10 Common Artist Website Mistakes, And What To Do Instead
An artist’s portfolio site is so much more than a showcase of artworks. It is also a business and marketing tool that is capable of attracting new business, and generating profitable, sustainable growth over time. A great site has to achieve success on both those fronts. Whether you are thinking about creating your first site, or if you've had a site for years, here are a few things to avoid, and a few things you can do instead.
Mistake #1: A Confusing or Cluttered Home Page
Logo or name is not immediately evident.
No logical reading order or navigation path.
Little or no attention to design.
Too much going on with competing images, colors and multiple fonts.
What to Do Instead
Lead with image and text that accurately conveys what you do, that elevates your work, and that generates instant impact.
Name and/or logo should be clearly visible and identifiable.
Clear and simple navigation (no more than 5 or 6 navigation links).
Limit font use to 2 (or max. 3) compatible fonts.
Embrace white space.
Ingrid Godon is a Flemish artist and book illustrator whose website achieves a dramatic first impression with the use of a single image.
Mistake #2: No Calls to Action
Call to Action (CTA) examples: "Sign Me Up, "Contact Me, "Get Started Today,” "Shop the New Collection,” “Share,” etc.
Visitors may not be ready to buy immediately, so it’s important to offer opportunities to stay in touch.
Not collecting subscribers is a lost opportunity to develop a relationship!
What to Do Instead
Include a CTA on every page.
Make email subscriptions a top priority and use a professional email service (ex: Mailchimp, FloDesk).
Provide incentives (discount code, free downloadable, video tutorial, guide, etc).
Did you know? More repeat business comes from email subscribers than from any other marketing effort. Build your list, and treat subscribers like VIPs.
Kelly Ventura is a Michigan-based watercolor artist whose website features multiple calls to action. In this image, notice the pop-up, inviting visitors to subscribe, a button inviting them to shop textiles, and, above, a search feature in the navigation bar that allows them to find what they’re looking for quickly.
Mistake # 3: Not SEO-Friendly
Web page and image titles are not searchable.
No site or page meta descriptions.
Absence of relevant keywords in copy.
Not using tags or categories on posts or images.
What to Do Instead
Use descriptive page titles, headings, and meta descriptions; incorporate keywords that your ideal customer is searching for.
Add Secure Socket Layer, or SSL (https://).
Include descriptive/caption info. for each art work in a consistent format across the site.
Register your site with Google and other search engines.
A Google search yields a clear and concise description for Jenni Desmond’s website, helping potential site visitors find her, and quickly understand what to expect.
Mistake # 4: Using Poor Quality Images
Images are dark, poorly lit, low quality, cropped.
Images are too big and load very slowly.
Very few alternate or close-up views of work.
Lack of consistency in image quality across the site.
What to Do Instead
Start with high-resolution images, if possible, then resize and compress them.
Carefully curate the selection for consistency, and include only your best work.
Consider including lifestyle and mock-up images to help visualize your work in place or on a product.
Make portfolio images zoomable.
Include high-quality images of ‘work in progress.’
Lina Iris Victor includes this striking image of her work in progress that conveys the intricacy of her artwork, as well as scale, on her website.
Mistake #5: Burying the Contact Information
Visitors have to go out of their way to locate contact information.
Not including an email address along with a contact form.
What to Do Instead
Include a contact page link in the navigation bar, and again in the footer.
Offer multiple ways to contact you – phone, email, contact form, social media, chat.
Include a business address, and a map, if you have a brick and mortar studio/shop.
Set up and publish a Google voice phone number if you prefer to keep your personal number private.
Mistake #6: A Lackluster About Page
Not using a headshot.
Hiding behind a brand, or not including your name (and let me be clear: sometimes using a brand instead of your own name makes perfect sense. That’s not what I’m referring to here!).
A bio delivered in dry “corporate-speak.” Not sharing your personal story.
The bare minimum in the way of information.
What To Do Instead
Typically, one would expect to find a bio and a headshot on an about page, and while both those items are essential, there are about a million different ways you can present yourself. Of course your “About” page is all about you, but if you know exactly who your target customer is, you also have a real opportunity to present yourself in a way that — genuinely — builds trust as well as an emotional connection with your ideal audience.
