We live in a digital world, and everything around us is a worldwide web, coded and embedded, and to be present nowadays means to be online. This is why an essential part of being a freelancer, an artist, a creative studio owner, is having a branded website, with a kick-ass domain name, perfect (minimalist) design and well-structured website map.
If you don’t find yourself as a website builder, an HTML and CSS master, and you want to avoid hiring a developer to build you a perfect website, and then update it from project to project, maybe we can help.
It is good to know that different platforms are available and affordable for you, to build the perfect website to showcase your artwork, all by yourself. As a designer, or a visual artist, you know exactly what kind of website would do you right, and it is super easy to dive into playing around with elements and pages of your own branded website.
Jimdo is a website builder software specialized for artist portfolio websites. What Jimdo offers you, except the digital tool, is a step-by-step instruction kit guiding you from building the website to selling and search engine optimizing your work online. They offer a great deal of advice on what is good practice when you are promoting your work, and how to optimize the content presentation itself. It is great for beginners who want a simple and awesome representation of their style, for the type of website you can show off on your business card when you work.
They have various templates you can choose from, and you can also pick your domain name on the spot. Jimdo is cool because they let you play with the website for free, and then upgrade it to another plan when you feel ready. You can choose among five different plans, starting from $0 to $39 per month, depending on how many seriously cool features you want.
You. Have. Got. To. Love. This. Builder. PageCloud is not as famous as WordPress or Wix, but it deserves to sit at the big boys’ table. It is super easy to use, has a drag and drop system where you can arrange the elements of how you see fit and edit every page to match your style. It offers a number of integrations, including a simple e-commerce system, so your shop can stay a part of your all-inclusive website. You can either choose a template or create your own page layout, stylize it with the right font, add your images and embed your video. Among many integrations, there are some of our all-time favorites: MailChimp, Instagram, Shopify, PayPal, and Instagram. For more serious players, it lets you change the source code and get the most of your web presentation.
How much for all this, you wonder? They do not have the usual plan system; instead, they give you everything for $20 per month. Pretty good, isn’t it? On top of that, you get a 14-day free trial to see if you are happy with what they are giving to you, and as a bonus, you get a free domain name and Google G Suite for the whole first year.
Artsquare is not really a website builder, but a very unique and useful tool you should try out for sure. Their tagline says “One portfolio to rule them all”, which is why you won’t regret this clever network of the apps you love. Artsquare enables you a simple way of posting your visuals to all the platforms at once, making it easy to reach your audience. They partner up with selling websites such as Ebay and Amazon, so you can set up your shop easier than ever. Once your product is sold on any of the platforms, it is automatically sold on all of them, and off the market. Ship and sell your originals worldwide, with no limits and this awesome time saver builder.
The best part of Artsquare? It is completely free for everybody. You get unlimited uploads, integrations and career advice absolutely free. I’d sign up now if I were you.
Did you try your luck with any of these tools? What is your experience? Tell us everything in the comment section below.
Author: Nina Petrov