What Every Artist Website Should Include

I’m in the process of updating my artist website, so I did something that I rarely do; researched.

I do different things as an artist, such as writing books, illustrating, and doing photography, and though I could have a different website for each of these (which is what I did before), it is simply too much to manage. I still have my professional photography website (www.housestoriescanada.com), but I wanted my personal artist website to an online where all of my other work can live.

After scouring the internet for tips and advice, I’ve curated a list of everything that I think applies to me.

But First: Why Have a Website

Why does an artist even need a website? If you create art as a hobby, then having a website may not be important, but there are dozens of reasons why having one can be necessary to getting your work infant of an audience.

1. To have a presence - he first thing every artist needs to do before having an audience is to exist. 

2. To have an online home for your art - a website can be a great place for the things you do can come together with images, words, and context.

3. To be reachable - because no one owns a phonebook anymore

4. To be relevant - we are constantly growing as artists, and a website is place where that should reflect that

5. To show credibility - because every professional needs a website

General Guidelines

Throughout my research, there are a few general principles for artist websites that came up again and again:

1. It should be clear and concise

2. Visitors should immediately have an idea who you are and what your art looks like

3. It should be easy to navigate

Art is subjective, its creation is often messy, and an artist’s mind is often in strange places, but having a central understanding of what you do and why it’s worth seeing is a great start at communicating your work to an audience in a clear and effective way. That doesn’t have to mean that you peel the mystery off of your art, you just need to present the gist of it in a cohesive way.

Menu Options

As mentioned, an artist’s website should be easy to navigate, which means the menu options should be minimal and intuitive. There are a few must-have pages:

Home page - this is the face of your website. Most likely it’s the first page that people will see, and it’s the place that they will form their first impression of you and your work, or at least be intrigued enough to dig a bit deeper. Like the rest of your website, it should be clean, and to the point, containing a title, an image, and your website's menu.

Work/Portfolio - this is where you get to show off your best work. It may be tempting to showcase everything you’ve ever done, especially if you’re just starting out, but this is an opportunity to curate your art and show off your best self. Generally your work should be organized into series of related themes. In any gallery, a good number of pieces to shoot for is 10-30. A brief description of each series will give context to your audience. For myself I have a separate page for photography, illustrations, and book, each divided into smaller, unified galleries.

About Page - let people get to know you. If you’re like me, this is the hardest thing to write. You’ll have to say nice things about yourself in a modest, but flattering way. You will probably want to mention some of your credentials, some of your achievements, but also make sure that your personality shines through. You might also want to include an ‘artist statement’ (a little blurb about your work), and you’ll definitely want to include a cool looking picture of yourself.

Contact Page - assuming you want to people to contact you, this is essential

Blog - this is my favourite part of a website. You can share information, show recent work, share some behind-the-scenes, or whatever tickles your fancy. There are an endless number if things that you can blog about that shows off your work, expertise, and personality. I’m so excited about blogs that I might write a separate blog post about them. 

Social Media Links - whether you’re on Instagram, Twitter, FlipFlop, or Glurb, let people know where they can follow you.

Bonus Pages

Press Page - you can build on your credibility by showing all of the great things that has said about you in the media9

Store - obviously if you sell things this is the place to do it, whether you do it through your website or if it links to a serrate online shop.

Newsletter Opt-In - I love seeing examples of good newsletter. If you have a newsletter, let me know where I can opt-in

In Conclusion

Above all, your website should be reflection of you. It is an extension of your work, or at the very least, it is the package in which you and your work are presented to the world. It doesn’t have to be flashy, but it should be nice enough to make people want to stay.

By the time you are reading this, hopefully I will have finished updating my website, and it will be a gorgeous example of what a good artist website looks like. If you have any advice of your own, I would love to hear from you.

How Forest Animals Can Use Blogging for Business

Blogging can be a very effective way for businesses to achieve their desired outcomes, whether you’re a bear who organizes bespoke forest picnics, a beaver who offers tree removal services, a deer who polishes antlers, or a chipmunk who sells nuts. Let’s explore some of the benefits that blogging can bring to you…

More Traffic

Regularly creating fresh blog posts is known to bring traffic to websites, possibly long after the post is published if the content is evergreen (such as ‘The Best Way to Remove an Evergreen Trees’)

More Engagement

Blog posts can be fun, they can be educational, and they can even be inspirational. Whether you’re posting well thought out words, engaging images, or various videos, a blog can be a place that others are excited to visit. In short, good posts keeps your audience engaged, and gives them a reason to come back for more.  

