The 5 Best Website Builders for Artists in 2024
If you click to purchase a product or service based on our independent recommendations and impartial reviews, we may receive a commission. Learn more
Our methodology
Artists told us they most value quality template designs and value for money, so these factors carried extra weight in our research.
Written and researched by:
Comments: 11
Setting up a website is the best way for artists to expand their professional presence, promote their business, and sell their works online. Squarespace is our top website builder for artists thanks to its stunning design options and beginner-friendly editor.
But, much like art styles, every website builder differs in ease of use, flexibility of design, and cost. If you want to sell your art, it’s important to consider the ecommerce capabilities of each builder as well, since some builders are better suited for certain mediums. Which builder is right for your art style? Read on to see my recommendations.
The Top Website Builders for Artists
- Squarespace – Best for visual artists
- Wix – Best for writers
- Shopify – Best for artisanal crafts
- GoDaddy – Best for performing artists
- Hostinger – Best for side hustle artists
Short on time? Find the best platform for your art with our 3-minute quiz.
1. Squarespace: Best for Visual Artists
- Starting price: $16 per month
- Best for: Painters, illustrators, photographers, graphic designers, 3D modelers
- Read our full Squarespace Review to learn more about the website builder
Squarespace
Best Overall For Artists
- Best designed templates
- Most popular with artists
- Joint easiest to use
Free trial available
Paid Plans: $16 - $52 / month
Pros
-
Sleek templates focus on visuals - Mobile apps allow for on-the-go editing
- Restore deleted pages for up to 30 days
Cons
-
Only one aspect ratio on product pages - Need to code to add more aspect ratios
- No autosaves when editing a site
Visual artists need a website to sell artwork and promote their personal brand online. Thankfully, Squarespace’s award-winning templates and mobile-friendly designs cover a large range of industries and styles, from modern gallery sites to streetwear startups. That’s why Squarespace is our top builder for artists, keeping design and creativity at the forefront so artists can show their ability through design.
In fact, artists designed the latest Magnum Collection of templates on Squarespace, featuring the work of iconic photographers, such as Steve McCurry, Bruce Gilden, and Olivia Arthur. But what else can you expect from our top website builder for artists?
What I Like
✔️ Squarespace is the easiest website builder I’ve tested – with the drag-and-drop editor, I could simply click and move elements into place.
✔️ Squarespace’s ecommerce features allow you to sell physical and digital art in the same online store.
✔️ Artists can offer services through subscriptions and Squarespace’s Acuity Scheduling tool – in testing, I could access the booking functionality by clicking “Scheduling” in the sidebar of the account dashboard.
✔️ Squarespace offers great marketing and SEO features, providing multiple channels to display and promote your art. I could embed social media feeds on to my homepage, set up newsletters, and host videos or galleries on my site.
✔️ Every Squarespace plan comes with unlimited storage so you don’t need to worry about limiting the amount of art you can sell.
✔️ Accept donations and contributions from fans of your art by adding a donation block to your site – I could customize the block to suit my website’s overall look.
✔️ Squarespace is one of the best website builders for photography – Squarespace supports photographers by automatically optimizing your images for different devices, connecting your site with platforms like Pinterest and Flickr, and offering photography-specific templates
What I Dislike
❌ I had to manually save my edits since Squarespace lacks an automated save function, so make sure to keep saving your design as you go!
❌ Squarespace’s product photos have a locked aspect ratio so you’ll need to do any resizing before uploading.
❌ Limited options when adding third-party tools and functionality – the Squarespace Extensions library includes 40+ apps. In comparison, Wix and Shopify’s app markets host thousands of apps.
❌ I found the grid framework in the editor to be really useful when aligning elements, but it also restricted my creative freedom. Blocks could only snap into specific slots when I dragged them around.
❌ Squarespace doesn’t have a free plan. To test the builder out for yourself, there’s a 14-day free trial instead, but you’ll need to pay after that.
How Much Does Squarespace Cost?
Squarespace offers four premium plans. When billed annually, Squarespace’s pricing is as follows:
- Personal – $16 per month
- Business – $23 per month
- Commerce Basic – $28 per month
- Commerce Advanced – $52 per month
If you want to unlock useful tools for artists, such as the ability to sell art online and promotional banners, then the Business plan is your best value-for-money option.
