative offers customized web design for career artists that takes care of all the tech set up, design and copywriting services for a very affordable price.
Building a website that supports your Art Business Model
The internet is full of one-size-fits-all website advice for visual artists. The truth is, there are many ways to sell your art online and offline. Selecting the right website to support your studio practice depends on how and where your sell your artwork. At a high-level, there are 7 types of art business models, and many artists combine two or three revenue streams in one. An important consideration is who you are trying to reach — and will impact your marketing message and website content. If you are selling original works or teaching artist workshops, then you need a clear user journey for each audience type.
The top 7 Art Business models include:
- Self Representation — Direct to Collector Sales of originals and multiples, patrons programs and art products
- Third Party Sales — Galleries and online marketplaces
- Intellectual property (IP) — licensing, NFT, Metaverse
- Knowledge based — Online creator, coach, author and speakers
- Art as a Service — Muralist, Commissions, Freelance and commercial artists
- Events based — Artist retreats, workshops, Self-hosted art experiences, live events
- Academia — Thought leadership and Institutional teaching roles
Each business model type informs the website strategy, function and content required for a great artist website. Subscribe to Art Biz Talk for a deeper dive on business advice for career artists.
Managing your artwork inventory, art sales and relationships in a CRM
Your artwork archive (and sales data) is a valuable asset to your art business. Today, there are a number of art inventory management platforms on the market. Some offer website, sales and CRM integration and others don’t. Additionally, I’m a fan of optimizing and streamlining as much of business side, so when I discovered the powerhouse behind Cohart’s platform, it was an immediate yes.
Basically, if you’re at the stage of your art career where you are tired of tracking works in a google spreadsheet — or worse, on paper — then you will love how much time a single tool will save you and keep the business side of your studio practice organized.
In any case, choosing the right website and art business manager will also depend on your art business model (aka how you sell your art) and how many artworks you create over your life time. In Cohart, you can select which artworks to publish, which works are want to share with a gallery or fair (private preview). Likewise, the platform allows you to select if an artwork can be purchased immediately online, make an offer or if you prefer the ‘inquire’ sales method.
Using a cloud based tool, allows you share tear-sheets, catalogs and artwork details with curators and art buyers in a matter of clicks. And one of my favorite features, when an artwork is sold, your website is dynamically updated, saving time on website maintenance tasks.
Domain + Hosting
If you don’t already have a domain name, consider buying the .com and the .art domain from Hostinger. It’s the least expensive and includes privacy. Purchase the domain in your name or studio or both.
You’ll need to decide if you will DIY your website maintenance and future content updates. You may choose to hire a virtual assistant or in-studio assistant to handle these things for you.
Hosting will depend on the website tool you choose. Squarespace, Shopify, and WIX are hosted meaning you don’t need to purchase separate hosting services. WordPress requires self-hosted services, I use Hostinger for this.
For 20+ years I’ve worked in WordPress and still use it for personal projects. I’d only recommend WordPress for those of you with experience or keen interest in learning website design. Elementor Pro is a great alternative drag and drop page builder (plugin for WordPress) to create a well designed artist website. None of these platforms offer the integrated art business tools like Cohart does, so you can easily see that setting up and maintaining multiple tools can become costly and time consuming.
Visual Design
At a high level, I recommend keeping the look and feel of the website minimal, clean and simple to navigate with clear ‘next steps’ ie calls to action (CTA). Your artwork is the star here, so keep that in mind before you add crazy animations, too many colors, fonts, patterns or graphics.
When thinking about the architecture of your website, avoid adding an ‘enter’ button as a gateway into your artist website. This was a bad trend started in the early 2000’s and is no longer a good practice. Not only does it date your website, it also prevents your homepage and other content to be discoverable by search engines.
Use clear and concise call to actions for all your links and buttons. Avoid using different or made up names for the same actions like ‘purchase’ and ‘add to cart’ on your website. Use familiar words people already understand like ‘Purchase, Buy Now, Contact, Book A Commission, etc’.
Content Strategy
Content is a big part of your website and is often overlooked by visual artists. When people discover your website for the first time, they want to learn more about you and the story behind your work. They might be looking at your site to invite you as a guest on their podcast, speak at an event, are reviewing your work for a retreat, grant, exhibit or other opportunity you’ve applied for.
