As an artist, having a strong website is one of the best ways to showcase your work, reach potential buyers and collectors, expand your audiences, and supporting your growth in the art world. Creating a website can be overwhelming, but with a few tips and tricks, you can build a website that stands out from the crowd and helps you succeed. In this article, we’ll discuss the best strategies to create an artist website that helps you achieve your personal goals.
Use your website to show who you are as an artist
Having an online presence is essential for any artist, and having a great website allows you to show your portfolio, your unique style and personality, and to stand out. A website is the perfect place to showcase your work and create a professional image for yourself.
You can use your website to provide a comprehensive portfolio of your work. This can include any work that you have completed - both traditional and digital artwork, photographs, articles or any other creative projects you have completed. Having a variety of work will give viewers an insight into your skills as an artist.
In addition to your portfolio, use your website to share information about yourself and your artistic practice. You can write short biographies, feature interviews, or write up recent projects. This can help potential buyers or curators get to know you and feel connected to your work.
Your website should be regularly updated with new work and content to keep it fresh and relevant. By showing that you are actively engaged in your art practice and creating new works, you will attract more visitors to your site. This traffic increases the liklihood of your work being found.
Keep your website updated with new work
As an artist, one of the most important things you can do to build a strong website is to keep it updated with new work. This will ensure that visitors see your most recent, contemporary art and articles. A good way to do this is to make regular updates to your site, such as adding new images or writing new articles. You should also consider updating old work, such as improving the quality of your photos or reworking some of your older pieces. Doing this will show viewers that you are actively creating new art. Keeping your website regularly updated with new work will help create a more professional, impressive image for you and your artwork.
Share a consistent body of work
Consistency is key when it comes to having an online portfolio that accurately portrays your aesthetic. A cohesive body of work reflects your practice and helps to establish an identity for you and your artwork. Make sure that each piece of work is well-crafted and clearly communicates your creative vision. This will help potential buyers or curators better understand the type of artwork you produce. For this, we recommend sharing bodies of work separately. Don't forget to include contact information, prices, measurements, titles, and medium, and other important details about your artwork so that potential buyers and curators have the information they need to make a purchase. Having a cohesive body of work on your website will help to create an engaging experience for visitors, as well as establish credibility as an artist.
Use high-quality images
High-quality images can make all the difference when creating a strong artist website. Having clear, sharp visuals to represent your work can help attract potential customers, collectors and viewers. It may be the single difference between securing a new buyer or collector, or getting into an exhibition or other opportunity. Put the artwork on a wall, at eye level, and ensure well-balanced light. This will reduce shadows or glares on your work. Take a photo of the work, then crop it so it is only the artwork. (It's quite common for artists to share photos at an angle, or with shadows, or on the ground with the floor showing.) If you’re not sure how to take photos of your art, consider hiring a photographer or utilizing resources online.
It’s also important to include different angles or details of your artwork. We recommend both a full shot of the artwork, and also two or three detail shots. This will give viewers a better understanding of the pieces and provide them with a more comprehensive view. Using high-quality, modern images will help create an engaging experience for viewers and show that you are actively staying current in your field.
Use social media to drive traffic to your website
Social media is an important tool for connecting with potential audiences, as well as promoting and sharing your work. As an artist, it can be used to drive traffic to your website, giving you a greater chance of making sales or gaining commissions. It’s important to maintain a professional presence on social media, engaging regularly with followers and ensuring that the content you share reflects who you are and the kind of contemporary art you create. Posting images of your work, details about upcoming shows, or simply behind-the-scenes shots of your creative process are great ways to engage with followers and make them more likely to click through to your website. You should also take advantage of social media ads and sponsored posts, which can help to target specific users who may be interested in your artwork. We will be sharing specific social media advice articles soon.
Use an effective call to action
When creating your website, it is essential to include a clear call to action. Your call to action should be direct and informative, as it will guide your visitors towards the desired outcome. For example, you could ask viewers to “Explore my work” or “Subscribe to my mailing list”. When creating a call to action, it is important to keep in mind who your target audience is. If you create contemporary art, your call to action should reflect that and be tailored to potential buyers of your artwork. Ask them to “Shop original artworks” or “Purchase prints of my work”. Your call to action should also stand out from the rest of your page, so consider a different font or a bold color to make it pop. Keep it short and sweet, and your visitors will be much more likely to take action.