Should an Artist Use Siteground for Web Hosting to Sell Their Art?

Last Updated on November 21, 2021

This article recommends the all-time website builder for artists, photographers, writers, and creative entrepreneurs wanting to create a website that is visited by lots of people. It compares several blogging and website platforms, such every bit Wix, Blogger, Squarespace, Weebly, and WordPress, and is written past an experienced high school teacher with a beginner audition in listen. It concludes with a stride-by-footstep tutorial, showing the exact process used to set upwardly a successful, high-traffic website.

Should I build my ain website?

In 2011, I created a website to showcase my artwork and assistance high school art students proceeds good grades. I year later, this site was receiving over 1000 visits every day (this became the website that you are reading, the Student Art Guide). If I take learned ane thing from this experience, it is that the cyberspace holds enormous value for creative individuals. Making a website is the most effective manner to market your work, build a brand, and sell artwork, products, or services. What's more than, creating a website is something that even a high school student (someone with little funds and no prior web design experience) tin can do.

Worried that yous don't have the skill required? I had no idea how to make my own website when I began and was daunted by the prospect. I was the type of person who struggled to find the 'on' switch on a figurer. To say I was technically challenged was an understatement. Luckily, creating a website was far easier than I had imagined. The graph above shows daily visits to my website over the form of the get-go year, reaching almost i,200 visits a 24-hour interval within 12 months (the Educatee Fine art Guide now gains millions of visits each year).

Websites for artists and other artistic people: why they are important

It used to be that great art was discovered by galleries, written manuscripts called by publishers. These days, great content is discovered get-go-hand by ordinary individuals. There is no longer a bulwark between the creative person and the masses. If you accept an online presence – and your work tin can be found, shared, 'pinned' or 'liked' – y'all tin attain a level of recognition that could once merely be dreamed of. A single image or blog post tin receive thousands of views in a very short fourth dimension-frame; be seen by vast numbers of prospective clients, admirers, and fans. If y'all are an creative person, photographer, author (or any other creative entrepreneur), you need to harvest the power of the cyberspace and create your ain website as shortly equally possible.

Why platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, DeviantArt, Behance, Saatchi Online, Art America, Imagekind, RedBubble, Etsy, and Tumblr are not enough

There are many social media platforms where sharing content is encouraged. These can be helpful for promoting your own work, meeting others with similar interests, gaining feedback, and reaching others via extended social networks. Existence an active member of some these sites tin be a good thought – and may indeed form a fundamental part of your online strategy – merely these sites should complement, not replace, your ain website. They should be used as a marketing outpost to drive traffic to your own website, not as a substitute for it.

* A warning about complimentary website builders / free portfolio websites

Many people search Google looking for the 'best free website architect for artists' or a 'free creative person website.' Others look for more specific information, comparison various website builders, such as Wix vs Weebly vs Blogger vs Squarespace vs Google Sites vs Adobe Spark Page and then on. These platforms, along with many others, offering customizable websites, and target those who are looking for an easy way to display their work online (these platforms allow y'all to set up basic photography portfolio websites or graphic design portfolio websites, for instance, usually with higher-priced premium plans marketed alongside). These website builders are typically slick and aesthetically pleasing, with elevate-and-drop templates that are appealing for beginners. Indeed, these can be a suitable choice for those who wish to create a website to share with family unit or friends, or a temporary online portfolio, but they should never be used past someone who is serious most getting their website ranked highly in Google and seen by thousands of people every day.

For the best take a chance of success, you need to create your own original website.

Here's why:

1. You need full control over the appearance and design.

Aesthetics is important. Websites should showcase your creative work professionally and communicate style and individuality, helping you to stand out from the crowd. This cannot be achieved with a standard folio on a free site, using a template that looks like a 1000000 others. With your own website, you can select a great design theme and customize this however you similar.

2. You need to have an crawly website proper name, NOT yourname.freeservice.com.

A website name is the starting indicate for your brand. For as little as thirteen dollars per year you can create the illusion that y'all are a professional worth investing in. Take your piece of work seriously. With domain names costing so niggling, there is no excuse for not having your ain.

three. You need to optimize your website so that information technology ranks highly in Google.

If y'all cannot optimize your content for search engines, your website is left floating solitary in cyberspace, relying on endless social media promotion and kind visits from friends. Humans must love your content, but just as important: Google must love information technology. Google has a secret (and constantly updating) algorithm that they use to make up one's mind where websites should announced in the search results. When someone searches for something in Google the search engine carries out a complex adding (it takes a fraction of a second) to estimate which – of all of the websites in the earth – you want to encounter. According to Search Engine Scout, 33% of people click on the commencement consequence shown in Google, eighteen% on the 2d result, and even fewer on the third. If your website doesn't brand it onto the first page of results, only a tiny percentage of people volition ever find information technology.