You can get 10% off your Squarespace plan with our “WBE10” code at checkout, or you can use Squarespace’s 14-day free trial to test out its features before you decide.
2. Wix: Best for Writers
- Starting price: $17 per month
- Best for: Authors, poets, screenwriters, content writers
- Read our full Wix Review to learn more about the website builder
Wix
For a Professional Presence
- Best website features
- Over 900 templates
- SEO helps spread the word
Free plan available
Paid Plans: $17 - $159 / month
Pros
- SEO tools are easy to use
- Great freedom with drag-and-drop editor
- Automatic backups keep your work safe
Cons
- Can’t switch templates after going live
- Not as stylish as Squarespace
- Not as cheap as some competitors
For writers, a website needs to be the beacon of their professional presence – this is where people are most likely to navigate towards to get updates and news on your latest project. Blogs are great for regularly sharing your writing and are the best way to post content in between actual releases.
Many authors have memberships with exclusive content, sharing upcoming snippets and first drafts for a monthly subscription. As a result, Wix is our recommended choice for writers because it has the most (and best quality) features of any on this list, including its blogging tools and its SEO features to boost visibility.
What I Like
✔️ Wix has the best website features overall, offering artists and writers a well-rounded suite of tools, from ecommerce to scheduling functionality.
✔️ I found Wix’s drag-and-drop editor incredibly beginner-friendly, giving me the freedom to customize my site exactly how I wanted. Wix Studio was also introduced in October 2023 as an advanced alternative to the regular editor experience, giving professional web designers and agencies the opportunity to show off their graphic capabilities.
✔️ I was impressed by Wix’s blogging features – I could monitor blog-specific analytics, review comments to help foster a community with my readers, and add social bookmarking. It’s the best blogging platform we’ve tested in 2024, outperforming Squarespace and WordPress in our analysis.
✔️ For fans of your work, Wix lets you set up membership-only areas which can be a great place to share exclusive content and updates with your readers.
✔️ Wix boasts over 900 professionally-designed templates that cater to a wide range of industries, including “Literary Arts,” “Art & Illustration,” and “Photography.” When testing, I used Wix’s AI website builder to generate a website for me based on my specific needs as an artist.
✔️ Wix’s SEO features are next level, giving artists all the tools they need to promote their website and work online. The personalized SEO checklist flagged good areas to improve on my site, I could easily add image alt text and metadata, and it took me seconds to connect my site with Google Analytics.
What I Dislike
❌ You can’t swap templates once your Wix site is live which isn’t ideal for artists with changing styles and collections. Updating or tweaking your site’s appearance takes time, and creatives might struggle with this lack of flexibility.
❌ Wix recently increased its pricing in May 2024, bumping up the fee on a handful of plans. As a result, Wix is pretty expensive, especially in comparison to other builders like GoDaddy or Hostinger.
❌ Wix has limited storage on its cheaper plans. To unlock unlimited storage, you’ll need to pay for the Business Elite plan ($159/mo) – Shopify and Squarespace offer unlimited storage across all plans.
How Much Does Wix Cost?
Wix’s pricing ranges from $17 to $159 per month (billed annually), spread across four premium plans:
- Light – $17 per month
- Core – $29 per month
- Business – $36 per month
- Business Elite – $159 per month
We’d recommend the Core plan because you won’t be able to get ecommerce, scheduling, booking, or streaming music and video on the Light plan. It’s one of the more expensive plans on this list, so only commit if you can afford it.
Like Squarespace, we also have a unique 10% off at checkout offer for our readers if they use the code “TAKE10” at checkout. Wix also has a free plan that you can play around with infinitely, meaning you can get to grips with your site’s design and then upgrade later.
3. Shopify: Best for Artisanal Crafts
- Starting price: $29 per month
- Best for: Ceramic artists, woodworkers, metalworkers, sculptors, jewelers
- Read our full Shopify Review to learn more about the website builder
Shopify
For Selling Art Online
- Very scalable
- Powerful sales features
- Multichannel integration
Free trial available
Paid Plans: $29 - $299 / month
Pros
- Huge app market
- Integrates with Instagram and Etsy
- Low stock alerts
Cons
- Poor value for money for small stores
- Transaction fees with most payment tools
- Not as design-savvy as Squarespace
Shopify is our top-rated ecommerce website builder – meaning it’s designed principally for selling products online (including art!). Its sales features are truly phenomenal and the best I’ve tested, offering multichannel selling and a customizable one-page checkout. Plus, if you mainly sell your art in person at art fairs or in galleries, Shopify has POS products like card readers that sync all of your sales, meaning you can sell with Shopify in the way that suits you and your art best.
