Deviant Art How to Do Two Floating Boxes in a Custon Box

Last Updated on May 1, 2022

This article recommends the all-time website builder for artists, photographers, writers, and artistic entrepreneurs wanting to create a website that is visited past lots of people. It compares several blogging and website platforms, such equally Wix, Blogger, Squarespace, Weebly, and WordPress, and is written past an experienced high school teacher with a beginner audience in mind. It concludes with a stride-by-step tutorial, showing the exact process used to set up a successful, high-traffic website.

Should I build my ain website?

In 2011, I created a website to showcase my artwork and help high schoolhouse fine art students gain good grades. One year subsequently, this site was receiving over 1000 visits every twenty-four hour period (this became the website that you are reading, the Student Fine art Guide). If I have learned one thing from this feel, it is that the internet holds enormous value for artistic individuals. Making a website is the well-nigh effective way to market your work, build a brand, and sell artwork, products, or services. What'due south more, creating a website is something that fifty-fifty a high schoolhouse pupil (someone with footling funds and no prior spider web design feel) tin can do.

Worried that you don't have the skill required? I had no idea how to make my own website when I began and was daunted by the prospect. I was the blazon of person who struggled to detect the 'on' switch on a calculator. To say I was technically challenged was an understatement. Luckily, creating a website was far easier than I had imagined. The graph above shows daily visits to my website over the course of the outset year, reaching almost 1,200 visits a day inside 12 months (the Pupil Art Guide now gains millions of visits each twelvemonth).

Websites for artists and other creative people: why they are important

It used to be that great fine art was discovered past galleries, written manuscripts called by publishers. These days, slap-up content is discovered first-paw by ordinary individuals. At that place is no longer a barrier between the creative person and the masses. If you take an online presence – and your work can be establish, shared, 'pinned' or 'liked' – you can accomplish a level of recognition that could once only be dreamed of. A single image or blog postal service can receive thousands of views in a very short time-frame; exist seen by vast numbers of prospective clients, admirers, and fans. If you lot are an artist, photographer, writer (or any other creative entrepreneur), you need to harvest the power of the internet and create your own website as soon as possible.

Why platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, DeviantArt, Behance, Saatchi Online, Fine Art America, Imagekind, RedBubble, Etsy, and Tumblr are not enough

There are many social media platforms where sharing content is encouraged. These tin can be helpful for promoting your own work, meeting others with similar interests, gaining feedback, and reaching others via extended social networks. Being an active fellow member of some these sites can exist a good idea – and may indeed form a central part of your online strategy – but these sites should complement, not supersede, your own website. They should be used as a marketing outpost to drive traffic to your ain website, not as a substitute for it.

* A alarm virtually costless website builders / free portfolio websites

Many people search Google looking for the 'best gratis website architect for artists' or a 'costless artist website.' Others look for more specific information, comparing various website builders, such as Wix vs Weebly vs Blogger vs Squarespace vs Google Sites vs Adobe Spark Page and so on. These platforms, forth with many others, offering customizable websites, and target those who are looking for an easy manner to brandish their piece of work online (these platforms allow you to set upward bones photography portfolio websites or graphic design portfolio websites, for example, ordinarily with higher-priced premium plans marketed alongside). These website builders are typically slick and aesthetically pleasing, with drag-and-drop templates that are appealing for beginners. Indeed, these tin can be a suitable pick for those who wish to create a website to share with family or friends, or a temporary online portfolio, simply they should never be used by someone who is serious almost getting their website ranked highly in Google and seen by thousands of people every day.

For the best hazard of success, y'all need to create your ain original website.

Hither's why:

one. You demand total control over the appearance and design.

Aesthetics is important. Websites should showcase your creative piece of work professionally and communicate style and individuality, helping yous to stand up out from the crowd. This cannot exist achieved with a standard page on a free site, using a template that looks like a million others. With your own website, you can select a peachy design theme and customize this withal you like.

ii. You need to accept an awesome website name, Not yourname.freeservice.com.

A website name is the starting point for your brand. For equally little equally thirteen dollars per year you can create the illusion that you are a professional person worth investing in. Take your piece of work seriously. With domain names costing so niggling, there is no alibi for not having your ain.

iii. You need to optimize your website and then that it ranks highly in Google.

If you cannot optimize your content for search engines, your website is left floating lone in cyberspace, relying on countless social media promotion and kind visits from friends. Humans must dear your content, but only every bit important: Google must dearest it. Google has a secret (and constantly updating) algorithm that they use to make up one's mind where websites should appear in the search results. When someone searches for something in Google the search engine carries out a complex adding (information technology takes a fraction of a second) to estimate which – of all of the websites in the world – you want to run into. According to Search Engine Watch, 33% of people click on the offset result shown in Google, eighteen% on the second result, and even fewer on the third. If your website doesn't go far onto the showtime page of results, but a tiny percent of people will ever detect it.