As an example, when people type "A Level Art ideas" into Google ("A Level Fine art" is the proper name of an international high schoolhouse qualification), Google ranks my website starting time. Beginning out of the 686,000,000 other web pages that Google thinks might be about this topic. In fact, you can run across that the Student Fine art Guide currently holds the showtime AND 2nd position for this term. Thus, someone looking for A Level Art ideas is more than probable to click through and visit my website than any other.

1 of the reasons that the Educatee Fine art Guide ranks highly in Google is that our articles are comprehensive, highly detailed, and accept weeks to write. Another reason is that our content is well-optimized for search engines. This ways that Google understands what each page is almost, and is thus more probable to rank information technology highly, and so thatpeople can detect the states. In fact, at that place is a very good chance that y'all arrived at this article later Googling "how to brand an artist website" or something similar. Well, this folio is optimized for that phrase, and many other similar terms!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is impossible on most free websites and social media platforms. To make matters worse, Google knows whether your website is created using a gratis platform, and may perceive your website accordingly: as less professional, less serious, and less of import.

Unfortunately, sometimes these lower barriers (meant to encourage less techy audiences) can attract some dodgy characters like spammers who look for cheap and like shooting fish in a barrel ways to set dozens or hundreds of sites that add together little or no value to the spider web. When it comes to automatically generated sites, our stance remains the same: if the sites do not add sufficient value, nosotros generally consider them as spam and have appropriate steps to protect our users from exposure to such sites in our natural search results. – Google Webmaster

In other words, with a free platform, yous must work that much harder to convince Google that your content is worth ranking, and, fifty-fifty and then, yous don't have the tools to make this easy: you lot start with a disadvantage. This is one of the nigh important factors to consider when deciding whether to create your own website.

four. Schools and universities must be able to view your content.

A growing number of schools and universities are blocking all access to social media and costless blogging platforms, considering, as noted above, these are often used past spammers and those who share dodgy content. Some teachers spend months creating a website using a free platform, only for this platform to exist later blocked by their school.

Furthermore, even if you lot have no direct connection to the educational activity industry, at that place is a huge reward to having your work discoverable by educational institutions. For example, students in the UK oftentimes discover my artist website and study my artwork. Schools so link to my website. Authentic links from relevant websites provide a signal to Google that my website is high-quality (links from educational institutions are considered actress-valuable). This, in plough, makes Google trust my website more and rank information technology even higher. Every bit noted above, sites that are ranked highly proceeds more visitors.

5. You need your work to be celebrated, not lost in the oversupply.

When someone contemplates buying your artwork (or other products) on a social media platform, or a communal website with multiple sellers, buyers are oft distracted by the countless other items showing up in their feed. Yous want people to be channeled towards your fantastic creations, without others competing for attending. On social or community websites, buyers are easily enticed away.

6. You demand to control how you make money from your website.

If you take your own website, earning opportunities are controlled entirely by you. You lot can sell artwork, products, or services directly from the site. You can add advertising, seek sponsors, recommend affiliate products, embed impress-on-demand items, or merely concentrate on building your make, popularity, and fame. Social media platforms and free website builders often place inappropriate advertising alongside your work or take strict policies governing the way you operate business upon their platform. It is very common for complimentary website builders to plaster their own branding all over your website, attempting to direct your visitors dorsum to them. Generating income from your ain website is much easier. If you desire to sell artwork online, for example, this tin can be achieved in a matter of minutes, by adding a 'buy now' button beside the work. Alternatively, you tin can add professional shopping carts or any other commercial feature.

vii. You need to measure the number of visitors to your website and other important statistics.

'Google Analytics' and 'Search Console' are gratis tools congenital by Google that are easily integrated with your own website. Most free website builders or social media platforms practice not let you to employ these, and offer inferior statistics, if any at all. Google Analytics and Search Console provide in-depth data about those who visit your site. For instance, you tin can run across which countries visitors are from, how many minutes they spend on sure pages, which pages they leave immediately, and what they typed into Google prior to arriving at your site. This information is invaluable. Information technology helps to shape and direct your creative work and improve your content for the time to come.

This Google Analytics report shows visitors to the Pupil Fine art Guide in real time. At that verbal moment, 93 people were viewing the site, with 8 people reading our popular photography article. You can see the keywords people typed into Google to country on the website; which pages they visit; which country they are located in, and many other helpful pieces of data. This helps me sympathize why people come to my site; what content they prefer; and what they would like my website to provide. This tool has helped me create an fine art website that receives millions of visitors per year. Without it, I would be flying blind.

viii. Y'all demand the power to build an e-mail list.