What I Like
✔️ Shopify has the best sales features on the market – all plans come with unlimited storage, 24/7 support, multichannel selling, discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, fraud analysis, and more.
✔️ If you’d like to sell in-person, you can easily sync your inventory with Shopify’s POS products to help streamline reporting.
✔️ Shopify Shipping is available across all of Shopify’s plans – Shopify partners with various carrier services, including USPS, UPS, and DHL Express, plus offers discounted shipping rates of around 20-50%. This gives you flexibility when selling art online to both local customers and customers from other markets.
✔️ Sync your artist website with your social media accounts to connect and engage with your audience, and potentially reach new customers. Shopify lets you link your store to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and X.
What I Dislike
❌ Shopify only offers a handful of free templates – at the time of writing, there are 212 themes and only 13 templates are free. The majority of Shopify templates come with a price tag, ranging from $140 to $450 (as a one-off payment).
❌ While Shopify’s plans are dedicated to selling, it’s very expensive and not a budget-friendly option. Plus, Shopify lacks a free plan. The three-day free trial is very brief, and I don’t think this is enough time to get familiar with the platform before subscribing to a premium plan.
❌ I found designing a website with Shopify very difficult – the section-based editor limited my options when placing new blocks, and I found it hard to picture a polished website since the designs rely so heavily on you supplying information, such as product photos.
How Much Does Shopify Cost?
Shopify’s pricing is fairly expensive in comparison to other builders in the market, ranging from $29 to $299 per month (billed annually). Businesses can choose from three core plans, or opt for the cheaper Starter plan option:
- Starter – $5 per month
- Basic – $29 per month
- Shopify – $79 per month
- Advanced – $299 per month
If you already utilize social media to show off your work, the Shopify Starter plan is perfect for selling. You can make use of your existing social media followers rather than driving traffic to a new website, plus it’s very affordable at only $5 per month.
The Basic plan is my recommended choice for website building because it gives you a great base for an online store and plenty of room to grow. Still, you may find it overkill just for selling art. Shopify is primarily designed for online businesses, with a monthly fee reflecting this – so I recommend Shopify for artists with 10 or more artisanal crafts to sell through their store.
4. GoDaddy: Best for Performing Artists
- Starting price: $9.99 per month
- Best for: Actors, musicians, dancers, comedians, performers
- Read our full GoDaddy Review to learn more about the website builder
GoDaddy
For Quickly Displaying Artwork
- Step-by-step builder
- Quickest website builder
- Simple onboarding process
Free trial available
Paid Plans: $9.99 - $20.99 / month
Pros
- Straightforward, step-by-step editor
- Going live in 1 hour is a realistic goal
- Relatively cheap starting price
Cons
- Templates lack style and originality
- No SEO tools on cheapest plan
- Less exciting features than Wix
For performing artists, you are the art. This means your website should primarily focus on promoting your work and services to encourage others to support your art. But, due to the less-than-consistent income as a performing artist, website builders can seem wildly expensive. In my experience, GoDaddy is the ideal solution because its plans are affordable and you can get online in minutes.
What I Like
✔️ I could build a functional artist website in an hour thanks to GoDaddy’s AI builder – in my testing, the onboarding process was incredibly quick and due to the simple interface, I had a good grip on the editor in no time.
✔️ GoDaddy offers great support for new builders – I was provided with plenty of checklists to help me optimize my pages, shape my website, and reach my target audience.
✔️ For any budget-conscious artists, GoDaddy is a cheap website builder to consider. You can stay on the free plan for as long as you like, but its premium plans are very affordable so you don’t need to worry about making a huge dent in your budget.
✔️ GoDaddy has excellent SEO and marketing features to help artists promote their work. I was particularly impressed by GoDaddy’s built-in AI-powered Video Editor and Facebook ad functionality. This gave me the opportunity to design an aggressive ad campaign to mirror the level of a professional agency, all from my website.
