When was the last time you visited your own website from an objective perspective as though you were discovering it for the first time? What was the experience like? One of the easiest ways to increase art sales and other art career opportunities is to take some time making improvements to your art website. Your goal should be to offer the best experience for your visitors and encourage them to stay there perusing your portfolio and get excited about buying your art. In this article I provide some simple steps you can take ton how to improve your art website visitor’s experience.
Promote Your Art & Calls to Action
When visitors visit your website they should see outstanding artwork front and center. Visitors should be able to find important information they are seeking on the top of the website. Make sure that message is loud and clear.
Also add social media follow links at the top of the page or “above the fold”. Provide easy to find “Share” buttons to let visitors know they can share your website in social media. Let them know your artwork is available for sale and/or exhibition.
Organize Your Menus
Keep all menu titles short, concise and descriptive — 1-3 words are best such as: “Gallery” or “Portfolio”; “The Artist” “About Sue Smith”; etc. Position the menus on the top of the page. Use as few menus as possible so that viewers, especially using mobile devices, don’t have to scroll far down the page.
Link Back to Home Page
No matter what page the visitor is on they should be able to tap or click your name/logo on the top of every page to return back to your home page. All navigation links should appear on all pages in plain sight, including a “Home” link.
Remove Distractions
The most annoying distractions are pop ups. They also negatively impact your search engine ranking. You want to be free of them if possible. If you must use one choose a friendly discrete smaller approach and time it so it doesn’t pop up the minute the visitor arrives and cover your entire frame.
Remove music. I’m a music lover too, but keep in mind people’s taste in music varies and some of the best music can be distracting. consider the fact the visitor may already have their favorite music playing in the background.
Don’t force visitors to install an app or the newest version of Flash in order to view your website. That could cause an immediate exit.
There are many other distractions that should be avoided such as black backgrounds with white text or other difficult to read color combinations.
Modernize Your Art Website
According to smartinsights.com “The latest data shows that we are now well past the tipping point… Mobile digital media time in the U.S. is now significantly higher compared to desktop.” If your website isn’t mobile friendly yet you’re losing a vast audience.
Do you know if your website is mobile ready? To find out how Google sees your website and see if it is mobile ready go to google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly.
A lot of information visitors and potential buyers will want to know cannot be answered in your main menu pages. The solution: Add a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website. Here you can provide information about framing, delivery options, shipping procedures and costs, size of your editions, wholesale availability, payment plans, and more. Also invite readers of the page to send any additional questions by email.
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
Examine your website for its performance and ease of use on a regular basis, especially if you tend to add more content and images to it on a regular basis.
When was the last time you did some spring cleaning? An occasional decluttering system is recommended. For instance, you may have some art work that no longer fits your current style.
Don’t Make Us Wait
We all know how annoying long-loading websites can be. That is something you want to avoid. The culprits causing the delayed response could be larger than necessary jpeg images or unnecessary additional plugins.
Don’t make us wade through exhaustive difficult to use, manual slide shows and lengthy text. Make sure your gallery pages provide a delightful experience. Provide concise, a well-written Artist’s Biography and Artist’s Statement.
Make Sure Your Website is Safe
I visit hundreds of artists’ websites and occasionally I’ll be prevented from visiting it. McAfee, my anti-virus software that’s installed on my computer will prevent me from visiting the website and flash a page warning me that the website isn’t safe. So, make sure your website has no technical issues.
You may also want to read
Add a Praise Page to Your Art Website
Create an F.A.Q. Page on Your Art Website
Tools For Maintaining Your Art Website
Does Your Art Website Pass This Test?
Another great body of advice! I am constantly learning new things. I hope I can soon learn computer skills to implement all Renee’s great ideas. Thank you again, Renee!e
Thank you Elizabeth. I’m glad you enjoyed reading this and enjoy learning new skills. And, don’t forget that YouTube has great tutorials on a range of topics.