A few years ago, Facebook inverse their newsfeed algorithm and then that each 'status update' made from a Facebook business page was shown only to a small percentage of followers. To have posts shown to more than fans, you must now pay money to promote these – even to those people who have called to follow your page. As such, the value of having a large Facebook post-obit diminished overnight, crippling many small businesses who relied on Facebook to reach their audience. Similarly, YouTube recently made pregnant changes to their algorithm, affecting which videos are shown to viewers, making information technology more hard for creators to get their videos seen. YouTube also 'shadowbans' certain content and demonetizes videos if they deem them to fall outside of their always-irresolute guidelines.

Originally, the YouTube subscription feed was a chronological listing of videos from all the channels that a person had chosen to "subscribe" to. …[]…Withal, many video-makers take previously complained that some of their videos have non appeared in the subscription feed, and have questioned whether YouTube manipulates the list to boost viewer retention and advertising revenue. – BBC News (2018)

Social media platforms are businesses that prioritize their own interests. If you have your own website, you have the option for your audience to safely share their electronic mail accost with yous. This means yous don't need to be at the mercy of third parties: you can contact your followers whenever you similar. An email list is an nugget that y'all can backup, giving y'all direct contact with your audition, no matter what happens. Virtually all online entrepreneurs regret non starting an email list sooner. An e-mail sign-up box can be added in a couple of minutes to your own website.

9. Y'all need to be able to hands move your website files from i location to another.

If y'all showtime with a free blogging platform so later come up to the realization that you lot should create your ain website (as most who are serious about marketing their piece of work online eventually do) moving your content from the free platform to your own website is oftentimes difficult and frustrating (it may require manually cutting and pasting every item – recreating the unabridged website again). Whatever method you cull to create an online presence, it needs to exist portable. Moving, downloading, or backing up fabric from your own website is elementary – you have admission to every single i of your files and can export these with a few clicks.

In addition, if y'all make up one's mind to switch from a free website name (i.eastward. yourname.freeservice.com) to an original website name (i.e. yourname.com), any search engine authority that you have previously built upwardly with Google volition be lost, requiring the new website to work its way upward the rankings again from scratch.

10. 100% of the website must vest to you.

When you create a website on a costless platform, your website is really a subsection of someone else's site. Website providers can shut down unexpectedly, taking your content and followers with them. Those who offering free services are particularly vulnerable to collapse. For case, Wikispaces has the following bulletin on their website:

Equally stated in our communication in Jan 2018 and subsequent site banners; as of July 31st, 2018 all Free and Classroom Wikis were disabled and are no longer attainable.

In addition, platforms can ban you lot or delete your files and there is nothing you can do about it. They can of a sudden be overtaken past a more successful platform, every bit happened when Facebook increased in popularity and MySpace dwindled. They tin can be sold to another company, who may run things totally differently, such as when Flickr was bought out by SmugMug. If you take the potential to create a beautiful, stunning website, it is too risky for this to be at the mercy of another visitor. It is too valuable of a resource. You need to create your ain website.

Why you need to make a website presently

If y'all are serious about growing an audience online, yous need to make your own website every bit soon equally possible. Here's why:

one. Older websites rank college in Google.

There are many factors that influence where a website appears in search engines (the higher you rank, the more visitors your website receives). The historic period of the website is i of these factors – a signal that your website is more than likely to be a 18-carat, authorization site. The sooner you starting time, the sooner yous can begin to build your website'southward authorisation with Google.

2. Website names are limited.

As time goes by, fewer quality website names (known as 'domain names') are available:yourname.com may already be gone. Many peachy domain names have already been purchased and are being resold for thousands of dollars (the tutorial below shows you how to check which domain names are still bachelor).

3. Unpredictable lockdowns hateful that more and more people are shopping online

If always at that place was a time to plant an online presence, information technology is now. Many artists and creative entrepreneurs who previously contemplated building a website take urgently prioritized this activity, given the events of the past few years. Many teachers are besides deciding to create websites to help guide their students via distance learning. This adds a farther rush of people snapping upward domain names and edifice websites.