As an example, when people blazon "A Level Fine art ideas" into Google ("A Level Art" is the name of an international loftier schoolhouse qualification), Google ranks my website first. First out of the 686,000,000 other web pages that Google thinks might exist about this topic. In fact, y'all tin come across that the Student Art Guide currently holds the first AND second position for this term. Thus, someone looking for A Level Art ideas is more probable to click through and visit my website than any other.

One of the reasons that the Student Art Guide ranks highly in Google is that our articles are comprehensive, highly detailed, and take weeks to write. Another reason is that our content is well-optimized for search engines. This means that Google understands what each folio is well-nigh, and is thus more probable to rank it highly, then thatpeople tin notice u.s.a.. In fact, there is a very skillful chance that you arrived at this commodity later on Googling "how to make an artist website" or something like. Well, this page is optimized for that phrase, and many other like terms!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is impossible on most free websites and social media platforms. To make matters worse, Google knows whether your website is created using a free platform, and may perceive your website accordingly: as less professional, less serious, and less important.

Unfortunately, sometimes these lower barriers (meant to encourage less techy audiences) tin attract some dodgy characters like spammers who wait for inexpensive and easy means to set dozens or hundreds of sites that add together little or no value to the web. When it comes to automatically generated sites, our stance remains the same: if the sites do not add sufficient value, we generally consider them as spam and take advisable steps to protect our users from exposure to such sites in our natural search results. – Google Webmaster

In other words, with a free platform, you must work that much harder to convince Google that your content is worth ranking, and, even and so, you don't have the tools to brand this like shooting fish in a barrel: you beginning with a disadvantage. This is one of the most important factors to consider when deciding whether to create your own website.

four. Schools and universities must be able to view your content.

A growing number of schools and universities are blocking all access to social media and gratuitous blogging platforms, considering, equally noted above, these are ofttimes used by spammers and those who share dodgy content. Some teachers spend months creating a website using a gratis platform, only for this platform to exist later blocked by their school, equally high school photography teacher Wendy Brown McElfish discovered first-mitt:

Furthermore, even if you accept no direct connection to the education industry, there is a huge advantage to having your work discoverable by educational institutions. For case, students in the UK often observe my artist website and written report my artwork. Schools then link to my website. Authentic links from relevant websites provide a signal to Google that my website is loftier-quality (links from educational institutions are considered extra-valuable). This, in plow, makes Google trust my website more than and rank it even higher. As noted above, sites that are ranked highly proceeds more visitors.

5. Y'all need your work to exist celebrated, non lost in the crowd.

When someone contemplates ownership your artwork (or other products) on a social media platform, or a communal website with multiple sellers, buyers are often distracted by the countless other items showing up in their feed. You lot want people to be channeled towards your fantastic creations, without others competing for attention. On social or customs websites, buyers are easily enticed away.

half-dozen. You lot need to control how you make money from your website.

If yous have your own website, earning opportunities are controlled entirely by yous. You lot can sell artwork, products, or services directly from the site. You lot can add advertising, seek sponsors, recommend affiliate products, embed print-on-need items, or simply concentrate on building your brand, popularity, and fame. Social media platforms and free website builders often identify inappropriate advertising alongside your work or take strict policies governing the mode y'all operate business upon their platform. It is very common for free website builders to plaster their own branding all over your website, attempting to direct your visitors dorsum to them. Generating income from your ain website is much easier. If you lot want to sell artwork online, for example, this can be accomplished in a matter of minutes, past adding a 'purchase at present' push button beside the work. Alternatively, you lot can add together professional person shopping carts or whatsoever other commercial feature.

7. Y'all need to measure the number of visitors to your website and other important statistics.

'Google Analytics' and 'Search Panel' are gratuitous tools built by Google that are easily integrated with your ain website. Nearly free website builders or social media platforms do non allow you to use these, and offering inferior statistics, if any at all. Google Analytics and Search Panel provide in-depth information about those who visit your site. For example, you can see which countries visitors are from, how many minutes they spend on certain pages, which pages they leave immediately, and what they typed into Google prior to arriving at your site. This data is invaluable. It helps to shape and direct your artistic piece of work and improve your content for the hereafter.

