If you would love to build a website for your art business but feel stuck or intimidated, this is the episode for you! These are my top tips on how to get started with building your own website.

In this Episode Keita Discusses:

·      Tips to speed up the process when you’re starting to build your website

·      Suggested platforms to easily build your website

·     Why simple design is best for artists and creative entrepreneurs.

Mentioned in this Episode:

DM Keita on instagram, @artbykeita - I’d love to see your website, send me a link!

Don’t forget to share this episode and leave a review and share with a friend if you found this episode helpful - that way we can reach more painty mamas who would benefit from what we talk about here on the podcast!

Hello, and welcome to the painty mama podcast. We're taught that artists are poor. Throw kids in the mix, and it seems impossible to thrive. While balancing motherhood, creative projects, and building a business along with everything else is hard. I believe the universe gave you your unique talents and children so you could live a full inspiring, creative, beautiful life together. Join me for conversations about creativity, motherhood, business, and finding calm in the chaos. I'm Keita Thomas. And this is the painty mama podcast.

00:40

Hello, lovely, thank you for being here today. I really want to share with you today in today's episode, some tips that I've picked up around building websites. So if you have been on the fence of feeling intimidated or feeling a little bit stuck in whether or not you want to sell your art online or seeing building a website as a hurdle for you, please continue to listen to this episode. Because the first one that I built was when the DIY sites first came out, I used this company called moon fruit (that I don't even know if it's around anymore). And I to learn a tiny bit of code, but I'm not very good at it. And honestly, you don't need to know any these days. And it's never held me back from creating websites for various businesses and freelancing as a bit of a web designer here and there. Because over the years, I've picked up so many little tips. And it's really, it's not that difficult. It's so doable. And I just always want this podcast to be empowering. And this is one of those things that I feel; we can often feel like, we "can't do that", Or "I can't start this business". Or "I can't be a real artist, because I don't know how to build a website". And I'm telling you now, it is pretty dang simple. Yes, it's going to take some effort. Yes, it's going to take a little bit of time. But it's totally worth it. Because it's like having your own. Well, your own online store. It's like having a little house. It's like your house and you invite people over online. And they come and they visit you and you can put whatever you want in your house. So it's different than social media where an algorithm dictates something. Or if you have an Etsy shop, you know, like you're relying on an exterior source. But when you have your own website, that's yours and you're in control of it. And you become the controller of you know, who comes into your house who comes into your store. And it feels really good. And I just don't want you to feel like intimidated by it. Because it's quite simple. So I'd really like to share some of these, these real tips about getting started. So these are from my brain. And from my experience. And a lot of these are traps that I've been caught in over the years and I just wanted to make it quicker and easier for you to not get stuck in the same loops as I have got stuck in in the past. And just know that you can do it. If you want to create your own website, then this is the episode for you. And I hope you enjoy it.

03:28

So my first tip is going to be similar to the intro of this episode. But basically, don't get stuck into the details or overcomplicate anything. Gone are the days where we had to know all this complicated coding and HTML designs and like having to edit every small thing that you do on your website. You can literally click and drop images, text, create your online shop in like an hour. It's so... these tools that we have now are absolutely mind blowing. And I've definitely caught up, or got caught up in the past, myself with trying to make everything like "just so" and bespoke designs and shift like spending three hours shifting text over by like three centimeters and like I can sit and waste my time when I'm designing websites like nobody's business. Because I get sucked into the details. And it's a total time suck. So the reason I'm saying this is like the first tip is please approach it this way, it will save you so much time and I wish that somebody would have said this to me. Take the template and roll with it. There are so many beautiful templates out there. And depending on what you're using, you know, there's WordPress, (which I find kind of complicated, but some people like that, but I think it's a bit more complicated and You do kind of need to know about codes and plugins and stuff that makes me go a bit cross eyed. So I don't like that as much).

