How to create your own artist website

Creating your own website gives you unique op­por­tun­it­ies to share paintings, graphics, sculp­tures or drawings with a global audience. The more personal your artist website feels, the stronger your con­nec­tion with visitors can become.

How can you create an artist website?

Thanks to modern tools, creating a website has never been easier. Many options require little to no coding knowledge. Each approach has its strengths, but it’s important to pick one that doesn’t get in the way of your creative process.

Website builder

A website builder gives you ready-made layouts that can be cus­tom­ised to your art with just a few clicks. Since the design options are limited to what the builder provides, flex­ib­il­ity can be re­stric­ted. On the upside, many builders include stock photos and il­lus­tra­tions that fit common themes. When comparing providers, avoid free plans with external ads, as these can make your site look un­pro­fes­sion­al.

Content man­age­ment system

A content man­age­ment system (CMS) gives you more control. Once it’s set up, you or your team can update it with basic word-pro­cessing and image-editing skills. The most popular CMS is WordPress. A global community develops and maintains tens of thousands of themes and plugins to cover almost any need for an artist website. Most CMS platforms are straight­for­ward for beginners, though a little knowledge of databases and hosting helps.

Coding it yourself

Coding your site from scratch gives you complete creative freedom, but it also requires time, effort and technical skill. For most artists, though, the time and skill required make this option less practical.

Web design agency

Hiring a web design agency involves higher costs that vary depending on your needs. The benefit is peace of mind: you can stay focused on your art while the agency handles the technical work – provided you clearly com­mu­nic­ate your vision.

What should an artist website include?

Deciding what to include is about finding the right balance. You want to show your creative strengths without over­whelm­ing visitors. The following elements are es­pe­cially important:

• Home page: The welcome page of your artist website should im­me­di­ately highlight what matters most – your art. This first im­pres­sion is crucial for keeping visitors engaged and turning them into potential fans or buyers. A simple, clear structure en­cour­ages ex­plor­a­tion.
• My art: This section is your site’s central showcase. It’s where your style and medium become visible and tangible – like walking into a digital studio. Use galleries for larger series or ex­hib­i­tions. If you sell works directly through your site, make that clear here. Otherwise, provide a link to your art dealer.
• About me: Share your path as an artist – what inspires you, how you dis­covered your niche, and what drives you. The “About me” page should also include your formal training, master classes, awards and other mile­stones in your career.
• Ex­hib­i­tions: Use this as your event calendar. When and where are your next opening re­cep­tions and ex­hib­i­tions? Where have your works been displayed before? Which galleries, in­sti­tu­tions, busi­nesses or res­taur­ants show – or have purchased – your art?
• Press / reviews: Have you given an interview or been featured on TV? If so, this section is the right place for an online press kit. Make sure any scans, images or video clips are used with per­mis­sion and credited correctly.
• Blog / social media: A blog adds another personal layer to your site by sharing in­spir­a­tions, creative processes and behind-the-scenes insights. Prom­in­ently link to your social accounts – Instagram, Facebook or Google – provided they are actively main­tained.
• Contact options: Let visitors know how to reach you. Include your studio location or the gallery currently showing your work. A contact form helps manage enquiries, but you should always offer the option of direct contact by phone.
• Legal: In the UK, you’ll need a privacy policy if your site collects personal data, for example through a contact form, news­let­ter sign-up or cookies. If you sell art online, clear terms and con­di­tions are required under UK consumer law. It’s also good practice to include a copyright notice for your own work and ensure you have per­mis­sion for any third-party content. Several online gen­er­at­ors – some free, some paid – can help you create these documents.

How to create your artist website step by step

Step 1: Choose a Domain

A domain is your unique web address. A short, memorable name makes it easier for people and search engines to find you. Keep in mind:

• Use your own name as the domain, possibly with a short addition.
• In the UK, the country domain ex­ten­sions .co.uk and .uk are widely used and familiar to audiences. The .com extension is also widely re­cog­nised for com­mer­cial use.
• New top-level domains like .art, .gallery, .studio or .work can be a creative al­tern­at­ive, though some are more expensive.
• Using a category, genre or style term can be tricky – ‘painter,’ for example, can be mis­lead­ing because of its trade meaning.
• If you register multiple domains, redirect extras to your main domain.
• Avoid sub­do­mains such as https://artist123.buildername.co.uk for a pro­fes­sion­al site.

Providers like IONOS let you check whether your desired domain name is available. If it is, you can register it directly through IONOS.

Step 2: Showcase your art

Most artists already know how they want to present them­selves. Here a ‘less is more’ approach works best. Use a layout that high­lights your work: minimal text, generous white space and large images. Many artists simply use their name as the site logo.

Step 3: Add your content

Once the design and layout are ready, you can start adding content. Review your texts for structure, clarity, keywords and flow. Avoid duplicate content. Don’t overlook correct spelling and grammar – they’re essential. For clarity – and easier updates in the future – organise content into main and secondary pages.

Make sure your images are resized to the re­com­men­ded di­men­sions for your website. Avoid com­press­ing them too much, since that can reduce quality. With today’s broadband Internet and high-res­ol­u­tion screens, detailed images load without issue. Always assign an alt tag to each image. This is important both for image SEO and for ac­cess­ib­il­ity, since it provides in­form­a­tion to users if an image doesn’t load. In most CMS platforms, you’ll find a built-in field for alt text. The same applies to the title tag. If you’re coding manually, it might look like this:

<img src="../path/mypicture.jpg" alt="A hand-painted picture by John Doe" title="Self-portrait of John in front of patterned landscape">

For storing large amounts of high-res­ol­u­tion images or video files, cloud storage is a secure option. Some CMS platforms and website builders place limits on media upload sizes, which can be a problem for video files. Videos stored sep­ar­ately in the cloud can be embedded through links to achieve the desired result.

Step 4: Publish your artist website

Once your design, text and images are finalised and all required in­form­a­tion is in place, it’s time to launch your website and reach your audience online. Make sure your website gets noticed. Your web address should appear on every business card, flyer and studio sign – and why not even on your car or bicycle?

Another idea is to leave a small notice at res­taur­ants or cafés you visit. This can help generate new contacts. Listings in regional dir­ect­or­ies are also a simple but effective way to increase vis­ib­il­ity.

FAQs

Below are answers to some of the most common questions on this topic.

Do artists need a website?

Yes. Without a website, an artist is almost ‘invisible’ today. An artist website helps you reach a wider audience for your work, serving as a digital studio. A website also means ac­cess­ib­il­ity, vis­ib­il­ity and more op­por­tun­it­ies for re­cog­ni­tion and sales.

What are the ad­vant­ages of having an artist website?

Your website is a 24/7 studio. If you make or want to make a living from art, you need a public presence. An artist website is a key part of public relations and promoting yourself and your work.

How can I easily create an artist website?

Website builders make it easy and af­ford­able to create a pro­fes­sion­al-looking artist website. A major advantage, es­pe­cially for beginners, is that your domain, hosting, design tools and SEO features are all handled in one place.

Where can I find templates for an artist website?

If you use a website builder or a CMS, you’ll find a variety of ready-to-use, mostly re­spons­ive templates. Simply choose a template as the starting point for your artist website and customise it to match your style.

How can I promote my art online?

Art is often sold at auctions. You can take this approach too by offering your work in time-limited online auctions to the highest bidder, sometimes through dealers. If you’re just starting out or creating as a hobby, it’s better to begin with platforms that sell art online at set prices. Starting with realistic ex­pect­a­tions helps avoid dis­ap­point­ment.