WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS ?
Besides the typical gallery display , what if your intent is to be more conversational or educational in your approach ? Do you have a particular “ brand ” name for your business or studio that you want
??? to promote ? How much time do you have to invet in creating your online presence ? Do you need service for free , or do you have money to pay for upgrades ? How about selling your artwork online ?
Your answers to the following questions may help you define your online needs :
• How much do you know about computers ?
๏ I know very little about computers and would prefer someone walk me through setting up my website
๏ I know something about computers and don ’ t mind spending some time learning a simple website builder .
๏ I know a lot about websites and love to tinker and add the features I need .
๏ I am not afraid of hosting , creating , and maintaining a website myself .
• Do you want to show your artwork in a gallery style ?
• Do you prefer to show and write about your work in process ?
• Do you have a brand name for your business or a logo ?
• Do you already have your own website address name ?
• Do you currently have an online store ?
• Would you like to integrate an online shopping cart into your website ?
• What payment processing provider will you integrate with your website ?
• Do you want to add a resume , blog or events calendar to your website ? BRAND YOURSELF
If you haven ’ t already , it is a great idea to consider how you would
like to brand yourself on the internet . Think about some names you would like to use to uniquely identify you and your website ( e . g . Mary Smith Fine Art or DietzArt ), bearing in mind the shorter the name you can get away with the better , then go to a computer and search name ideas in Google Folks with unusual names like me have it easy here !
I must share with you that a very exciting development in website domain names for artists occurred in February 2014 , with the domain extension ’. gallery ’ ( like . com ) becoming available for public purchase !