How to Set Up a Professional Website: A Guide for Artists and Designers
Professional websites offer several key benefits for artists and designers. They help share their work and their expertise with the world. It is like having your very own, dedicated digital gallery that people can see and explore your work from. It is also a very professional front that can be used to obtain and attract clients. A great website can help you get your name out there, and it can help you get more work.
There are different expectations for artists. Artists are visual masters, and your website is expected to be a feast for the eyes. This applies even if you aren’t traditionally involved with digital design. You need your site, your portfolio, and your digital presence as a whole to look great, work beautifully, and market yourself every step of the way.
You could be an architect. You could be a fine artist. It doesn’t matter if you don’t traditionally work with web design because there are many ways to work around this and still create a stunning website that can help you further your career.
Steps to Set Up a Professional Website
1. You Need a Web Host
The first step to setting up a professional website is to find a web host. Websites need to be hosted. The data will need to be stored somewhere securely for other people to access it. Technically you can do this, but it is often much easier and much more budget-friendly to choose a personal web host plan. Many will even include registration of your domain name.
2. You Need a Domain Name
You need your domain name to be easy to read. You have to remember that URLs are read in one long string without spaces. If your name is spelled differently than others are used to, or if there are many similar-looking letters together, then you will want to consider an easier-to-read domain. Instead of your full name, you can instead choose just your surname and then your specialization. Alternatively, you can create a business name that reflects your style or your ethos and operate under that brand name if it is easier to remember.
You want people to be able to get to your business even if they saw your advertisement for a short period. If they need to keep double-checking the spelling because they couldn’t get it right the first time, you need something simpler.
3. You Need a Content Management System
The content management system (CMS) that you will likely use is WordPress. WordPress (not to be confused with the company) is an open-source CMS system that is most popular for website owners. It makes it easy to manage and customize your website theme even without web design experience. However, it is not the only one so if you want to know you have the best option for your business, research into your options before installing it.
4. You Need a Great, Visual Theme
You can hire a web designer if you have really specific needs, but a great theme is going to be enough for most of you. There are thousands of premium themes from top designers out there. There are themes great for writers, for visual artists, for architects, musicians, and photographers. There are themes designed specifically for your field, so you cannot only stand out with great visuals but also offer your clients and visitors an experience that compliments your art perfectly.
Being mindful of your website’s visual theme can help with your brand awareness and digital marketing. A great visual theme defines and highlights your business reputation. It sets the tone of your business and the mood of your web visitors. On the other hand, a poorly chosen visual theme can cause ill effects on your business, especially when it comes to your branding.
5. Creating Your About Page
Once all that is set up, you may feel tempted to get started with your home page, but that isn’t all too important to worry about first. Instead, you will want to set up your portfolio and your about page. Your About page should be linked to your profile page (which is a feature within your CMS system) so that you can add an author or artist profile banner at the bottom of your work.
6. Creating Your Portfolio
To start, you need examples of your work. If you already have examples from your degree or previous client work, put these up first. Otherwise, look to what you have created in your time, or start creating examples of your work to showcase. You want to use the best tools in your business to do this. Logos and graphics need to be vectors. Fine art needs to be properly scanned in. If you have paper schematics of a property design, sketch your plan with great floor plan software to bring it to life and showcase your professionalism all at once.
Your portfolio should get the most amount of time. You want it to look great on a laptop or desktop, and you want it to look great (but differently) on mobiles and tablets.
7. Creating Your Blog
If you wrote essays during your degree, then rework them into blog posts. If you don’t have this kind of content, then explore others in your industry to see what type of posts they are writing about and work to create your own. At a minimum, you should use your blog to highlight your professional achievements and to build a great, thriving story about your brand.
8. Thoughts on the Home Page
You have two options when it comes to your home page. For most artists, creating a static home page is preferable as it will always look excellent and can help encourage visitors to see the rest of your site. That being said, some themes make responsive the perfect choice.
What responsive means is that it changes every time you post new content. This could reflect a new project in your portfolio or a new post in your blog. If you update regularly and your work is always changing and improving, a responsive homepage that can emphasize your most recent work could be good for you.
9. Optimizing Your Site for SEO
remember that you need to optimize your website for SEO. The good news is that the same updates that make it better to be found on Google also make your site more user-friendly and more accessible. This will ensure a greater number of visitors have a wonderful experience on your site. When there are no issues, it is your art that will take center stage.
