Is Your Website Harming Your Business?
Season 4, Episode 9: Is Your Website Harming Your Business?
There was time when every one said you must have a website. In this age of social media, online galleries, YouTube, teaching platforms and so on, do we as Artists still need our own website? In this episode, Peter and Tom discuss whether websites are still relevant, some good practice and some pitfalls to avoid to ensure it is helping and not harming your business.
Peter and Tom start by agreeing they both still think websites are indeed relevant for today’s working Artists and discuss some of the ways they can be utilised; from gallery showcases and blogs to newsletter signups and selling platforms, they are also an excellent central point that (for the most part) you can be in control of, for how you market yourself.
Hers are some things to consider and check against your own website:
Do not make it overly complex with too many tabs or links. Be clear about the purpose of your website and stick to that.
Organise it well - is it easy to navigate? If you are starting from scratch, plan it out.
Incohesive branding could reflect that your practice or work ethic might be also be so - use the same fonts, same sizes, same layouts etc
Broken links - this shows you have not been keeping on top of it and it could make people question whether you are still working.
Is it easy to know where you are in the world, and get hold of you? Can people send you an email? Message you through the website? Phone you? Make sure this information is clear, not hidden away via a tab in the footer.
Keep your information updated - do not advertise your Christmas show in March, or your “Upcoming Holiday” that took place 3 years ago!
Same goes for your blog - if you can’t keep up with posting regularly, ask yourself would you be better off deleting it?
Does your personality come through in some way? Or does it feel a bit too cold and corporate? There needs to be a balance of professionalism vs individuality. Ask the opinions of friends if you’re not sure.
You are an Artist - show your artwork!
Within the second half of the episode, Tom and Peter touch on some of the platforms you could use to build a website (Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, FASO, Kajabi, Teachables, Podia, Big Cartel, Etsy - each have a different focus depending on what you are looking for). You could build it yourself or find someone else to do this for you. When making this decision, think about the elements of time and control - time needed to build but also to update and how much do you want or need to be in control of updating it? There will also be a consideration of budget, so shop around and look at different options and all the while, keep in mind its primary purpose to keep you on track.
This week's takeaway... A website can be many different things, so be clear what you want and need from one. For many of us our website is the hub of our business, the place we send people to find out more about us, the see and buy our work. Even if it is not going to be the thriving hub of your business, it feels like a website is still a great way to pull everything together in one place, even if it’s just to direct them elsewhere again and with so many simple and budget friendly options, there’s not really a reason not to have one. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day so start (or restart!) simple; a few, completed, working pages which can be added to, will ultimately be better than a mass of unfinished pages with out of dates images and broken links!
Photo by Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash
This Podcast is sponsored by Rosemary & Co Brushes. For more information about the full range of Artist’s brushes and to order a free catalogue, please visit https://www.rosemaryandco.com