This Google Analytics report shows visitors to the Student Art Guide in real time. At that exact moment, 93 people were viewing the site, with 8 people reading our popular photography article. You lot can see the keywords people typed into Google to land on the website; which pages they visit; which land they are located in, and many other helpful pieces of data. This helps me understand why people come to my site; what content they adopt; and what they would like my website to provide. This tool has helped me create an fine art website that receives millions of visitors per year. Without it, I would exist flying blind.

8. You need the ability to build an email list.

A few years agone, Facebook changed their newsfeed algorithm so that each 'status update' made from a Facebook business page was shown simply to a small-scale percentage of followers. To have posts shown to more fans, you lot must now pay money to promote these – fifty-fifty to those people who accept chosen to follow your page. Every bit such, the value of having a big Facebook following diminished overnight, crippling many pocket-sized businesses who relied on Facebook to accomplish their audience. Similarly, YouTube recently made significant changes to their algorithm, affecting which videos are shown to viewers, making it more than difficult for creators to become their videos seen. YouTube also 'shadowbans' certain content and demonetizes videos if they deem them to fall outside of their e'er-changing guidelines.

Originally, the YouTube subscription feed was a chronological list of videos from all the channels that a person had chosen to "subscribe" to. …[]…All the same, many video-makers have previously complained that some of their videos have not appeared in the subscription feed, and have questioned whether YouTube manipulates the listing to boost viewer retention and advert revenue. – BBC News (2018)

Social media platforms are businesses that prioritize their ain interests. If you accept your own website, you take the option for your audience to safely share their email address with yous. This ways y'all don't demand to be at the mercy of third parties: you tin contact your followers whenever you like. An email list is an asset that you can backup, giving you direct contact with your audience, no affair what happens. Almost all online entrepreneurs regret not starting an email list sooner. An e-mail sign-upwards box tin be added in a couple of minutes to your own website.

9. You lot need to exist able to hands move your website files from one location to another.

If you start with a free blogging platform and then later come to the realization that you should create your own website (as most who are serious about marketing their work online eventually do) moving your content from the free platform to your own website is often difficult and frustrating (it may require manually cutting and pasting every detail – recreating the unabridged website again). Whatsoever method y'all choose to create an online presence, information technology needs to be portable. Moving, downloading, or backing upwards fabric from your own website is simple – you have admission to every single one of your files and can consign these with a few clicks.

In addition, if yous decide to switch from a free website proper name (i.eastward. yourname.freeservice.com) to an original website name (i.e. yourname.com), any search engine authority that you lot take previously built up with Google will be lost, requiring the new website to piece of work its way up the rankings once more from scratch.

10. 100% of the website must belong to you.

When you create a website on a free platform, your website is really a subsection of someone else's site. Website providers can shut down unexpectedly, taking your content and followers with them. Those who offer free services are specially vulnerable to collapse. For case, Wikispaces has the following message on their website:

Equally stated in our communication in Jan 2018 and subsequent site banners; as of July 31st, 2018 all Free and Classroom Wikis were disabled and are no longer accessible.

In addition, platforms tin ban you or delete your files and there is nothing you can exercise nearly it. They tin can suddenly exist overtaken by a more successful platform, as happened when Facebook increased in popularity and MySpace dwindled. They can exist sold to another visitor, who may run things totally differently, such as when Flickr was bought out by SmugMug. If you lot have the potential to create a beautiful, stunning website, information technology is too risky for this to be at the mercy of another company. It is too valuable of a resources. You demand to create your own website.

Why yous need to make a website before long

If y'all are serious well-nigh growing an audience online, you need to make your ain website as soon as possible. Here's why:

1. Older websites rank college in Google.

There are many factors that influence where a website appears in search engines (the higher y'all rank, the more visitors your website receives). The age of the website is ane of these factors – a bespeak that your website is more likely to exist a genuine, dominance site. The sooner you start, the sooner you tin can begin to build your website'southward say-so with Google.

ii. Website names are limited.

As time goes by, fewer quality website names (known as 'domain names') are available:yourname.com may already be gone. Many corking domain names accept already been purchased and are beingness resold for thousands of dollars (the tutorial below shows you how to check which domain names are notwithstanding available).

3. Unpredictable lockdowns hateful that more and more people are shopping online

If e'er there was a time to establish an online presence, it is now. Many artists and artistic entrepreneurs who previously contemplated edifice a website have urgently prioritized this activity, given the events of the by few years. Many teachers are likewise deciding to create websites to help guide their students via altitude learning. This adds a further blitz of people snapping up domain names and building websites.