05:07

But there are loads of them. So that there is WordPress. There's also Squarespace, which is my favorite. That's what I use. I just love how clean and sleek their designs are. I love that I can't get caught up in all the details and like I can't edit too much. It's just, limits me, which for me is great, because I won't waste as much time then. And I'll be thinking about the content that matters rather than the layout of the website itself. So this is not sponsored by Squarespace. I just am a huge fan and have used them for I don't know, probably 10 to 12 years or something really long and makes me feel like a granny. Yeah, I've used them for a long time. I'm very familiar with them. And I really rate them. And then I've heard really great things about Shopify, I have considered switching over myself to Shopify, but it's kind of pricey. And I'm already set up on Squarespace. Time over again, I might go to Shopify, but I don't. Like I'm not unhappy with Squarespace. And so yeah, I think it's a little bit pricier, but it depends on the package. So I'd suggest shopping around and seeing which packages fit your budget. If you're weighing up those two options, they're both great. They both have different integrations, as you grow your business with email lists and all kinds of useful tools. But when you're first getting started, I would say Wix is also a lower budget end one, but I find it a little bit clunky. So they're kind of my weigh-ups. So I would personally suggest Wix, and Shopify and Squarespace, they are like the ones I would recommend. So pick your platform, pick one of their already done beautiful templates that you will not be tempted to mess around with and just go with it. It doesn't have to be perfect; it just needs to be up there. And the reason why I'm saying choose a simple clean design is if you are (I'm guessing again), if you are an artist or a creative person, you want your images to shine, you want your products to shine, you want your you know, photography, or whatever it is that you do. You want that to be the message. So the last thing you need is an over-cluttered over-complicated web design. Something clean is going to allow your work to speak for itself. So choose something plain, As tempting as it is to go fancy.

07:49

My second tip is to secure your domain as soon as possible. So once you've decided which of those (I mean, there are other ones as well, like you don't have to go with the ones that I suggested, maybe you'll find something else that you're happy with. But the other ones that I would favor). And once you've done that, I'd say secure your domain, because I've been caught out with this before where I've like, gone and done all the branding, and, you know, all that. Worked out all the visual details and like, you know, for a client, and then I haven't actually checked to make sure that I can get the domain. And you know, the Instagram handle that goes with the domain, so everything is cohesive and together. Just I would say it's just so much easier to do that first. So once you're ready, and you're "okay, I'm going to build this website", the next thing is to get the domain sorted. And it's usually pretty cheap. It's like $15 ish here in Canada for a year's worth. So it's not going to break the bank just to secure the domain. And it's definitely, definitely worth it. When you think about the amount of headache it can cause afterwards, if you've already kind of branded everything and done everything else, and you're using this as a last step, and then you can't get what you want is very frustrating. So I would say do that next.

09:09

So my third tip, and I feel like this needs to kind of go in order. So I'd say like tip number three, but kind of like phase number three is to get your branding on point. And decide what colors you're going to use and create a brand board or a mood board that reflects those things that you wish your artwork or your products or whatever is because some of these tips do apply to anyone that's building a website. It doesn't necessarily have to be related as we usually talk about. (I mean, I kind of gear things towards that because that's my experience. And I'm, I'm guessing that that's where you're coming from too). But honestly, this could be applied to many different businesses because these are the things that I've worked on for completely different businesses from scenic designers to Reiki healers, to like, what else have I done? Just different corporate companies, it's always kind of this same process. And it saves so much time to approach it this way. So yeah, I'd say the next thing would be to get like your branding. And just like you know, choose your fonts, stick to them, your colors, stick to them. If you're an artist, I really think it's nice to look at your actual artwork and pick the main themes and colors and the feel of your own artwork and use that as inspiration to pull your brand together. Because essentially, that's the flavor that you already have is, is kind of there, that's kind of the gift you have as an artist is like, you already have all these visuals. So if you just pick the commonalities that pop out at you, then that's perfect branding for you. Because you already have a feel to your art you already have, you know, a color palette that feels like you. And the reason why I'm saying this is again, this is because of pain points for me that I have done this before. And I do this, I've done this to myself, like a bajillion times. And I think it's because I am a visual person. And I'll go through phases where like, "Oh, I'm really feeling this color, like this month". And it's really easy to be a visual person getting caught up in different visual aesthetic things  that you are just like, "Oh, I really liked the look of that now I'm going to change everything again". And that has cost me so many hours of unnecessary and it's unnecessary. It really is unnecessary to like keep rebranding everything. It actually is a detriment; I think because people get used to the way that you visually do things. And then if you go and switch your branding, it's like confusing, and they can't associate you with the feel of that product. Again, it's like reintroducing yourself all over again. But I'm picky. And I think often as artists, we are picky, we can be a bit too picky visually. And we want to change things around too often. At least, you know, this is how I felt. And it was to my detriment. And everything got a lot easier once I committed to certain colors, and texts. And it just speeds up the process of making everything. So much easier. So much easier. So I really would suggest doing that as like your next step.

