@Griffin-McPherson Griffin, I've personally struggled with this contradiction since I started pondering a path toward children's illustration. The illustrators I admired did not stick to the "best practices" that so many people seemed to definitively advise. Some did, but far far more didn't. (And by "best practices" I mean a website with its own domain name and email for a specific segment of the children's illustration industry with no more than 18 images covering all manner of children's contexts and situations on a single page with a clear About/Contact info block. And nothing else.)
It seems to me that currently it's really really hard to make a living JUST as a children's illustrator. And some of the Art Directors that have spoken at my local SCBWI events have said that they don't mind seeing artists have websites that have lots of different sections and uses, because they want the artists they're working with to be successful and surviving. They know the struggle. They're not stupid. As long as menu sections are clearly labeled and they can find what they want easily and quickly they're okay with it. That's the priority: clarity of navigation. I think perhaps 15 years ago expectations may have been different, but today's ADs and Agents are much more web-savvy than they used to be.
You have to look at who is giving you the original advice. Did they experience the same path you're experiencing? Is it people who have the privilege of only working in one industry (which, to be honest, is getting more and more rare)? Is it well-meaning people repeating what they think is expertise because that's what they've heard? Is it pros who have moved beyond the children's illustration field after already achieving success in it?
I will admit it makes me incredibly frustrated (and sometimes even kind of angry) to hear so many people emphatically say that things need to be one definitive way but then turn around and see clearly and evidently with my own eyes complete contradictions to their wisdom by very successful professionals I admire. Even Illustration Agencies don't follow the "rules"--they sometimes have 30-50 images of the same artists's work in very different styles, and even have the same pieces listed under completely different industry categories even though they are seemingly contradictory--like children's illustration in commercial art and vice versa. It's exasperating.
In the end, you have to make the choices that you think will be best for your path and your situation and your capacity to have a career. Yes, consider what their needs are. But in the end, it's your website, not theirs. If it helps, make a specific website for only that particular potential income stream, and make sure you share it with people in that industry who need to know about it. It's a simple matter to make one nowadays. Put a clear link to it on your own more inclusive and generalized website just in case.
You can take inspiration from pros that are doing what you're trying to do, for instance those that work within your market and are hired by your dream clients. You can't appeal to all clients, but if you analyze what their artists are doing you might figure out what appeals to your dream clients.