4. Your age and electric current circumstances are not a bulwark to success.

You do not demand to await until you are older, accept more fourth dimension or are more 'successful.' Creating a websitesounds daunting, simply information technology takes only about an hour to become up and running. Many neat websites are built past young people, with little funds or resource. Teenagers as young every bit 14 take seen huge online success. With parental permission, you tin become started while in high school. Setting upwards a website can exist an splendid projection for a high schoolhouse Art, Design, or Technology student. With hard work, a website ready during high school tin be earning money by the fourth dimension you are in academy or higher. Furthermore, the skills y'all learn while creating a website tin can assist your employment prospects immensely at graduation. The best thing is that the whole procedure is fun. Information technology is exciting and rewarding – almost addictive – watching people from all over the world country on your website and view your content, solar day after solar day.

What is the best way to build an creative person website (or any website, for that matter)?

At that place are 2 basic ways to create an original website. The first is to apply an existing 'content management system.' A content direction system can be idea of equally something like Microsoft Word. It is a program or tool that makes the process of creating a digital document MUCH easier. Content management systems are designed for the ordinary user, so that coding is non necessary. They save time and money while allowing for creative 1-of-a-kind outputs to be achieved.

The 2nd way to create an original website is to hire developers (or acquire to lawmaking yourself) and build the entire thing from scratch. Even if yous accept sufficient funds to hire a developer, or know how to lawmaking, in virtually all cases, information technology is wise to apply an existing content management system. Not only does this save you fourth dimension and money, but a site that is built from scratch is much harder to maintain, as only the person who understands how it works is the ane who built information technology. When you utilize a popular content management system on the other hand, there are many tutorials and forums online sharing advice. If at whatsoever indicate you get stuck, there are answers online to but nigh every question you could imagine. Additionally, there are thousands of developers who specialize in each popular content management system. This means you are non reliant on a single expert who knows your website well nor vulnerable if this expert leaves.

The outcome: Unless y'all have a team of specialist developers and are trying to create something like the side by side Facebook, using an existing content management organisation is far-and-above your best selection.

Which content management system should I cull?

Many of the free website builders (such as Weebly, Wix, and Squarespace) are in fact a kind of content management system. However, these are simplified and tied to a single company, leaving them vulnerable to many of the weaknesses described above.

The leading content management systems are 'open up source': this means they are maintained by a huge drove of expert developers around the world (rather than connected to a single company). As such, they follow best coding practices and are kept up-to-date.

Co-ordinate to 2019 data,the leading content management system in the globe is WordPress (used by 61% of the market), followed by Joomla (v%), and then Drupal (three%). Non only is WordPress the most popular content management arrangement, simply an estimated 34% of all websites in the world run on information technology. I have used WordPress since 2011 and recommend it above all else. Information technology is hands-downward the best website architect for artists – or for anyone else who wishes to create their ain website. For entrepreneurs, bloggers, writers, or artists who wish to marketplace their services, promote products, or create whatsoever other kind of content-based website or blog that is viewed by a lot of people…WordPress is the best solution.

A sample of the vi,000+ free WordPress themes bachelor, suiting any kind of topic or niche.

WordPress tin be customized to await like anything – from an informal blog (a casual, comment-driven website) to a professional business website. It can be used to create a stunning online art portfolio or to present work in any fashion that you desire (written text, illustrated articles, scrolling images, image galleries, embedded video clips, and and so on). But as y'all can add an 'app' to your phone to add together extra functionality, you can add 'plugins' to a WordPress website, enabling you lot to do nigh anything (there are over 52,000 WordPress plugins available). Equally an instance, in that location are gratis plugins to add together email forms, social share buttons, purchase at present buttons, shopping carts, email signup boxes, search engine optimization, and then on.

To alter the appearance of a WordPress website, you click a push to activate a new 'theme.' Some WordPress themes are uncomplicated and minimalist; others are circuitous. All can exist customized, depending upon your needs. The image below shows how my personal artist website www.amiriagale.com has morphed and changed over the years, beginning with a very simple WordPress theme.

These screenshots show how the advent of my artist website (built using WordPress) has changed over the years. All of these images show the aforementioned WordPress website, with different themes and customization options selected.

How hard is WordPress to use?

Once y'all are familiar with WordPress, it has a similar difficulty level to Microsoft Word. Still, every bit with anything new, the first few days can be frustrating. A beginner hasn't learned where all the buttons are, and so every job requires consciously thinking through the steps. To complicate matters, the signup process uses terminology that is strange to most people, making the whole thing seem unnecessarily daunting. To help ease beginners through this process, I accept created the tutorial beneath.

This screenshot shows me editing my artist website using WordPress. You type directly in the cardinal box, selecting italic or bold etc. (the published page can be viewed here).

