Step-by-Step Tutorial: How To Create A Professional Artist Website (Industry-Approved)

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🌟 Overview: Career Advice for Artists

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ℹ️ About CAI:
CAI is the abbreviation of 'Contemporary Art Issue,' a hybrid platform for contemporary art including:

👨 About the host Julien Delagrange:
Julien Delagrange is an art historian, contemporary artist, and the founder and director of CAI. Delagrange studied Science of Arts at Ghent University, Belgium, and worked for the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels, the Jan Vercruysse Foundation, the Ghent University Library, and has contributed to the international contemporary art scene as an art critic, lecturer, curator, gallery director, consultant, advisor, and as an artist. As an artist, he is represented by Galerie Sabine Bayasli in Paris, France, and Gallery Space60 in Antwerp, Belgium.

🎯 The mission of the CAI YouTube channel:
→ To empower artists by providing adequate and industry-approved advice for artists for long-term success in the highest realms of the art world, sharing inside information and proven strategies based on real-life experiences in the art world.
→ To contribute to the online canonization of recent art history, having its finger at the pulse of contemporary art.

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Table of contents:
0:00 — Introduction
01:03 — 1. Understanding the Unwritten Rules for Artist Websites
02:02 — 1.1 The Overall Look, Design & Feeling
03:23 — 1.2 Three Must-Have Pages
06:55 — 1.3 Optional Pages
07:33 — 2. Selecting A Website Builder (Squarespace)
08:52 — 3. Building Your Artist Website with Squarespace (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
36:58 — 4. Final Thoughts & Advice
37:59 — Outro

Contemporary Art Issue
Platform, Publisher & Gallery on Contemporary

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holder. However, if you feel you have inadvertently been overlooked, please take up contact with Contemporary Art Issue.

[contemporaryartissue]

If you would like to see more Squarespace tutorials or tutorials where we use other website builders such as Wix and WordPress to build your website, please let us know in the comments, and we'll get to work for you :-)

Chat soon!
Julien

[veronicavleck]

I cannot thank you enough for this, and your other, marvellous tutorials. I had absolutely no idea how to go about setting up an artists website for myself. Thanks to you, I have done one now, and all my friends think that it is marvellous. I am so grateful to you.

[uniqdzign]

This is an excellent tutorial on building an artists website. Also, as a retired professional graphic designer, I might add that using a 'san-serif' font that is clean and clear to read no matter what its size, is usually better than using a serif font like Times. (Your own 'CAI' font, being a good example.)

[leighnelson]

As someone who's a Digital Artist, I had my site on SS years ago. I actually switched to Shopify ( personality thinking it'll be better) first thing- it was more $$$. I live in Canada. So my yearly amount isn't cheap, but more $$ then SS. I actually love this video. So simple and I feel like you actually understand how we Artists think. I've saving this viideo and might actually switch back to SS -- and use this theme. Thank you for the simple, yet very understanding video.

[vsadeq]

I thank-you from the bottom of my heart. I did get lost in the middle of the video as my headings didn't always match yours. I also think if I watch it again perhaps I can do better. Things started going sideways when I deleted the content and added my own work. I am grateful there are people like you to try and educate me. Just not much good at it.

[jonsalmon]

Fantastic

It's difficult these days to create a simple, professional, and concise website. Thank you for the demonstration and the methodology behind the design.

[TheHungryworm]

This is invaluable, thank you - it is wonderful to have a website up in a few hours without getting sucked down various advertising rabbitholes.

[KrautartBerlin]

after an artist-coaching I created my artists' website exactly in the way you suggest. with the result that it was not found by the search engines. no wonder: no texts (or not enough at least).
meanwhile I have detached my website from this corset. If a gallery is not interested in my art because it doesn't fit this rigid specifications, so be it. But now at least the search engines can find it - and thus interested buyers.
I think in this century art resides online as well. and this includes a certain kind of creativity - like in any kind of exhibition - of which artists shouldn't be deprived.

[DanielLopes-jtyl]

Looked at Squarespace when first came out liked the look of it. Here now I’ve got 1200 sq ft w/12 ft ceilings ( live/work space 25 yrs) California living ain’t cheep- Jeez! Always pinching penny’s with commercial/residential zone lease, rent and supplies coming first. I’m in Benicia, CA it’s a art town. Here in the historic Arsenal a art colony of about 75-100 “Benicia Arsenal artist”.; Judy Chicago was here years ago, Robert Arneson (passed away) was born here and too had his studio, Manual Neri (passed away) also had a studio at the Arsenal before moving to a renovated church in town. So word of mouth works with build it they will come- open studios traffic helping. Will revisit and review Squarespace. Money, money, money! My goodness. Thank you CAI!

[christelsharp]

The information on 'curator' is priceless. Thank you for the top ten (10) curators of the world. The quick bios and inserted links helped define the profession of curator(s), percisely. Thank you very much.

[nobodyhereonehundred]

Wow, I'm happy you have time to listen to the word 🙏❤️🙏

[fooku]

Good information.
The CV for self taught artists is the 800 lb. guerrilla you ignore often. The absence of art school training, fine art degrees, exhibitions, and representation are impediments that even a perfect CAI compliant artist website cannot overcome
the guerrilla.
Still, your advice and recommendations are excellent and followed by me.
Thank you.
Seb

[artontheedgefilms]

That would be great to categorize by projects. Cool art!

[janeburan]

Love, love this site, I learn so much It and David Dunlop is my relaxation go to and you have an amazing dog, so precious.Thanks CAI!! 💯

[aprilbehnke]

Thank you! One thing that's consistent throughout is professional photography.

[monicalopezpinzonart]

Thank you for taking the time to create this tutorial 👍🏻

[liebingf]

YES !!! I def. would like to have some suggestions from you, how to organize the work by date or subject or else ... THANK YOU !

[DanielLopes-jtyl]

Wonderful yes looking further into your tutorial. Yes wonderful all explanations perfect and see squarespace’s tutorial in my e-mail- here you. I have been in there and now see you doing what I was practicing there. Yes so now will go back and easier to follow with you here. Going further into this where as before stopped as something came up and took me away. I see in show your work here. Yes wonderful, intent clear so as to allow a comfortable entry not being obtuse. Symbolism engages, connects to me in terms of my idea personally as to the subjects. Grabs. Lots of work speaks volumes. Some artist struggle at that I am one though I have moments of much activity. But you here wow same quality/constancy of vision as you described, put it. Yes drawing the foundation values can evoke spectacular and moving effects! Wish I could see them in person. Shame. Oh well. Again thank you for this tutorial man this is to cool, it really is! All this coming along at the right time. Glad CAI popped up on my UTube feed and that I clicked on it.

[MarthaGuevara-wldv]

Thank you! That was so professional my next step!

[jasonn]

Thankyou. I have a shopify site that I set-up but I hate it and have deleted it. I wanted something much more simplified and this is perfect 🙏🙏🙏