If you’re an aspiring illustrator planning your first website or online shop, in this article, I share tips from my journey.
What worked for my art business, what didn’t and why.
You won’t find anything too technical here. However, for each pro-con comparison, there are links to further resources to help guide your research process.
I’ve also included examples of other artists’ online setups for ideas.
// DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this article are affiliates. I earn a small commission when you use my affiliate links to make a purchase. Please read the Terms for more information.
Where to Start?
There is so much to consider when you start an art business.
You may have already heard the advice to “start with the end in mind”.
This means you’ll want to be clear on your end goal before you can effectively research which online setup will best match your vision.
Most website starter templates require you to choose from a category anyway.
So, you’ll want to think things through before committing to a structure that’s not ideal for your purposes.
I was certain that I knew what I needed when I first started…
Unfortunately, those convictions took me down countless rabbit holes and stressful situations.
In the Beginning
In 2022, I started drawing again after a 25+ year hiatus.
Before I knew it, I was searching the internet for ways to make my dream come true: to make a full-time living from my art.
I first looked at what other artists in my niche were doing, but there were no panacea answers.
Each artist seemed to be using a different platform or a patch-mix of websites linked together, for example, WIX Pages linked to an Etsy Shop.
Now, in 2025, I’m confident about my online setup but it took nearly three years to figure this out and I’m still learning.
I frequently get asked for recommendations about getting started, but there isn’t a unilateral answer.
Maybe you’ve begun weighing the pros and cons and are overwhelmed by the vast options.
That’s normal because there is a unique solution as unique as every artist.
I wish I had known what I know now, but most of my realizations could only have happened by trial and error.
Trial and Error
That’s right, you’ll need to try a few things for yourself. But hopefully, by sharing my journey, you’ll have fruitful trials with less pain.
Keep in mind that what performs well for me might not be a fit for your goals.
It also depends on what you enjoy doing.
Some business activities I disliked could sound fun to you.
For example, I used to handle print sales from my house. This entailed:
- sourcing quality giclee prints from a printshop, then delivered to me
- stocking an inventory (figuring out how many to order!)
- managing orders online from my website (incl. taxes and shipping costs)
- shopping for deals on shipping supplies
- standing hours in line at the post office (far from my home)
- constantly adjusting my prices to market changes, the economy
- discounting unsold prints at conventions
Some artists see amazing returns from prints plus enjoy the process. I did not.
Artists who do well with prints on eCommerce sites:
Eric Wolfe Sahlsten (Big Cartel)
I’ve had good experiences with Etsy. In large part due to redirection from my various social medias, and also from sending customers there from comic conventions.
I like to be 100% in control of all my merchandise. I sign all my prints and book, and personally thank every customer. Selling products through a print on demand service doesn’t always afford that ability.
Of course, there are MANY methods for selling prints, from limited drops to print-on-demand services.
Savvy marketing tactics, SEO expertise, and whether you have “sellable” artwork are also critical factors in your sales outcomes.
Don’t like marketing? 🎥 Watch How To SELL Like An Artist.
But my point is that selling prints was my number one priority when I first invested in a website. I almost went as far as purchasing a high-end printer, thinking this would ease my print-selling frustrations!
So, why was having an online shop my priority goal?
Goal or Assumption?
I thought my goals were obvious because there was a demand.
Perhaps you are experiencing this now as well.
It starts with a request.
Someone asks you for a commission or how they can get a print from your artwork.
Perhaps an agency wants to know your art licensing rates or a writer likes your style for their upcoming eBook.
Maybe you’ve never done any of those things, but now the idea is planted in your brain.
You assume these are the services you should focus on since people are asking.
Then there are those influencers.
YouTubers sharing how much they earn from their six different revenue streams.
They shell out advice for what you should do:
Use Squarespace! Etsy is dead! Use Shopify!
Do Print on Demand! Never do Print on Demand!
You need a Blog! an email list! membership subscriptions!
Do digital products! You need a course!
Start with commissions! Commissions will ruin your career!
You need … (ongoing list)!
If any of this sounds familiar, you can imagine my scenario.
There were enough requests for prints and commissions that I was prompted to do something about it.
I never stopped to think: “Is this what I want to do?”
As for the influencers, I ate up every morsel of advice from my favourite art channels.
If those specific revenue streams worked for them, why not for me?
Actually, I panicked.
The fear of not diversifying enough pushed me to pour energy into all recommended income categories.
In addition to selling commissions, prints, originals, and downloads, I fantasized about:
- Illustrating self-published graphic novels
- Art Licensing
- Merch; t-Shirts, colouring books, calendars
- Tabling at conventions and art markets
- Exhibiting in art galleries
- Kickstarting art books
- Starting a YouTube Channel, a Blog, and Patreon Membership
- Launching courses
- Coaching
That’s a ridiculous amount of initiatives but otherwise, how could I possibly make it as a traditional artist in today’s world?
I never questioned whether doing any of these was realistic or even applicable to my situation.
I’m not saying influencers give bad advice or that you should ignore your fans’ requests.
But there are two key things I’ve since learned:
- Prioritize what you love, and
- Do less but better
Prioritize Goals for Longevity
Prioritizing what you love will ensure that you can keep going when things get tough.