4. Your age and current circumstances are not a barrier to success.

You lot practice not demand to wait until you are older, have more time or are more 'successful.' Creating a websitesounds daunting, just it takes only near an hour to go upwardly and running. Many corking websites are built by young people, with little funds or resources. Teenagers as young as 14 have seen huge online success. With parental permission, yous can become started while in high school. Setting up a website tin be an first-class project for a high school Art, Pattern, or Technology pupil. With hard work, a website set up during high school can exist earning money by the time you are in academy or college. Furthermore, the skills yous learn while creating a website can assist your employment prospects immensely at graduation. The best thing is that the whole process is fun. It is heady and rewarding – well-nigh addictive – watching people from all over the world land on your website and view your content, day later on twenty-four hour period. ?

What is the best way to build an artist website (or any website, for that affair)?

At that place are two basic means to create an original website. The showtime is to use an existing 'content management organization.' A content management system can exist thought of as something like Microsoft Word. Information technology is a program or tool that makes the procedure of creating a digital document MUCH easier. Content management systems are designed for the ordinary user, and then that coding is not necessary. They save fourth dimension and money while allowing for creative one-of-a-kind outputs to exist achieved.

The second way to create an original website is to hire developers (or learn to lawmaking yourself) and build the entire thing from scratch. Fifty-fifty if you have sufficient funds to hire a developer, or know how to code, in almost all cases, it is wise to use an existing content direction system. Not only does this save y'all fourth dimension and money, merely a site that is built from scratch is much harder to maintain, as only the person who understands how it works is the one who built information technology. When you use a popular content management system on the other manus, there are many tutorials and forums online sharing advice. If at any point you lot get stuck, in that location are answers online to just about every question you lot could imagine. Additionally, in that location are thousands of developers who specialize in each popular content direction system. This ways you are not reliant on a unmarried expert who knows your website well nor vulnerable if this practiced leaves.

The upshot: Unless you have a team of specialist developers and are trying to create something like the next Facebook, using an existing content direction system is far-and-above your all-time choice.

Which content management organization should I choose?

Many of the free website builders (such as Weebly, Wix, and Squarespace) are in fact a kind of content management organisation. However, these are simplified and tied to a single visitor, leaving them vulnerable to many of the weaknesses described above.

The leading content management systems are 'open source': this means they are maintained by a huge collection of expert developers around the world (rather than connected to a single company). As such, they follow best coding practices and are kept upward-to-engagement.

According to 2019 data,the leading content direction system in the globe is WordPress (used by 61% of the market), followed by Joomla (5%), and and then Drupal (3%). Not merely is WordPress the nearly popular content direction system, only an estimated 34% of all websites in the world run on information technology. I have used WordPress since 2011 and recommend it above all else. It is hands-downwards the best website architect for artists – or for anyone else who wishes to create their own website. For entrepreneurs, bloggers, writers, or artists who wish to market their services, promote products, or create any other kind of content-based website or web log that is viewed by a lot of people…WordPress is the best solution.

A sample of the 6,000+ free WordPress themes available, suiting any kind of topic or niche.

WordPress can exist customized to look like anything – from an breezy blog (a coincidental, annotate-driven website) to a professional business website. Information technology tin can be used to create a stunning online art portfolio or to present work in any mode that you want (written text, illustrated articles, scrolling images, image galleries, embedded video clips, and and then on). But as you can add an 'app' to your telephone to add extra functionality, you can add 'plugins' to a WordPress website, enabling you to do almost anything (there are over 52,000 WordPress plugins available). As an example, there are free plugins to add email forms, social share buttons, purchase at present buttons, shopping carts, email signup boxes, search engine optimization, so on.

To alter the appearance of a WordPress website, you click a button to actuate a new 'theme.' Some WordPress themes are simple and minimalist; others are circuitous. All can exist customized, depending upon your needs. The image below shows how my personal artist website world wide web.amiriagale.com has morphed and changed over the years, beginning with a very uncomplicated WordPress theme.

These screenshots show how the advent of my artist website (built using WordPress) has changed over the years. All of these images show the same WordPress website, with dissimilar themes and customization options selected.

How difficult is WordPress to use?

Once you lot are familiar with WordPress, it has a similar difficulty level to Microsoft Word. However, every bit with anything new, the first few days can be frustrating. A beginner hasn't learned where all the buttons are, then every job requires consciously thinking through the steps. To complicate matters, the signup process uses terminology that is strange to most people, making the whole thing seem unnecessarily daunting. To help ease beginners through this process, I take created the tutorial below.

This screenshot shows me editing my creative person website using WordPress. You type directly in the fundamental box, selecting italic or assuming etc. (the published page can be viewed hither).

Using WordPressis harder than sharing something on Facebook or slapping together a free elevate-and-drop website.Only it's not nearly as hard as you think. The best manner to learn is to dive in the deep end and brainstorm. In one case you lot get through the first few weeks, it is very straight-forrard. In a fashion, information technology is well-nigh adept that itappears daunting, every bit this cuts out many of your potential competitors, and gives you an advantage.

