Website basics?
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@LauraA Thanks! I like how clean it is but I hate how bare it is. lol
I didn't know that about dashes. You learn something new everyday, huh? Maybe you could also try Lauraart.com -
@LauraA I just checked namecheap. It turns out Lauraart.com is already spoken for since 2012
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@LauraA yup, there's no store option. I think you should ask @NessIllustration about this. She has her portfolio on Adobe portfolio and has her store on a different platform.
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@LauraA It kind of depends how much effort you want to put into learning to build a website. Wix and Squarespace are all-inclusive, good starter choices if you have the money and aren't interested in design/build/maintaining a website. Making a website on Wordpress has a learning curve to it, but there's tons of resources to help. It just takes more time to teach yourself than the drag-n-drop options like Squarespace. My portfolio site is Wordpress because I do freelance web design on the side.
If you go with Wordpress, I get my domains from Namecheap and hosting from Siteground.
A logo is not as important for a freelance illustrator. Your avatar image tends to be more memorable. It might be enough to pick out a cute font that represents your style and write out your name with that.
Carrie Copa
https://carriecopadraws.com/ -
@Nyrryl-Cadiz Thanks for your help! Hopefully if I put my surname in there (since it isn't Anderson, after all!), it will open up some possibilities.
@carriecopadraws Thanks! Is a Wordpress professional site really that much harder than a free one? The free one is fairly drag and drop.
So: You just go to Namecheap, get your name, then go to Siteground, sign up for hosting, and somehow it's clear enough where to enter those on WordPress?
Good point about the logo. I can work on an avatar. It's probably time to update the COVID haircut one!
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@LauraA I just also checked Lauraalderson.com and it it's also taken since 2009. this is a hard one
Portfolio: nyrrylcadiz.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nyrryl_cadiz/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbJCF1Im8ZO7hpGWTKOJMuA -
@Nyrryl-Cadiz I can get Lauraaldersonart.com. Seems like the best bet! Any reason I shouldn't? And should I get any of their other offerings? It's a safe site?
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@LauraA i think that's a good move. Somebody already owns Lauraalderson.com but they don't have a website for it. So even if people accidentally leave out the "art" part, they still won't end up on some rival website so think you're safe.
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@LauraA Adobe Portfolio does not have a shop or blog option, however it's by far the simplest and cheapest option of all. It creates a beautiful portfolio in no time at all, and I personally didn't miss the blog or shop (since I have Etsy). But if those are important to you, I suggest WordPress (the software, not to be mistaken with WordPress.com the company!). I have a Wordpress website for my company and I like it lots. I got my domain and hosting from Namecheap.com and used the page builder Elementor to build my site without code, using building blocks. I host the shop with WooCommerce. Elementor and WooCommerce both have free versions and the domain + hosting cost me about $30 a year.
For the domain name, I feel you! I personally chose nessillustration.com and don't regret it one bit. If you want to avoid confusion or spelling errors, you could consider names like lauraillustration, artbylaura, illustrationbylaura, lauraillustrator, theartoflaura, etc
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Domain name done! Thanks guys!
@NessIllustration Let me get this straight. You get WordPress software from WordPress.org, right? Which is not the same as WordPress.com, the free blog site. Elementor is a free drag and drop service for WordPress.org? $30/year is really not bad! Thank you!
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@LauraA Yep! Elementor is a Wordpress plugin, which you can download from your Wordpress dashboard. It's a free drag and drop page builder, that also has a pro version for extra features (that is nice but absolutely not necessary). Elementor allows you to very easily create your website visually, so it looks exactly like you want to without having to code. And yes the hosting is not bad, I love Nemecheap! I used to be with Siteground for hosting and although their service is good, it cost me over $200 a year. I switched to Namecheap's EasyWP service, which is WordPress hosting. It was really easy to set up and connect the domain, literally just a few clicks which I appreciated! Still, I only did it because I needed something specific for my website and if I only needed a simple portfolio, I'd go with Adobe Portfolio any day.
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Oh man, website options are overwhelming, so I like it when these topics come up, so I can slowly absorb the info over time.
I decided to start out very simply so I could just get the ball rolling, and told myself I can always upgrade to something more complex in the future. I bought my domain name through namecheap, and I just use adobe portfolio. So currently I'm just paying the $9 a year for my domain and the $10 a month bundled in with my Adobe Photography subscription. It took me a while to figure out how to get my portfolio landing page the way I wanted it, since it wasn't set up that way in any of the templates, but I figured it out eventually. I just cropped a star from an illustration I already had to use as my favicon, and used a font from adobe for my name at the top. Not very ideal, but I can always improve them later.
