How to Choose a Website Builder for Artists
An artist looking for a website builder should first decide what they want from their website. An artist’s website can be an online portfolio, art store, or both, but different website builders are better suited for different purposes. There are several key things to look for in choosing a website builder. First, artists will want to look at the selection and quality of available templates and how easy they can customize. They’ll also want to consider what tools and features are available and whether the builder offers any help with keyword optimization. Finally, artists will want to consider the price of the website. It’s not worth investing a lot of money in a website if it’s not going to generate revenue as a result. Users can get a lot for free, but there are things worth paying more for as well.Webpage Templates
It’s fair to say that most artists are not also web designers, so having a broad selection of starter templates to choose from is vital. Templates give users a starting point to help them visualize their website and begin building it, which they can then customize as they go. Every website builder includes some selection of starter templates at their lowest-tier pricing plan, whether that’s free or very inexpensive. Some include all templates at their lowest price, and others give you more at higher subscription tiers. But more isn’t necessarily always better when it comes to templates. Too many templates can be daunting to sort through, especially if there’s no intuitive way to sort and filter them by feature. Artists have a very particular set of needs when building an online portfolio or ecommerce store, and not all templates will fit the bill. A smaller selection of templates overall is better than a vast, unmanageable collection that is practically unusable.Ease of Use
A website builder helps people with no coding experience build a website from scratch. However, there’s a lot of variation among website builders in terms of ease of use. For example, some allow for virtually unlimited customization, including dragging and dropping elements freely across the page. Unfortunately, that level of freedom has its consequences because it leaves a lot of room for error. Less tech-savvy users may unintentionally overlap elements that may look fine on a desktop view but render the mobile site completely unusable. Some web builders avoid this issue by forcing objects to snap to a grid, while others don’t allow you to modify the layout at all. Unfortunately, the easier a website builder is to use, the fewer customization options users have available. A few rare site builders combine ease of use with limitless customization, but users almost always have to pay a higher subscription fee for that. One other factor that goes toward ease of use is domain hosting. Website builders often include a generic subdomain (as in, www.weebly.com/yoursitehere) with free or entry-level subscription plans. Most include a custom top-level domain (as in, www.yoursitehere.com) with a paid plan, but some don’t offer that until higher subscription tiers, and some don’t offer one at all. If a website builder doesn’t offer a custom domain, they may connect to the one you already own. This usually requires a bit of tech-savviness, so users without a decent foundation of web knowledge may want to stick to site builders that include the domain. Having a portfolio website is of no benefit to an artist if their followers can’t find it to begin with.Tools and Features of the Website Builder
This category is hard to quantify because it all depends on what the artist hopes to get out of their website. Different website builders focus on different priorities, so choosing the best one often boils down to what features an artist needs and wants. The best portfolio website builders for artists prioritize the ability to display high-resolution images. This allows website visitors to look at the photos on the page in their original detail. Websites without this feature may display poor image quality, which is a deal-breaker for many artists. If the artist’s primary purpose in building the website is to sell their work, they may prefer website builders with lots of ecommerce tools. Photographers, in particular, will want to look for proofing galleries, which allow them to share their watermarked photos with clients to help them make a purchase, and contract generators. Some website builders provide newsletter functionality and other business management tools, but not all artists will need that. Many artists just want a place where people can find their work online, and for those, even the most basic website builders can accomplish that.Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is key to drawing organic traffic to an artist’s online store and portfolio. Web users searching for a particular piece of art or style will use search engines to lead them to what they’re looking for. Search engine optimization uses relevant keywords and structural elements to make a particular website appear sooner than other sites in the search results.For example, an abstract sculptor would want to include the phrase “abstract sculpture,” of course. But an art fan looking for a piece of surrealist sculpture using a search engine wouldn’t find that artist’s page unless they included that keyword as well. Search engine optimization ensures that the text on a website is responsive to as many relevant search queries as possible.