How much does WordPress cost?

WordPress itself is free. However, yous demand to purchase the website name (the domain name) and a place to store your website files online (this is called 'hosting' and is explained in more detail below). WordPress is the software or tool that is used to create the website (simply every bit Microsoft Word is used to write a document). However, in order for people toseeand visit that website, it needs to be safely stored online somewhere. For case, if you lot built your website on your own figurer, every fourth dimension you lot turned your computer off, your website would be offline. To accept your websiteonline 24/seven – and available for others to visit, yet protected confronting hackers and viruses (this is not an easy task, equally hackers constantly apply automatic software to crawl the net looking for loopholes) – you need to observe a company who specializes in web hosting.

Every website needs hosting. Places that offer gratis websites pay for the hosting themselves, in exchange for making money in other means. Facebook, for example, offers you lot gratis space to upload photos and chat with friends, while they brand money from advertising. Wix and Weebly offering basic gratuitous websites, knowing that many users volition grow frustrated with the limitations of a free plan (every bit per all of the problems described above) and and so buy their premium plans. In other words, you lot may not pay for the hosting initially, merely you pay for information technology in other ways.

The best way to create your own website is what is known equally a cocky-hosted WordPress site. This means a website that is built using WordPress and is stored safely online at a professional web hosting provider of your choosing. This gives you far more flexibility than any of the premium packages offered past the likes of Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly, for a much lower cost. Information technology likewise gives you the most security and peace of heed, because y'all tin can easily move your website from one hosting provider to some other, if need exist: y'all are non reliant on a single company. The website is owned entirely by you.

* A annotation well-nigh wordpress.com and wordpress.org

Confusingly, there are ii official WordPress sites. WordPress.com allows you to set up a bones free WordPress website: this is not appropriate, for the reasons listed above. In social club to customize a WordPress website fully, and acquire all the benefits of owning your ain website, yous need to utilise thecomplete, open-sourceversion of WordPress, described at WordPress.org (you don't actually need to visit WordPress.org, considering everything is taken care of by your chosen hosting provider – as shown in the step-past-step tutorial below). Signing up for hosting and installing WordPress is very direct-forrard and takes only a few clicks.

In summary, to create your own website you need three things:

• A domain proper noun: this is the website name, such asstudentartguide.com.
• Website hosting: this is rented infinite on a large server where yous shop the website files and so that your site can connect to the internet 24/7 (see my recommendations beneath).
• A content management system to build the site, such as WordPress, which is gratis.

Let'due south at present get through these steps in particular.

What you need to build your own artist website: a consummate WordPress guide

What follows is the tutorial I wish I had when I started. Information technology is a complete beginner's guide for those with no prior web blueprint experience. It contains stride-by-step screenshots, accompanied by clear instructions, showing how to fix upwards a new WordPress website.

Step ane. Brainstorm a catchy, memorable website name (your 'domain' name)

The commencement step is to come up upward with a website domain name, such as www.studentartguide.com. Mutual formats for a visual art website include: www.yourname.com,www.yournameartist.com,www.yournamephotographer.com and then on. Sometimes website names include keywords related to the item genre of artwork (such aswww.yournameportraits.com) however you lot should be careful to select a name that doesn't limit you unnecessarily.

Tips for choosing a good domain name are as follows:

• Communicate the intention of your website, without being spammy
• Aim for a short and memorable name
• Ensure that it is easy to spell, with no unintentional meanings when words are merged
• Avoid numbers and dashes, so that it is easy to say aloud
• Choose a .com extension or a state-specific extension (such every bit .co.united kingdom or .co.nz) if targeting a local audition but
• Avoid similarities with existing sites or infringing upon trademarks

These tips are communicated in the infographic below.

DISCLOSURE: The Student Art Guide provides content costless-of-accuse so that all students and teachers can access our resources. Nosotros make money through advertising and chapter links. In this commodity, we link to hosting providers that we recommend completely: our reputation and success depends upon this. Purchasing hosting via these links allows us to proceed to deliver quality resources to y'all, for free.

Step 2. Purchase the domain name and hosting package from a reputable hosting provider, such equally Bluehost

world wide web.bluehost.com is 1 of only three hosting providers officially recommended past WordPress:

As noted higher up, the function of a spider web hosting visitor is to provide you with space on their server to store your website so that your site is safe and accessible on the world wide web 24/seven. Most hosting companies sell domain names also, assuasive you the convenience of purchasing both from the aforementioned place.