A common mistake I see in content and copywriting is everything is focused on the artist, instead of what your ideal audience wants to know — artwork details and price, engaging stories why you make art, view your CV and accomplishments and get in contact with you etc. The key is for your content to make an emotional connection with the viewer (in person and online). Purchasing artwork is quite often an emotional decision and not always an instant purchase. Experienced art collectors will often research the artist well in advance of acquiring a new work.
When selling your artwork online, your website is required to include legal pages like a privacy policy, terms of use, shipping and return policies and more. Many artists who DIY their website omit this critical step, which can cause problems and a lack of trust by potential customers.
Hiring a lawyer can become expensive and before you download a ‘free legal template’, I use and recommend Termly’s website legal pages, available for a very affordable annual fee, ensuring you are fully protected.
Not sure if you’re website is cutting it? Book a website audit with me to find out.
Making it all work
From ensuring smooth credit card transactions to guaranteeing optimal viewing across all devices, a well-functioning website is essential. Beyond user experience, customer journeys, technical aspects like search engine optimization (SEO) and content hierarchy play a pivotal role. Each page must adhere to specific formatting guidelines to improve search engine visibility and drive organic traffic to your site.
Types of artist websites
Mini Website
- Ideal for placeholder portfolio, exhibit or collection pages while the full site is being worked on
- Create a single landing page
- Can feature a single project or ‘select works’
- Good for academic artist who don’t sell artworks online
Portfolio websites
Ideal for artists with site specific work, installations, murals, public work to showcase existing projects or artists who are gallery represented and don’t use their website to generate or make sales. Include content for the following:
- Exhibitions + Shows + Work
- About + Press + Bibliography
- Projects/Works
- Contact for sales
- No e-commerce functionality
- Good for artists with large portfolios and third-party, IP or academic business models
Examples:
- https://shantellmartin.art/
- https://cowart.io/
- https://irinavw.xyz/
- https://deboracheyenne.com/
- https://marioecg.com/
- https://jeanneartistepeintre.fr/
- https://www.kylesteed.com/
- https://llewellynskye.com.au/
e-Commerce (Shop) websites
Ideal for artists selling multiple types of art, including original works, prints, art goods and products and want to automate the customer purchase process with an e-commerce backend like Shopify. Websites like this include:
- Shop with categories
- Shopping cart check out pages
- Sell physical or digital products
- Selling open or limited editions
- Good for self-representing artists, IP, Knowledge based and events based art business models
Examples:
- https://www.kimmyhogan.com.au/collections
- https://www.robenmarie.com/digital-art
- https://www.heathceramics.com/
- https://shop.vielmetter.com/
- https://shop.alminerech.com/
- https://jessierigby.com/
Hybrid selling with catalog, OVR and in person
Ideal for artists who want to sell their work exclusively via a digital catalog, OVR or behind a gated web experience. This can often lead to longer sales cycles and is a common practice with galleries.
- The user would request digital catalog, receive an automated email with link to view
- OVR (Online Viewing Room)
- Can have ‘Purchase’ functionality + e-commerce or payment gateway (stripe, square)
- Or ‘Inquire’ to purchase for offline sales
- Best for self-representing and gallery represented artists
Examples:
- https://www.upsilongallery.com/viewing-room/22-ink-miami-2022/
- https://www.hollistaggart.com/viewing-room/
- https://www.ivde.net/viewing-room/
- https://tomhiscocks.co.uk
Download the artwork catalog included in the Studio Artist Toolkit.
Art as a Service artist websites
Best for artists who primarily offer commissions, illustration or digital art services, murals, consulting or coaching and don’t require e-commerce functions.
Examples:
- https://www.cliffgartenstudio.com/projects
- https://www.craigandkarl.com/
- https://www.studioproba.com/studio
Courses + Memberships websites
Good solution for artists selling knowledge and events offers, who are teaching multiple art classes or a single flagship course and may need additional course functionality and integration with third-party sites like upcoach.com or thinkific.com
Examples:
- https://www.laurahornart.com/classes
- https://www.robenmariestudio.com/
- https://www.michellearmas.com/
With strategic planning, design, and the right tools, you can create an artist website that effectively showcases your work and drives artwork sales. Remember, your website is more than just a digital gallery; it’s a platform to connect with your audience, tell your story, and build a thriving art career. By following these guidelines and leveraging the resources available, you’ll be well on your way to creating a website that leaves your audience wanting more.
Do you have any specific questions about building your artist website? Feel free to reach out for personalized advice. Book a website audit