What I Dislike
❌ Unfortunately, GoDaddy doesn’t provide traditional templates like other website builders – my design options were limited to dull-looking sections, which felt very lackluster in comparison to the likes of Squarespace.
❌ I found GoDaddy’s editor to be quite restrictive since I couldn’t drag elements around wherever I wanted. Instead, I could add sections above or below one another – this is similar to Shopify.
❌ While GoDaddy’s free plan can be used forever, I recommend upgrading to a premium plan to avoid the free plan’s limitations. You can’t connect a custom domain name (which isn’t very professional-looking), and you only have access to basic GoDaddy features, such as video creation and posting on socials. You’ll need a premium plan to use GoDaddy’s SEO tools and sell products.
How Much Does GoDaddy Cost?
GoDaddy’s pricing is split between three premium plans. When billed annually, this is what you can expect to pay:
- Basic – $9.99 per month
- Premium – $14.99 per month
- Commerce – $20.99 per month
The Premium plan has everything you need: booking, scheduling, email marketing tools, and the ability to sell online. Yes, the Basic plan comes with built-in SEO tools which is great when you’re getting started, but the Premium plan gifts you more flexibility for just a few dollars more each month.
However, you can use GoDaddy’s free plan to test out the builder before committing to one of the three premium plan options.
5. Hostinger: Best for Side Hustle Artists
- Starting price: $2.99 per month + 3 months free (if you opt for the 48-month plan)
- Best for: Small crafts, DIY goods
- Read our full Hostinger Review to learn more about the website builder
Hostinger
For Budget-Conscious Artists
- Lots of template options
- Good value
- Not the most scalable
Free trial available
Paid Plans: $2.99 - $109.99 / month
Pros
- Great web hosting
- Good SEO tools
- Good for small sites
Cons
- No app market for extra functionality
- Features not up to par with competition
- Learning curve involved
Hostinger is a great all-rounder website like Wix, but less complex and less expensive. While it doesn’t really stand out in any one area, it’s ideal for side hustle artists and small businesses who want a fully functional website for a cheap price.
What I Like
✔️ Hostinger is incredibly cheap – its Premium plan costs $2.99 per month (for a 48-month term), making it the most affordable builder on this list.
✔️ I could choose from over 100 templates which all seemed very stylish and modern-looking. I found quite a few themes related to photography, graphic designers, and art galleries.
✔️ Hostinger has an amazing suite of AI tools to simplify the website building process and give you more time to spend on your art, such as its AI Writer and AI SEO tools – these tools are available on the Business Website Builder plan.
✔️ Despite the simplicity of its features overall, Hostinger’s editor is beginner-friendly. The drag-and-drop editor mirrored the freedom of Wix, but the smart grid (similar to Squarespace) guided my actions without imposing any restriction on my edits.
What I Dislike
❌ Hostinger has no app market so I had no way to add extra functionality, forcing me to be satisfied with the built-in features provided.
❌ Apart from Hostinger’s AI tools, the builder’s features are quite basic in nature and there’s little to support artists directly.
❌ The builder is great for side-hustle artists or artists just finding their feet online, but Hostinger lacks the flexibility and scalability that larger businesses or professional artists might need. With only two plans and basic features, there’s no room to grow.
❌ Hostinger’s AI builder could generate personalized templates for me, but I found that these ended up looking odd and lacked the polished appearance of the pre-designed options.
How Much Does Hostinger Cost?
Hostinger has two paid plans for its website builder, but you can get access to Hostinger’s website builder with any of its hosting packages as well. Its two focused website builder plans offer pricing for various terms, but the 48-month contract is the cheapest:
- Premium Website Builder – $2.99 per month
- Business Website Builder – $3.99 per month
With a 48-month term, you can also get three months for free to help sweeten the deal. And, don’t forget to use our code “WBE” at checkout to get 10% off your subscription.
Each plan provides access to the AI website builder and core features, but you’ll need the Business Website Builder plan to unlock Hostinger’s full suite of AI features and ecommerce functionality.
Buying Guide: How Can Artists Choose the Right Website Builder?
As an artist, you have to make sure your chosen website builder satisfies all of your needs. After interviewing real artists and seeing their websites, I’ve broken it down into three essential questions that every artist needs to ask when looking for a website builder – and what this means feature-wise:
- Can it help build my professional presence as an artist?