12:32

And then my tip number four is something that you hear people talk about all the time, but honestly, it does matter. And it's almost annoying how much people bring up photography. But if you're selling products in your shop, or even if you just have a website and you need pictures of yourself. Photography is really important; it really sets the tone. And it doesn't matter how great your work is, if you've got amazing paintings, and their photographed poorly in bad lighting, or fluorescent light, it is never going to look good. And that's just the truth. It's just not, it doesn't do your work, any justice. It doesn't do you any justice. And you don't need. Again, this is one of those things like I have got caught up in this too thinking I need to get "I really need to get a good camera" or "I really need this, I really need that before I can get started". But honestly, you don't. You don't need any fancy lights, or expensive equipment, but you do just need daylight, and your phone will honestly do just fine. So I would suggest like timing in the day when you're going to take your pictures. So it doesn't have to be a crazy amount of time either. It can actually be quite quick if you set everything up. But just go by a nice open window. Make sure that there's white things around that are going to bounce the light back and limit the shadows. Sometimes I'll put up like a piece of whiteboard or cardboard or something to just bounce the light slightly back on to the product that I'm photographing. But natural light is the way to go. And you can adjust your photos as well. And if you are selling artwork or you're selling your prints on your website or any products really what I like to do is once I have those images and I've got them on my phone, I'll put the piece right next to me and I will tweak the image to make it look as close as I can to how it looks in real life. Because through the lens of a camera, sometimes the colors can change, sometimes the saturation is a bit off. Or the darks aren't as dark. But if you can try and just make it as close to how it looks in real life, then your buyers are going to get a really good idea of how it really looks. And that's the whole, that's the whole idea. So photography and playing around with it. And that can be fun too - like you can use little props and yeah, photography is fun, but it's also like it's a big part of having a website that will get you off on the right foot, because I've taken some really, really crappy photos before. And I mean, I've learned from it. I've learned from it. And without taking the crappy photos, I wouldn't have got any better. That's just the honest truth. And I hope that those tips help you to show your work in the best way possible.

15:31

And my final tip would be to add a spot on your website where they can enter their email address, if you've gone to the trouble of building your website, and somebody has come over, and they've clicked, and they love what they see, but they're not like, ready to buy it. And that can take I think it's like 15 times now people have to be exposed (it's probably my I have no idea). But I know it's a lot of times that they have to know you online before you will reach any point of them kind of wanting to buy anything, or sometimes even interact with you, like people have to see you around and know and trust you a lot. One of the ways that you can do that is to connect with them via email. So if you can interest someone, (and there's lots of other ways to there's lots of ways that you can do that). But also just if you're starting out, just put a simple box in there to say, "Would you like to sign up for my email newsletter?", even just that, to start off with, pop that in there and let it build slowly. So that would be my final tip. It's just the perfect way for them to keep in touch with you. And my biggest source of return traffic to my website is also from my email list. So whenever I send out an email, even if it's unrelated to, you know, a painting or something, and there's no links to my website, I always see an uptick in traffic to my website when I send an email. And then there's the occasional sale. That just happens because I've been brought to their mind, I guess.

17:14

So those are my main tips. And I hope that that at least gets you to a point of feeling less intimidated. Like you've kind of got a bit of a game plan for getting started. And I would really love to see if you have built your own website, I'd really love to see it, I'd really love to see what you've done. Or if this episode helps you to figure out you know, all the steps or at least where you can start from to build your own website. It's very rewarding. It's quite fun. And yeah, it is gonna be a little bit of work to familiarize yourself with it. But once you can familiarize yourself with it, it's so nice to be able to quickly edit things yourself and feel like you're in control of the way that your business appears online. Rather than handing it over to an algorithm of some kind of social media. You know, it just it feels really good. And I don't want it to hold you back. So yeah, if you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share with a friend or leave a review.

It's been so lovely to talk to you as always. And I hope you found this helpful. And thank you so much for being here. I do honestly really appreciate your time. And it's such an honor to actually be in somebody's ears. I really don't take that lightly. And if you'd like to DM me to show me your website, or if you feel like I could help you in some way, I'd be more than happy to do that. You can DM me @artbykeita on Instagram, I'm usually over there. And as always, you can find everything Art by Keita related at www.artbykeita.com. And until next time, I hope you have fun building your website if you don't have one yet. And if you do, I hope that this inspires you to create the space online that you want to communicate to the world because your art deserves to be seen. And you are worthy of an amazing beautiful website to match your amazing, beautiful soul. Until next time, take care, bye!