My website is very humble at this point, but I just needed to start somewhere. I'm looking forward to seeing how you craft yours!
Website: www.tessawrathall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/
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@TessaW same
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@TessaW Your website is beautiful!
vanessastoilova.com
instagram.com/vanessa.stoilova/Check out my Youtube channel for tips on how to start your career in illustration! www.youtube.com/c/ArtBusinesswithNess
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@NessIllustration Aw, thanks! That makes me feel good.
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I tried to read to see if anyone mentioned this so sorry if it was already covered - just to reiterate there is a difference between Wordpress.com sites and a Wordpress based website you'd set up on a host like Bluehost or WPEngine. Wordpress.com is it's own subscription based service and the options are a bit more limiting because they only allow specific themes or plugins.
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I like Squarespace, but I definitely see why it would be good to reconsider a more low cost option. I made my website during a time in my life when I was really overwhelmed and just needed it to be done in a couple of days while the majority of my attention was on other things! I still feel that way, but it's on my task list to think about learning how to be more independent with the design and save money.
For the name issue, I decided to stick with my full name. The illustrator Christian Robinson did a cute thing where he named his website "the art of fun" and that's really easy to remember and sticks in the brain https://www.theartoffun.com/ Aaron Becker did the same with his website: https://www.storybreathing.com/journey/
I'm definitely still a beginner on this so I am interested in reading everyone's input!
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@LauraA I know your struggle! I have hosted my website over IONOS, it's a German company, for a few years now. 29,90 € a month. I know, it's a lot, but they have a great customer service. I have my own consultant, that I can call whenever I have problems with my website. Right now I am redesigning my website and building a Webshop and that guy has been my savior
.When it comes to logos for artist, I would go for something simple. Maybe just your name in a nice font, you feel represents your art and art style.
If you want to check out my website and logo for reference it's www.aisleen.de
On the topic of your URL I like lauraarlandart.com, but laura-arland.com or laura-arland-art.com are more legible. So I would go with one of the latter. I went with just my first name, because as far as I know I am the only one in Germany with this name and my full name would have been too long.
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Thanks to all of your for your continued contributions! I hope we can create a little resource list here for someone!
@TessaW Your website has that clean simple look that an artist's website needs (to show off your lovely color!), and I see that you were able to get a logo in there too! I didn't realize that your website was an Adobe one! My only thought would be, if I ever changed it, would people then be confused? Something to think about...
@jdubz Yes, I knew the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org because I have had a free WordPress.com site for years. But it's always a good clarification to make, because it's truly a bit confusing!
@lora_chaudavis I like what Christian Robinson and Aaron Becker have done by creating their own "imaginary universe names." I follow them both on Instagram, so I knew about the names, but it had been a long time since I had been to their sites. Christian Robinson's is exactly the kind of site I would like to have when (and if--not a given!) my work grows up!
@Aisleen Your site is lovely too! I live in Europe, so I have some experience with German tech support and agree that it's quite good. I'll probably go with a cheaper option, but I'll have a look at IONOS as well. I'm assuming you can use .com there? I know that some people in Italy have .com. I didn't want to use .it because I wanted a truly international extension. I learned the lesson of not identifying with one place when I set up my other email and social accounts.
And, you guys with unusual names are lucky! There are various well-known people with names similar to mine, so I guess I'll just have to work that much harder make my artwork memorable! Not that I hope to ever be on the level a Laurie Anderson or a Laurie Halse Anderson, but just to give you an idea of the possibilities for confusion...My favorite all-time disambiguation, however, is Yuko Shimizu's disclaimer on her website that she did not create Hello Kitty. Imagine being as talented and famous, and as Yuko Shimizu and still having to fight for your own identity!
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@LauraA said in Website basics?:
@TessaW Your website has that clean simple look that an artist's website needs (to show off your lovely color!), and I see that you were able to get a logo in there too! I didn't realize that your website was an Adobe one! My only thought would be, if I ever changed it, would people then be confused? Something to think about...
If I ever changed it from Adobe, I'm assuming I'll just be able to change the domain over to the new host, so I don't think people would be confused? My site would still be www.tessawrathall.com. Like if you change cell phones or cell service provider, but keep your phone number, people can still contact you. Maybe it would mess with google searches and SEO for a while? Not sure! Are there issues here that I'm not foreseeing?
On the topic of unique names, I kept my obscure maiden name partially for this reason. Otherwise I'd be Tessa Johnson or Theresa Johnson- both of whose domain names are already for artist's websites! Lol.
Website: www.tessawrathall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/