The web hosting industry is extremely competitive, and thus prices and services often modify with time. I previously recommended SiteGround hosting, however, SiteGround'south prices increased dramatically in 2020 (their cheapest plan now renews at $19.99 USD per month), and their access to live chat back up declined.

In dissimilarity, Bluehost'southward introductory charge per unit for their Bones program is currently discounted to $2.95 per month. Bluehost also have live-chat support available at any fourth dimension of the day. Bluehost also offer the domain costless for the first year, making them a far more price-efficient option overall – with prices that are within the achieve of fifty-fifty many loftier schoolhouse students.

Note: If you love creating beautiful, artistic things, building a website is likely to be your most fun project yet. If y'all get stuck at whatsoever point during this tutorial, feel gratuitous to e-mail me. My name is Amiria Gale, and I am a high school teacher from New Zealand. Alternatively, Bluehost accept trained support staff available on-hand via live chat. Questions assistance me to improve this tutorial and provide valuable feedback, letting me know when something has go outdated (applied science changes very fast)!

Let's get started!

a) Brainstorm by visiting: www.bluehost.com

b) Click the 'Go Started' button to run across Bluehosts dissimilar hosting plans.

c) Select a hosting plan. The 'Basic' and 'Plus' plan are both suitable for beginners. The principal difference betwixt these is that the Plus program allows you to host an unlimited number of websites, whereas the Basic plan only allows you to host i. The Plus plan also has more storage space, which tin can be beneficial for artists. After you have decided which plan you would similar, click 'Select.'

d) On the side by side screen, type in your chosen website name nether 'create a new domain' (I have used 'portfolioexample.com' to illustrate this process). Choose whether y'all would like .com or some other extension. And then click 'Next' to run across if the domain name is available. Remember that domain names get snapped up very speedily, so your starting time selection may not be available.

e) Once you have chosen a good domain name, enter your personal details, and then you can sign upward with Bluehost.

f) IMPORTANT: Select the hosting period (how long you desire the hosting for). This is important considering the discounted pricing only applies for the selected period and the amount is paid upfront. By adjusting the drop-down card beside 'Account Program,' you lot can encounter that the discount varies depending on the length of fourth dimension you select. For instance, the monthly charge per unit is cheapest when you purchase hosting for three years in accelerate. This is common exercise across the hosting industry and is their way of rewarding customers who stay with them for a greater length of time. Selecting 3 years too allows you to lock in the discounted rates for the longest period. (Bluehost has a 30-day money-back policy for hosting, so regardless of which period y'all select, you can get a refund if you change your listen). Once you accept decided which fourth dimension period you would like, scroll down to the side by side department.

m) Here is where Bluehost upsell a multifariousness of different options. Some of these are recommended; others are non necessary.

• 'Domain Privacy + Protection' – highly recommended. All website owners are required to have their contact details in a public database chosen WHOIS. This archaic rule was created when there were very few websites in the world and it was an effort to brand a kind of phone book with contact details listed. To get around this, hosting providers offer 'Domain Privacy,' which replaces your contact details with the host'due south generic contact information and keeps your private data prophylactic. If yous have signed upward using a concern address and contact phone number, Domain Privacy may non exist necessary, nevertheless, for about people, it is highly recommended.
• Codeguard bones – this is a service that backs up your website, so that you don't need to worry about carrying out manual backups of your website. I didn't select this when I was merely staring out, however this is upwards to you.
• Bluehost SEO tools – not necessary. WordPress comes with all the Search Engine Optimization tools that you need, free of accuse, so I don't recommend choosing this.
• Microsoft Mailbox – not necessary (only up to you).
• SiteLock Security – This scans your website for malicious code and helps protect against hacking. Although hacking is rare, all websites are vulnerable to this. When creating a new website, I keep things equally cost-efficient every bit possible, however, whether you cull to include this is upwardly to y'all.

h) Lastly, enter your contact data and payment details. If you are nether xviii, please seek parental permission before entering credit card details. Click submit!

i) You are then prompted to create a countersign, and then login. Now y'all are the proud new owner of a domain and hosting! ?

Step 3: Install WordPress at Bluehost

Now you need to install WordPress at Bluehost. This merely takes a few minutes. Equally a reminder: Bluehost is the identify you store your website files; WordPress is free software that you apply to build the website.