Fran Meneses (better known as Frannerd) is an Chilean illustrator whose copy and visuals successfully convey a distinct personality and point of view, all of which likely resonates with her ideal audience.
Everything from the ‘voice’ and tone you use in your copy, and the choice of visuals, along with the story you choose to tell, can help establish points of connection. Do you and the people you enjoy working with most share an interest in something specific? Do you have similar lifestyles or values? These are the kind of things you want to be mindful about weaving into your presentation.
What makes you unique? How can you make your story memorable?
Keep your copy clear and error-free. Check it twice!
Include a photo (or creative image or illustration if you're camera shy).
Consider including a CV, testimonials, or a list of clients -- if and when it makes sense.
Jean Jullien is a French Illustrator who takes advantage of his medium and style to convey who he is and what he does. This simple black and white presentation packs a powerful (and quirky) punch!
Mistake #7: Treating Your Website as a Visual Archive
Including everything, which can be overwhelming or distracting for your visitors, and detract from your site's goals.
Featuring older work that is no longer representative of your current work.
Outdated news, which gives visitors the impression not much is happening in your world these days.
What To Do Instead
Publish only the kind of work you want to sell, get hired for, or be known for, and commit to keeping your site current (one way to ensure that you don’t forget is to add a note to your calendar to send you a notification once a quarter, for example).
Place your strongest work up front and center (if in doubt, leave it out!).
Organize your work into galleries based on categories your target market will likely be conducting online searches for (avoid made-up or obscure category titles).
Limit the number of works you include in each gallery: 12 to no more than 30 or so.
Place additional work in a password-protected area you can share with select clients, organize your archive of work in Google Drive, or sign on to a paid service like Artwork Archive to help catalog your work, and associated details.
Bodil Jane, an artist-illustrator based in Amsterdam, has carefully organized her website portfolio so that it can quickly be searched by category or by predominant color, making it really easy for art directors and other clients to determine if her work is a good fit, based on their project needs.
Mistake #8: Not Using or Checking Analytics
I recently saw a statistic (I wish I could remember where) that surprised me: 75% of small business sites do not use website analytics. If you are using them, congratulations, because that already gives you an edge over the competition.
You currently have no way to measure data on what's working or not working so well on your website.
What to Do Instead
Start tracking things like overall traffic, where visitors are coming from, popular pages, visitor demographics and geographic location, engagement, etc.
Use built-in site analytics such as those available on all-in-one platforms like Squarespace. The level of detail in the data is helpful when you act on it!
Consider registering and setting up Google Analytics for your site, and review periodically. You can also customize the level of detail you’re collecting with this tool. It’s powerful.
Mistake #9: Non-Responsive Website Design
We don’t need to be told how fast technology changes! We all expect to be able to transfer from one device to another with ease, and without losing consistency and adaptability in the way a website looks and/or delivers a great online experience. Unfortunately, sometimes we run across websites that were built some time ago, and that do not perform well on mobile or tablets.
A site’s desktop view is fine, but does not adapt well to other screens. Google penalizes this, so it negatively impacts your site’s ranking.
What to Do Instead
Update or upgrade outdated theme and or templates.
Have someone else view your site on mobile/tablet, and take notes.
Sometimes small design adjustments are also required for mobile/tablet views.
Make sure the font size is readable on smaller screens.
Mistake #10: Not Updating the Site Regularly
Treating your site like a ‘once and done’ project.
Rarely updating your site with new artwork collections or series, relying on social media only to post new work.
You no longer care for your site design, so you ignore it, and rarely share the link with potential customers, friends and followers.
What to Do Instead
Your website is a living, breathing document. Give people a reason to return!
Blog posts and event updates are ideal. If you don't enjoy writing, you can get creative with your publishing, incorporating image ‘stories',’ documenting your artistic process and your inspiration, all visually. There are no rules!
Petra Börner, a Swedish artist illustrator currently living and working in London, uses her blog to post updates about her new work, new prints, collaborations, magazine features and other news, in a heavily visual-first format.
Use email to drive traffic to your site to see/read updates, and also post your site content to your social media accounts using your site’s 'share' buttons.
Collect testimonials and reviews; update.
If you’re allergic to tech, use an all-in-one user-friendly website platform so you can take care of minor site updates yourself.
Is there something else you see consistently that could also be improved? Comment below!