Using WordPressis harder than sharing something on Facebook or slapping together a free drag-and-drop website.Only information technology'due south non nigh equally hard every bit yous retrieve. The all-time way to learn is to dive in the deep finish and brainstorm. Once you get through the first few weeks, it is very directly-forwards. In a way, it is almost proficient that itappears daunting, as this cuts out many of your potential competitors, and gives y'all an reward.

How much does WordPress cost?

WordPress itself is free. However, you demand to purchase the website name (the domain name) and a place to store your website files online (this is called 'hosting' and is explained in more than detail below). WordPress is the software or tool that is used to create the website (just every bit Microsoft Give-and-take is used to write a document). Notwithstanding, in order for people toseeand visit that website, it needs to be safely stored online somewhere. For example, if you built your website on your own computer, every time you turned your computer off, your website would be offline. To have your websiteonline 24/7 – and available for others to visit, yet protected against hackers and viruses (this is not an easy task, as hackers constantly utilize automated software to crawl the internet looking for loopholes) – you demand to find a company who specializes in spider web hosting.

Every website needs hosting. Places that offering gratuitous websites pay for the hosting themselves, in commutation for making money in other means. Facebook, for example, offers you free space to upload photos and conversation with friends, while they make money from advertising. Wix and Weebly offer basic free websites, knowing that many users will grow frustrated with the limitations of a gratuitous program (as per all of the bug described to a higher place) and and so buy their premium plans. In other words, y'all may not pay for the hosting initially, but y'all pay for it in other ways.

The best style to create your ain website is what is known as a self-hosted WordPress site. This means a website that is built using WordPress and is stored safely online at a professional person web hosting provider of your choosing. This gives you far more flexibility than whatsoever of the premium packages offered by the likes of Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly, for a much lower price. It besides gives you lot the most security and peace of mind, because you can easily move your website from 1 hosting provider to another, if demand exist: you lot are not reliant on a unmarried company. The website is owned entirely by you.

* A note about wordpress.com and wordpress.org

Confusingly, there are two official WordPress sites. WordPress.com allows y'all to set up a basic free WordPress website: this is not advisable, for the reasons listed above. In guild to customize a WordPress website fully, and acquire all the benefits of owning your own website, yous need to use theconsummate, open-sourceversion of WordPress, described at WordPress.org (y'all don't really need to visit WordPress.org, because everything is taken care of by your chosen hosting provider – as shown in the step-past-step tutorial beneath). Signing up for hosting and installing WordPress is very straight-forward and takes only a few clicks.

In summary, to create your own website you need 3 things:

• A domain name: this is the website proper noun, such asstudentartguide.com.
• Website hosting: this is rented space on a large server where you store the website files and then that your site tin connect to the net 24/vii (encounter my recommendations below).
• A content direction system to build the site, such equally WordPress, which is free.

Allow'southward at present become through these steps in detail.

What you need to build your own creative person website: a complete WordPress guide

What follows is the tutorial I wish I had when I started. It is a complete beginner'due south guide for those with no prior web design experience. It contains footstep-by-step screenshots, accompanied past clear instructions, showing how to set up a new WordPress website.

Step i. Begin a catchy, memorable website name (your 'domain' name)

The first step is to come with a website domain proper noun, such as www.studentartguide.com. Common formats for a visual art website include: www.yourname.com,world wide web.yournameartist.com,www.yournamephotographer.com so on. Sometimes website names include keywords related to the item genre of artwork (such aswww.yournameportraits.com) however you should be conscientious to select a proper name that doesn't limit you unnecessarily.

Tips for choosing a good domain proper name are equally follows:

• Communicate the intention of your website, without existence spammy
• Aim for a curt and memorable proper noun
• Ensure that it is piece of cake to spell, with no unintentional meanings when words are merged
• Avoid numbers and dashes, so that information technology is piece of cake to say aloud
• Choose a .com extension or a country-specific extension (such every bit .co.uk or .co.nz) if targeting a local audience only
• Avoid similarities with existing sites or infringing upon trademarks

These tips are communicated in the infographic below.

DISCLOSURE: The Student Art Guide provides content free-of-charge and then that all students and teachers can access our resources. We brand money through advert and chapter links. In this article, we link to hosting providers that nosotros recommend completely: our reputation and success depends upon this. Purchasing hosting via these links allows us to continue to deliver quality resources to you, for costless.

Stride ii. Buy the domain name and hosting package from a reputable hosting provider, such equally Bluehost

www.bluehost.com is one of merely three hosting providers officially recommended by WordPress:

Every bit noted above, the role of a web hosting company is to provide you with space on their server to store your website so that your site is safe and attainable on the world broad web 24/seven. Most hosting companies sell domain names also, allowing yous the convenience of purchasing both from the same place.