Show Your Expertise

Continuing from the last point, blogs can be a great way to position yourself as an authority in your field. When other animals see how knowledgeable you are about nuts, where do you think they will go for all of their nut needs? Probably not to the squirrel down the road who doesn’t know a walnut from a lug nut.

Convert Clients

Once you become a personable and trusted source of information in your field, it becomes much more likely that the traffic to your site will turn into clients. Others I’ll know exactly who to go to for all of their antler polishing needs.

Create Social Media Content

If your company is on social media (which it should be), blogs can provide you with valuable to content to share to these other platforms. Let’s say that you have written a 500 word blog post titled '10 Health Benefits of Going on Picnics'; you can likely repurpose this post into a series of bit-sized social media content, such as ‘Did you know that going on a picnic with your friends just twice a month can reduce stress levels by 30%?’, or ‘Picnics are great source of vitamin D, and vitamin fun!’.

Share News

Blogs also give you a platform to share news and updates about your business. Is there a new kind of nut on the market? Have you started offering hoof polishing as well? Are there any new tree removal restrictions that your potential clients should know about? What are the latest innovations in picnic baskets? You can use your blogs to keep your audience up to date.

Now that you’ve seen some of the benefits of blogging, let’s have a quick look at some general guidelines of what goes into a good blog post (we’ll more in-depth with these in another post):

• Create a headline that is clear and interesting

• Make sure that your introduction is engaging

• Use sub-headings to break up the text and highlight key sections

• Include compelling graphics

• End with a ‘call to action’

There you have it! If you want to be the perfect picnic planner, a notable nut-seller, an awesome antler polisher, or a terrific tree remover, blogging is a wonderful way to make your business grow!

Library Finds - part 1

As a published picture book author, I love going to the library and exploring picture books with my kids; at any given time we usually have a stack of 20 or so in our home. There are so many great stories to tell, and so many ways to say them. Here are some of my favourite books we have discovered recently:

So Many Sounds

written by Tim McCanna, ilustrated by Andy J. Miller

I’m a big fan of the illustrator, Andrew Miller (also known as Andy J Pizza), for his podcast, ‘Creative PepTalk’, so I came across this book in the library I couldn’t wait to read it - and it didn’t disappoint. Tim‘s text exploring the different sounds that a child might experience throughout a day is fun, lyrical, and allowed Andy plenty of room to play with the illustrations in his fun style.

This book also has the credit of being the first book that my daughter read by herself (with a little help here are there). She has been learning to read for some time, and lately all of the sounds and letters have started to really click with her. We had a pile of library books sitting on the counter, and to our pleasant surprise she picked this one up and started reading the words, ending the book to an enthusiastic round of applauses.

Story Boat

written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh

I don’t always cry when I read picture books, but sometimes I do. ‘Story Boat’ is a story about two young refugees, a sister and brother, making their way to a new and unknown life. Through their exhausting journey, they find refuge in their imaginations and the few familiar things that they have in their possession. It is beautifully written, and the illustration style fits perfectly in the thin layer between the real and imaginative worlds created by the young characters.

The Yellow Kayak

written by Nina Laden, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon

When reading a book I sometimes try to decide which illustration is my favourite. With this book, every single page is an amazing work of art. The light, poetic text is fun to read, taking you on a lovely evening adventure.

Bug Club

written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Elise Gravel is one of my favourite Illustrators. Her love of the world and every little thing in it is apparent in all of her work. In this book she uses her uniquely adorable illustrations to share her love of the tiny world of bugs. I happen to love bugs as well, and my 4 year old loves anything that moves, so this book was a big hit at our house.

The Weather Girls

written and illustrated by Aki

This is a cute book all about the different seasons. The illustrations are so simple, but they capture a lot of subtle details and are well composed. The text is fun to read, making for a playful little jaunt through the different seasons.

Sad Book

written by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Quentin Blake

As you can probably guess, this isn’t the most colourful or upbeat book on the shelf, but it is a gentle, poetic reflection about sadness. Quentin Blake’s illustrations are always perfectly beautiful.

LinkedIn

This is a cool graphic a made for a social media course that I’m currently taking; some fun facts about the popular social network LinkedIn

Morning Tea

These are part of an ongoing project that I’m working on. If you like tea and you like mornings, then you’ll probably like these.