What does a website builder have to do with search engine optimization? A lot, as it turns out. Some website builders include SEO tools such as keyword generators and even artificially intelligent (AI) writers to help artists optimize their content. Writing helpful product descriptions and informative blog posts is easier with tools like these. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the offenders. Not only are these providers lacking in SEO tools, they actively make optimization more complicated than it would be with another provider. Some website builders don’t allow users to create a blog page, which is a huge downside. Blogs are the easiest and most effective part of a website to optimize for search engine traffic. An artist portfolio with no blog functionality makes it virtually impossible for organic web users to find that portfolio. This isn’t a problem if the artist has a significant social media presence that can drive their followers to the site, but it’s a big problem if they don’t.Pricing
They say that you get what you pay for, but artists can generate a robust online portfolio and web store to sell their art for free or close to it. At the low end of the price spectrum, some website builders offer a completely free website. However, not all free plans are created equal, though they all have ways of encouraging users to upgrade. For example, those that do have a free subscription plan usually display their logo on the website, which most artists dislike. (Some, like Weebly, even include their logo on their lowest paid subscription, requiring users to upgrade to higher-priced plans to remove the branding.) Others will offer a limited number of templates or features on their free plans. Some website builders don’t offer a free version at all, but most offer a free trial of some sort, usually around two weeks. This allows artists the opportunity to explore the features of the website builder to decide whether it will work for them. However, users should be aware that the free trials often rely heavily on features only available in top-tier subscriptions. There’s a broad spectrum of features and services among paid subscriptions that are included at different tiers. Some website builders offer more storage, pages, or product listings at higher subscription levels. Others offer nominal ecommerce at lower tiers but require a more expensive subscription to handle more than a couple of transactions. Finally, as in the ease of use section above, some include a generic or custom domain in the subscription price, while others require users to obtain that elsewhere. Hidden costs like these can add up and should be considered when evaluating which are the best artist website builders.The Best Artist Website Builders on the Market Today
Here’s our list of the best website builders for artists, whether they’re looking to build a portfolio, sell their work online, or both.- Best Website Builder for Artists and Creators –
- Runner-Up Website Builder for Artists –
- Best Website Builder for Artists Who Want Control –
- Best Website Builder for Artists in a Hurry –
- Best Website Builder for Minimalist Aesthetics –
- Best Website Builder for Artists On a Budget –
- Best Website Builder for a Beautiful Portfolio –
1. Best Website Builder for Artists and Creators – Pixpa
- Templates: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 9/10
- Tools and Features: 8/10
- Search Engine Optimization: 6/10
- Pricing: 8/10
Pros
- Made for artists
- Built-in portfolio and ecommerce pages
- Client proofing galleries
Cons
- Templates lack customizable features
- No free plan
2. Best Overall Website Builder for Artists – Wix
- Templates: 10/10
- Ease of Use: 9/10
- Tools and Features: 9/10
- Search Engine Optimization: 9/10
- Pricing: 9/10
Pros
- Wix ADI auto-generates a website in minutes
- Fully customizable templates
- Drag and drop editor
- Ad-supported free plan
Cons
- No unlimited storage
- Ecommerce requires a higher subscription tier
3. Best Website Builder for Artists Who Want Control – SquareSpace
- Templates: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 9/10
- Tools and Features: 9/10
- Search Engine Optimization: 6/10
- Pricing: 8/10
Pros
- Tons of templates
- Ecommerce and online portfolio in one
- Unlimited storage and bandwidth
Cons
- No free plans are available
- Analytics only available at higher subscription tiers
4. Best Website Builder for Artists in a Hurry – GoDaddy
- Templates: 6/10
- Ease of Use: 9/10
- Tools and Features: 6/10
- Search Engine Optimization: 6/10
- Pricing: 7/10
Pros
- Low prices
- Unlimited storage and analytics at all pricing tiers
- Super easy website builder
Cons
- Minimum customization
- Ecommerce only available at top pricing tier
5. Best Website Builder for Minimalist Aesthetics – Zyro
- Templates: 6/10
- Ease of Use: 8/10
- Tools and Features: 9/10
- Search Engine Optimization: 8/10
- Pricing: 7/10
Zyro’s template library isn’t huge, but it still has a variety of minimalistic templates, including some designed specifically for portfolio websites. The editor interface features a helpful grid layout and drag-and-drop functionality to help artists customize their page while keeping it balanced and free from clutter.
For a new provider, Zyro offers a surprising number of helpful bonus features, too. Artists can use the integrated ecommerce platform to sell their artworks. There are even marketing tools like a free logo maker and heatmap to help users see what parts of their website will be most attractive to viewers. Blogs are great for generating website traffic, but most artists don’t have time to write optimized copy. Zyro’s secret weapon, the AI-Writer, automatically generates copy that artists can use in their blogs as-is or edit for clarity and quality. While the AI-generated copy isn’t perfect, it’s a pretty good rough draft for artists to work with, and it’s better than no copy at all. The lowest price point at $2.90 per month includes those AI tools and a whopping 1 GB of storage space, which is a lot more than most premium providers offer at the lower end of their offerings. Artists who want to sell their work online will need to upgrade to one of the two eCommerce tiers. The lower tier includes up to 100 product listings, while the higher one has no such limit.Pros
- Outstanding features at the lowest price on the market
- Easy-to-use website editor
- Powerful SEO and AI tools
Cons
- The blogging interface is limited in features
- Fewer templates than other portfolio website builders
6. Best Website Builder for Artists On a Budget – Weebly
- Templates: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 9/10 (Weebly Editor) 6/10 (Square Editor)
- Tools and Features: (1-10)
- Search Engine Optimization: 3/10
- Pricing: 9/10
Pros
- Feature-loaded free tier
- The drag-and-drop editor is easy to use
- The built-in app store offers free and paid add-ons for more customization
Cons
- Square Editor, for ecommerce, has no blog ability
- Lowest-tier paid plan is still ad-supported
7. Format – Best Website Builder for a Beautiful Portfolio
- Templates: 6/10
- Ease of Use: 10/10
- Tools and Features: 10/10
- Search Engine Optimization: 5/10
- Pricing: 7/10
Pros
- High-resolution images
- Made for artists
- Client proofing galleries
- Client contract generator
Cons
- No free plan
- The lowest price plan is extremely limited