The web hosting industry is extremely competitive, and thus prices and services often change with time. I previously recommended SiteGround hosting, however, SiteGround'due south prices increased dramatically in 2020 (their cheapest plan now renews at $19.99 USD per month), and their access to live chat support declined.

In contrast, Bluehost's introductory rate for their Bones programme is currently discounted to $2.95 per calendar month. Bluehost also have live-conversation back up bachelor at any time of the twenty-four hours. Bluehost also offering the domain free for the beginning year, making them a far more cost-efficient option overall – with prices that are within the accomplish of even many high school students.

NOTE: If you lot love creating cute, artistic things, building a website is likely to exist your well-nigh fun project yet. If you go stuck at any signal during this tutorial, feel gratis to e-mail me. My name is Amiria Gale, and I am a high school teacher from New Zealand. Alternatively, Bluehost have trained support staff bachelor on-manus via alive chat. Questions help me to improve this tutorial and provide valuable feedback, letting me know when something has become outdated (technology changes very fast)!

Allow's get started!

a) Begin by visiting: world wide web.bluehost.com

b) Click the 'Get Started' button to see Bluehosts different hosting plans.

c) Select a hosting program. The 'Bones' and 'Plus' programme are both suitable for beginners. The chief divergence between these is that the Plus plan allows you to host an unlimited number of websites, whereas the Basic program only allows you to host one. The Plus plan likewise has more storage space, which can exist beneficial for artists. Subsequently you lot have decided which plan you would like, click 'Select.'

d) On the side by side screen, type in your chosen website name under 'create a new domain' (I accept used 'portfolioexample.com' to illustrate this procedure). Choose whether you would like .com or some other extension. And then click 'Side by side' to meet if the domain name is bachelor. Recollect that domain names get snapped up very quickly, and then your first selection may non be bachelor.

e) Once you accept called a good domain name, enter your personal details, so you can sign up with Bluehost.

f) Important: Select the hosting period (how long you want the hosting for). This is important because the discounted pricing merely applies for the selected period and the corporeality is paid upfront. Past adjusting the driblet-down menu abreast 'Account Plan,' yous tin can meet that the disbelieve varies depending on the length of time you select. For example, the monthly charge per unit is cheapest when you lot purchase hosting for iii years in advance. This is mutual do across the hosting industry and is their way of rewarding customers who stay with them for a greater length of fourth dimension. Selecting three years too allows you to lock in the discounted rates for the longest period. (Bluehost has a thirty-mean solar day money-back policy for hosting, so regardless of which period you lot select, you can get a refund if you modify your mind). Once you have decided which time menstruum yous would like, coil down to the next department.

g) Here is where Bluehost upsell a multifariousness of different options. Some of these are recommended; others are not necessary.

• 'Domain Privacy + Protection' – highly recommended. All website owners are required to have their contact details in a public database called WHOIS. This archaic rule was created when at that place were very few websites in the world and it was an effort to make a kind of phone book with contact details listed. To go around this, hosting providers offer 'Domain Privacy,' which replaces your contact details with the host'due south generic contact information and keeps your private data safe. If you take signed up using a business address and contact phone number, Domain Privacy may not be necessary, still, for almost people, it is highly recommended.
• Codeguard bones – this is a service that backs up your website, and so that y'all don't need to worry about conveying out transmission backups of your website. I didn't select this when I was simply staring out, yet this is up to you lot.
• Bluehost SEO tools – not necessary. WordPress comes with all the Search Engine Optimization tools that you demand, free of charge, so I don't recommend choosing this.
• Microsoft Mailbox – non necessary (simply up to you).
• SiteLock Security – This scans your website for malicious code and helps protect against hacking. Although hacking is rare, all websites are vulnerable to this. When creating a new website, I keep things as toll-efficient as possible, still, whether you choose to include this is upward to you.

h) Lastly, enter your contact information and payment details. If you are under xviii, delight seek parental permission before entering credit card details. Click submit!

i) You are and then prompted to create a countersign, and and so login. At present you lot are the proud new owner of a domain and hosting!

Step three: Install WordPress at Bluehost

Now y'all need to install WordPress at Bluehost. This only takes a few minutes. As a reminder: Bluehost is the place you store your website files; WordPress is free software that you lot employ to build the website.