- Images & galleries
- Video integration
- Booking & scheduling
- Marketing
- SEO
- Social media feeds
- Can I sell my art on it?
- Online store
- Shipping capabilities
- POS systems
- Memberships & subscriptions
- Can I showcase my artistic abilities in my website’s creation?
- Artist website templates
- ADI
- Drag-and-drop editor
- In-depth design customization
- Full color & font options
For this list, we’ve ranked the website builders according to how well they answer these questions, as well as factoring in the variable that controls all of our lives: cost. I understand that artists can have a tight budget, so our research has prioritized each builder’s affordability. This data allows me to share the best value plans so you can get the most bang for your buck.
Ideally, you want a website that can accurately display your artwork and share information on who you are, where to find your work, and how to purchase your art (if necessary). Your site needs to represent you as an artist and invite new visitors to explore.
To quickly compare our top performing website builders for artists, see the table below:
| BEST IN TEST  |  |  |  |  |
| Squarespace | Wix | Shopify | GoDaddy | Hostinger |
| Overall Rating 4.7 | Overall Rating 4.7 | Overall Rating 4.6 | Overall Rating 4.2 | Overall Rating 4.1 |
| Starting from | Starting from | Starting from | Starting from $9.99 | Starting from
$2.99 + up to 3 months free (on 48-month plan) |
| Free plan or free trial 14-day free trial | Free plan or free trial Free plan | Free plan or free trial 3-day free trial | Free plan or free trial Free plan | Free plan or free trial 30-day free trial |
| Domain renewal cost/year $16 | Domain renewal cost/year $14.95 | Domain renewal cost/year $14 | Domain renewal cost/year $5.99 | Domain renewal cost/year $9.99 |
| Number of templates 150+ | Number of templates 900+ | Number of templates 150+ | Number of templates 200+ | Number of templates 150+ |
| Publish for free | Publish for free | Publish for free | Publish for free | Publish for free |
| Sales tools on cheapest plan | Sales tools on cheapest plan | Sales tools on cheapest plan | Sales tools on cheapest plan | Sales tools on cheapest plan |
| Design Flexibility 4.7 | Design Flexibility 4.4 | Design Flexibility 3.9 | Design Flexibility 4.0 | Design Flexibility 3.5 |
How Can I Protect My Artwork From Unauthorized Use on My Website?
Most website builders will have security settings available, such as adding copyright notices to your site to clearly state your ownership over any imagery or artwork. Some builders, such as Wix, can even protect your art by watermarking images on your site. Additionally, I recommend exploring the possibility to disable right-click downloads. All of the builders in this list permit this action, whether it’s through custom code or third-party apps.
What Should I Include in My Artist Website’s Portfolio Section?
A portfolio is a visual representation of your artistic skills and style. I recommend including a variety of your best work, organized clearly and cohesively in a way that gives context for each piece, such as the inspiration behind it, the medium used, and any relevant details. Your portfolio is a window into your mind as an artist, so let it be obvious where your art and creativity come from.
Should I Use a Website Builder or Hire a Web Designer To Create My Artist Website?
Hiring a web designer offers a more customized and professional touch, but it comes with additional costs. As an artist, your website will be an extension of your creative ability through its design, so it might be better – and more authentic – if you build it yourself.
How We Test Website Builders for Artists
How did we find our top artist website builders? Good question! First, we put every builder on this list through our rigorous research process. That’s where we analyze the best website builders in six key areas.
After our research and testing, each builder receives a score out of five in every category, and we add those scores together to produce an overall score. However, we realize that not all of these categories are created equally, so special weighting has been given to specific categories that artists told us were most important to them, such as design and ease of use.
Here are the unique weightings for our artist category:
Design flexibility – 37%
Ease of use – 25%
Features – 18%
Value for money – 10%
Help and support – 5%
Customer score – 5%
5 Best Website Builders for Artists: My Recommendation
Overall, the best website builder for artists is Squarespace. With its phenomenally-designed templates and easy-to-use editor, it turns your website into a veritable work of art itself.
But just like the many varieties of paint, each website builder brings its own unique benefits and drawbacks, so experiment to see which fits best with your art.
To help you get started on this online journey, check out these artist website examples for inspiration.
Written by:
Researched by:
Found this article helpful?
Share this article or comment below!
11 comments