When yous login to Bluehost for the start time, you see the following screen:

a) Enter the website name and tagline. These words announced at the top of your website and are ordinarily similar (or identical) to your domain name. The tagline is a brusk statement (like a slogan) that sums upwards the website. You lot tin easily edit and modify these later, and so just cull anything for now and then click 'Continue.'

b) Select the appropriate options on this screen (it doesn't really matter what yous choose) and click 'Proceed to Theme Selection.'

c) Choose a WordPress theme. By default, WordPress comes with a theme pre-installed. Here you are just selecting the i you wish to brainstorm with (you tin can easily change themes later, then don't worry about making the 'perfect' option). At that place are many more WordPress themes than are shown here, and I run through how to alter and customize a WordPress theme below, and then it doesn't really matter which theme you select hither!

d) On the next screen, at that place are two important links (top right corner). The first, 'View My Site,' is a link to your brand new website! You can come across that y'all now take your very own WordPress website, live on the internet. Of course, at this point, it appears very bland and empty, because you haven't customized it or added whatsoever content.

The other link, 'WordPress,' is to the WordPress admin panel (you lot should 'bookmark' this, as it is common for people to forget how to find this again) – also known every bit your WordPress dashboard. This is where you edit your WordPress site and add content to it.

Now y'all are prepare for the fun to brainstorm!

Step 4: Build your creative person website!

At this point, many people wish to leap in and brainstorm playing around with WordPress. This is an splendid idea and a wonderful style to acquire. However, for those who would like more detailed guidance, primal pointers regarding the best fashion to begin building your creative person website are detailed beneath:

Modify the appearance of your artist website by adding and customizing a theme

• In the WordPress dashboard, get 'Appearance' > 'Themes'.
• Click 'Add New'. This takes y'all to the WordPress theme directory – thousands of free themes, approved for utilize with WordPress (exist very careful sourcing WordPress themes elsewhere).
• Search through the themes. Information technology is easy to get overwhelmed and spend forever doing this. You lot tin switch themes at any time, so don't worry too much almost finding a perfect theme right away. Aim for a unproblematic theme to offset with.
• When you lot find a theme you lot like, click 'Install' and and so 'Actuate'.
• Once activated, click the customize button (The customize button can be accessed in 3 places: nether the theme when you lot first install it, as described above; in the dashboard menu, under 'Appearance'; and in the meridian black bar, when viewing your website). Each WordPress theme has unlike customization options available – some are very flexible; others are uncomplicated.
• Once you have fabricated some changes, click save, then visit and refresh your website. You volition see it now looks totally different!
• Tips and advice specific to customizing the appearance of an artist website will be added in separate tutorial coming before long.

Add a page to your website (i.e. an 'Near Me' page)

• In the WordPress dashboard, go 'Pages' and and so 'Add New.'
• Add a championship – permit'south telephone call this 'About Me' or something similar.
• Type in the key box to add content to the page. For now, only add some sample content (a short blurb near the website, yourself, or your artwork), so you get an idea of how WordPress works. Don't worry about making this perfect – you tin can easily edit this later. To add headings and subheadings, click the '+' symbol top left, and choose 'heading,' selecting H1, H2, H3, H4 or H5, depending on the size of the heading required. You can besides add together bullet points , quotes , or link to other websites, using the link symbol.
• To add an epitome, click the '+' symbol top left, and scroll down to select 'paradigm' or 'gallery' (under the media section). Y'all tin can then upload an epitome from your computer.
• When your page is done, click publish.
• Click the View Page link, and you lot can see y'all at present have a new page, alive on your website.

Add a 'post' to your website

Posts are very similar to pages (they await the same). Yet, there are two main differences:

• Posts tin be categorized. For instance, if you lot create an artist website, you might have a collection of posts about paintings; another collection near drawings and then on. Yous tin can then link to each category on your card, and then that clicking this takes you lot to all of the artwork in this category (menus are explained in more detail covered below).
• Posts appear in lists. For example, by default, your latest posts appear in a list on your habitation page.

Posts are useful for near content on your website, every bit they permit you to easily organize content. Pages, on the other mitt, cannot exist categorized and do not appear in lists. Pages are best for standalone content, such as an Virtually folio, or a Contact page. Don't worry likewise much if this all sounds confusing; it volition become clearer every bit yous apply WordPress.