When you login to Bluehost for the first fourth dimension, you see the post-obit screen:

a) Enter the website proper noun and tagline. These words appear at the top of your website and are usually similar (or identical) to your domain name. The tagline is a short statement (like a slogan) that sums up the website. You can hands edit and change these later, so only cull anything for now and and so click 'Go along.'

b) Select the appropriate options on this screen (it doesn't really affair what you choose) and click 'Go along to Theme Pick.'

c) Choose a WordPress theme. Past default, WordPress comes with a theme pre-installed. Here you are just selecting the one you lot wish to begin with (you can easily change themes subsequently, and then don't worry about making the 'perfect' option). There are many more WordPress themes than are shown hither, and I run through how to change and customize a WordPress theme below, so it doesn't really thing which theme you lot select here!

d) On the next screen, there are two important links (superlative right corner). The outset, 'View My Site,' is a link to your brand new website! You lot tin can see that you now have your very own WordPress website, live on the cyberspace. Of class, at this betoken, it appears very bland and empty, because you oasis't customized it or added any content.

The other link, 'WordPress,' is to the WordPress admin console (you should 'bookmark' this, as it is common for people to forget how to find this again) – too known as your WordPress dashboard. This is where you edit your WordPress site and add content to it.

Now you lot are gear up for the fun to begin!

Stride 4: Build your artist website!

At this signal, many people wish to spring in and begin playing effectually with WordPress. This is an splendid idea and a wonderful mode to learn. However, for those who would like more than detailed guidance, key pointers regarding the best way to begin edifice your creative person website are detailed below:

Change the appearance of your artist website by adding and customizing a theme

• In the WordPress dashboard, go 'Appearance' > 'Themes'.
• Click 'Add New'. This takes you to the WordPress theme directory – thousands of free themes, canonical for utilize with WordPress (exist very conscientious sourcing WordPress themes elsewhere).
• Search through the themes. It is easy to become overwhelmed and spend forever doing this. Yous can switch themes at any time, and then don't worry likewise much about finding a perfect theme right away. Aim for a elementary theme to start with.
• When yous find a theme you like, click 'Install' and and then 'Activate'.
• Once activated, click the customize push button (The customize button can be accessed in iii places: under the theme when y'all first install it, as described above; in the dashboard card, under 'Appearance'; and in the top blackness bar, when viewing your website). Each WordPress theme has dissimilar customization options bachelor – some are very flexible; others are simple.
• Once you have made some changes, click relieve, so visit and refresh your website. You will see it now looks totally different!
• Tips and advice specific to customizing the appearance of an artist website will be added in separate tutorial coming before long.

Add a page to your website (i.e. an 'About Me' page)

• In the WordPress dashboard, go 'Pages' and then 'Add New.'
• Add together a title – let'due south phone call this 'About Me' or something similar.
• Blazon in the central box to add content to the folio. For now, just add some sample content (a short blurb almost the website, yourself, or your artwork), so yous get an idea of how WordPress works. Don't worry most making this perfect – yous tin hands edit this later. To add headings and subheadings, click the '+' symbol top left, and choose 'heading,' selecting H1, H2, H3, H4 or H5, depending on the size of the heading required. You can also add bullet points , quotes , or link to other websites, using the link symbol.
• To add an image, click the '+' symbol top left, and curl down to select 'image' or 'gallery' (under the media department). You tin can and then upload an epitome from your computer.
• When your folio is done, click publish.
• Click the View Page link, and yous can meet you now have a new page, live on your website.

Add a 'postal service' to your website

Posts are very like to pages (they expect the same). Nonetheless, in that location are two main differences:

• Posts tin can be categorized. For example, if you lot create an artist website, you lot might have a collection of posts about paintings; another collection nearly drawings and and so on. You can and so link to each category on your menu, and so that clicking this takes you to all of the artwork in this category (menus are explained in more detail covered beneath).
• Posts appear in lists. For case, by default, your latest posts appear in a list on your home page.

Posts are useful for most content on your website, equally they permit you to easily organize content. Pages, on the other hand, cannot be categorized and practice not appear in lists. Pages are all-time for standalone content, such as an Most page, or a Contact page. Don't worry too much if this all sounds disruptive; it will go clearer as y'all employ WordPress.

For now, practice creating a new post as follows:

• Firstly, go 'Posts' > 'All Posts' (in the WordPress dashboard).
• By default, WordPress comes with a sample post already created. Click 'Trash' to delete the sample post. You need to move your mouse nearly the title for the delete pick to appear.
• Now, to create a new post, click 'Add together New.'
• Add a title and some sample content to this post. As earlier, add an epitome if desired, and click insert into mail service.
• Select a category for the mail (right of the screen, partway downwards). Click 'Add together New Category.' Create a name for the category. I have used 'Paintings' as an example. Parent Categories are useful if yous wish to have categories that are sub-categories of others. For case, you lot might have a main category of 'Paintings,' and then sub-categories called 'Acrylic Paintings,' 'Oil Paintings,' and and so on. Then click 'Add New Category' (the lower push button). Categories brand information technology possible for you to group and organize content, helping your visitors to navigate effectually your artist website and find related material.
• The tag function (optional) allows you to add keywords, kind of like a hashtag on Instagram or Facebook.
• Prepare a featured prototype (recommended) from the lesser right corner of the screen. The featured image ordinarily displays every bit a large image at the top of the post or as a thumbnail image when shown in a list.
• When y'all're done, click 'publish.'
• Click 'View post' to see the new blog post post, with the featured image at the top of the screen.
• Finally, if you lot visit the homepage, you tin can run into that the new mail service now appears there.

Add a card to your artist website

Menus allow people to navigate from one folio to another on your website. Allow's brainstorm past creating a menu at the acme of the page.

• Become 'Advent' > 'Menus' (in the WordPress dashboard).
• Click 'Create Carte.'
• Add items to the card. Tick items on the left and click the 'Add together to Menu' button. For instance, you tin can add pages, posts, and categories that you take created.
• Reorder the menu items every bit appropriate. I have indented the 'Seascape Paintings' post under the 'Paintings' Category. This means it volition appear as a drib-downwards item on the menu, under Paintings.
• Rename the menu items as appropriate. Clicking on the menu item allows you to rename it to a shorter, abbreviated title.
• Select the display location. Some themes allow you to display the carte in more than than one identify (for instance, in the footer or sidebar). Select 'Top Primary Bill of fare.'
• Click 'Save Card.' If you visit and refresh your website, you lot will encounter y'all now take a menu across the tiptop of the screen.

Add together plugins to your artist website

Plugins are similar 'apps' for phones: they add extra functionality to your website. There are more 50,000 gratis plugins available, which add contact forms, social media buttons, buy now buttons, and so on. The more plugins you add, the more complicated your website becomes, making information technology slower to run. I recommend having no more than than 20 plugins per site.

• Get 'Plugins' > 'Installed Plugins' (in the WordPress dashboard).
• Delete the existing plugins (these are installed by default).
• Click 'Add together New.' This takes you to the free WordPress plugin directory.
• Annotation the plugin rating. Before installing a plugin, y'all should check its rating. A skillful plugin is usually installed many times, is recently updated, and is compatible with the current version of WordPress.
• When you observe a plugin y'all similar, click 'Install Now' and and so 'Actuate.'
• You are then taken dorsum to your list of installed plugins. Underneath the proper name of the plugin you have installed it says 'Settings.' Clicking this allows yous to edit the settings of that plugin.

Add or remove sidebar 'widgets.'

A widget is a small item that appears in the sidebar or footer of your WordPress website. Everything that is currently in the sidebar of your website is a widget.

• Become 'Appearance' > 'Widgets' (in the WordPress dashboard). On the left-hand side of the screen is a list of all the widgets that are available. On the right-hand side of the screen is are the areas where widgets can be placed.
• By default, the sidebar comes with several widgets placed in it: a search box, a listing of recent posts, and so on. Delete whatever widgets that you don't want to appear. To delete them, drag whatsoever widgets out of the sidebar area. Alternatively, click the down pointer abreast them (as shown above) and click 'delete.'

Final words

For those who would like more aid, I am in the procedure of creating boosted in-depth tutorials to guide people through the process of building an creative person-specific WordPress website, as well as how to measure and grow traffic to your website, with artists and creative entrepreneurs in heed.

If y'all accept found setting upwardly WordPress confusing, please don't fret! As with anything new, it takes time to become familiar with where the shortcuts and buttons are in the WordPress dashboard. The key is to go started: WordPress is learned fastest by using it. And once WordPress becomes 2nd nature to you, the rewards are enormous! Right now I make my living running websites (and am taking a break from teaching), which is particularly awesome in this current climate!

If there is anything in this video that you need help with, delight don't hesitate to transport me an email. I update this tutorial regularly, and feedback is highly valuable and appreciated.

Thank y'all! Get started, and visit Bluehost to begin!

Amiria has been an Art & Pattern instructor and a Curriculum Co-ordinator for seven years, responsible for the form design and assessment of student work in two high-achieving Auckland schools. She has a Available of Architectural Studies, Available of Architecture (First Course Honours) and a Graduate Diploma of Teaching. Amiria is a CIE Accredited Art & Design Coursework Assessor.

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Source: https://www.studentartguide.com/articles/how-to-make-an-artist-website

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