For now, practise creating a new post every bit follows:

• Firstly, go 'Posts' > 'All Posts' (in the WordPress dashboard).
• By default, WordPress comes with a sample mail service already created. Click 'Trash' to delete the sample post. You need to movement your mouse near the title for the delete choice to announced.
• Now, to create a new post, click 'Add New.'
• Add together a championship and some sample content to this mail service. As earlier, add together an epitome if desired, and click insert into post.
• Select a category for the post (correct of the screen, partway down). Click 'Add New Category.' Create a name for the category. I have used 'Paintings' equally an example. Parent Categories are useful if you wish to accept categories that are sub-categories of others. For example, you lot might have a chief category of 'Paintings,' and so sub-categories chosen 'Acrylic Paintings,' 'Oil Paintings,' and so on. Then click 'Add New Category' (the lower button). Categories brand it possible for you to group and organize content, helping your visitors to navigate around your creative person website and observe related material.
• The tag function (optional) allows you to add together keywords, kind of similar a hashtag on Instagram or Facebook.
• Set a featured image (recommended) from the bottom correct corner of the screen. The featured prototype usually displays as a large image at the tiptop of the post or every bit a thumbnail image when shown in a list.
• When you lot're done, click 'publish.'
• Click 'View post' to see the new weblog post post, with the featured prototype at the top of the screen.
• Finally, if yous visit the homepage, you tin see that the new post now appears in that location.

Add a card to your artist website

Menus allow people to navigate from 1 page to another on your website. Let'south begin past creating a menu at the summit of the page.

• Go 'Appearance' > 'Menus' (in the WordPress dashboard).
• Click 'Create Menu.'
• Add items to the card. Tick items on the left and click the 'Add together to Bill of fare' button. For example, y'all tin can add pages, posts, and categories that you have created.
• Reorder the menu items equally appropriate. I have indented the 'Seascape Paintings' post nether the 'Paintings' Category. This means it volition appear as a drop-down particular on the card, under Paintings.
• Rename the menu items as appropriate. Clicking on the menu detail allows you lot to rename it to a shorter, abbreviated title.
• Select the display location. Some themes allow you to display the menu in more than ane place (for example, in the footer or sidebar). Select 'Top Primary Carte.'
• Click 'Save Menu.' If yous visit and refresh your website, you lot will see you now accept a menu across the top of the screen.

Add plugins to your artist website

Plugins are similar 'apps' for phones: they add extra functionality to your website. At that place are more than 50,000 free plugins bachelor, which add together contact forms, social media buttons, buy now buttons, and then on. The more plugins y'all add, the more complicated your website becomes, making it slower to run. I recommend having no more than 20 plugins per site.

• Become 'Plugins' > 'Installed Plugins' (in the WordPress dashboard).
• Delete the existing plugins (these are installed by default).
• Click 'Add together New.' This takes you lot to the costless WordPress plugin directory.
• Note the plugin rating. Earlier installing a plugin, you should bank check its rating. A proficient plugin is usually installed many times, is recently updated, and is compatible with the current version of WordPress.
• When y'all discover a plugin you like, click 'Install Now' and so 'Activate.'
• You lot are and so taken dorsum to your list of installed plugins. Underneath the name of the plugin y'all have installed information technology says 'Settings.' Clicking this allows you to edit the settings of that plugin.

Add or remove sidebar 'widgets.'

A widget is a small item that appears in the sidebar or footer of your WordPress website. Everything that is currently in the sidebar of your website is a widget.

• Go 'Appearance' > 'Widgets' (in the WordPress dashboard). On the left-manus side of the screen is a list of all the widgets that are available. On the right-hand side of the screen is are the areas where widgets can exist placed.
• By default, the sidebar comes with several widgets placed in it: a search box, a list of recent posts, then on. Delete whatsoever widgets that you lot don't want to appear. To delete them, drag any widgets out of the sidebar area. Alternatively, click the downwards arrow abreast them (equally shown above) and click 'delete.'

Final words

For those who would like more assistance, I am in the process of creating boosted in-depth tutorials to guide people through the process of building an artist-specific WordPress website, too as how to measure and grow traffic to your website, with artists and creative entrepreneurs in mind.

If you have plant setting upwardly WordPress confusing, delight don't fret! As with anything new, information technology takes time to go familiar with where the shortcuts and buttons are in the WordPress dashboard. The fundamental is to get started: WordPress is learned fastest by using it. And once WordPress becomes 2d nature to y'all, the rewards are enormous! Right at present I make my living running websites (and am taking a suspension from teaching), which is peculiarly awesome in this current climate!

If there is anything in this video that you lot need help with, delight don't hesitate to send me an email. I update this tutorial regularly, and feedback is highly valuable and appreciated.

Give thanks you! Go started, and visit Bluehost to begin!

Amiria has been an Art & Design instructor and a Curriculum Co-ordinator for seven years, responsible for the form blueprint and assessment of educatee work in two high-achieving Auckland schools. She has a Bachelor of Architectural Studies, Bachelor of Architecture (Commencement Class Honours) and a Graduate Diploma of Teaching. Amiria is a CIE Accredited Art & Design Coursework Assessor.

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Source: https://www.studentartguide.com/articles/how-to-make-an-artist-website

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