For example, if your main chunk of income comes from doing commissions, but it turns out you dread working with clients, then this is not a sustainable revenue stream.
It’s important to be realistic sooner than later as your priorities will inform the best structure for your online setup.
Also, if you prioritize two to three goals per year (instead of ten or more), you’ll do a better job at securing the foundation of your business for longevity.
These two tips may sound obvious but enthusiasm can sometimes blind you from scope creep.
Scope Creep
Scope creep happens when a project or an initiative expands beyond what you had planned or agreed to do.
If you’re starting a creative business by yourself, there is only one of you.
Typically, at the beginning, we’re excited and say “yes!” to every project and try to implement multiple revenue streams at the same time.
Plus, you need to keep making art, promoting it, AND make money.
So, there’s pressure to seize opportunities, which makes everything feel like a priority.
You likely have a good handle on how long it takes to create art when this is your main passion.
But any other initiative is tricky to allocate time for since you don’t yet know about the creeping unknowns.
The Creeping Unknowns
Creeping unknowns are costs in time and money that you had not anticipated. For example:
- Platform, software, and service subscription fees
- The learning curve
- Marketing
Platform, Software, and Service Subscription Fees
Each platform, every service has a cost somewhere at some point.
Even WordPress.org is not free.
It requires a domain, hosting, and email service at a bare minimum.
WordPress fees creep up when you add plugins, themes, or services required to handle transactions from your website – whether that’s running a shop or affiliate links on your Blog.
So, let’s say you do love client work, and your dream is to do freelance illustration most of the time.
It then makes sense to build your website on a portfolio structure to showcase your work to potential clients.
Later, you notice it would be worthwhile to ALSO sell original art, prints, digital downloads, and potentially merch from your website.
If you initially went with the basic plan of your chosen website builder (e.g.: Wix) structured on a portfolio theme, you’ll now need to make a decision.
Either upgrade to the platform’s eCommerce plan, or you’ll have to link your website to a storefront on another eCommerce Platform like Shopify, Big Cartel, or Etsy to sell your originals, prints, and downloads.
Artists with integrated portfolio sites:
If you want an on-demand or drop-shipping service to sell merch, like Gelato, Teemill, or Printful then you’ll also need to either:
- link an external storefront to your existing website (patch-mix option); or
- integrate that service (via plugin) into your eCommerce platform
📖 Read: Best Print-on-Demand Companies
Patch-mix Solutions
The patch-mix option can feel like an “afterthought” and a potential annoyance to visitors.
Especially if your link opens in another tab to a website that vibes quite different from yours.
Plus, since it’s a link to a separate store, visitors likely need to re-enter their payment information.
However, if you’re mindful to keep the branding as consistent as possible, this could be the right solution for your budget and context.
Artists with effective patch-mix storefronts linked to their websites:
- Kerby Rosanes (Portfolio Website + Shopify + Other)
- Mimi Purnell (Squarespace + Etsy + Teemill + Other)
- Maggie Enterrios (WordPress.org + Behance Portfolio + Other)
Integrated Solutions
An integrated solution comes with costs.
In addition to eCommerce, website builder platform fees increase with additional functions such as a Blog, courses, memberships, or advanced sales tools.
If you’re also interested in earning affiliate commissions (e.g., Amazon Associates & Influencer), you’ll want to ensure your chosen platform adheres to each Affiliate Program’s Terms of Agreement.
📖 Read: How to Get Started with Affiliate Marketing
The next logical step is to start an email list to communicate with your fans.
But remember that if you want a newsletter, you’ll also need an additional eMail Tool service like Flodesk or MailerLite.
📖 Read: FlowDesk Vs MailerLite
Or something more robust like HubSpot or Constant Contact, depending on the complexity of your email marketing and the size of your audience.
📖 Read: 17 Best Free Email Marketing Tools
Again, be mindful that most eMail Tools you sign up for on a free plan jump in costs as your email list grows.
If you anticipate that you’ll want to offer ANY of these in the future, then compare plans at the level that all your desired features are included.
Regardless of whether you implement them or not, knowing in advance what you want and what’s possible will give you the flexibility to upscale more feasibly as your business grows.
There’s nothing worse than being stuck on a platform that started as a great deal to become the priciest with each little upgrade.
📖 Read: Migrating your Etsy Shop to Shopify
📖 Read: Migrating your Etsy Shop to Squarespace
So, in your research, compare platforms that can do:
- 95% of what you might want in the future at a reasonable price
- 60-75% of what you want, then complete your revenue stream strategies as you grow by linking to other free or low-cost services (patch-mix option)
Below are comparison articles 📖 for popular website builders and eCommerce platforms:
- Shopify Vs Squarespace
- Shopify Vs WordPress
- Squarespace Vs WordPress
- WordPress.com Vs WordPress.org
- Squarespace Vs Wix
- Wix Vs Shopify
- Shopify Vs Big Cartel
- Etsy Vs Amazon Handmade
- Etsy Vs eBay
The Learning Curve
Apart from learning how to run a business, such as the admin (e.g., legal stuff, taxes, and client relations), there are other unanticipated things to learn that can eat into your art-making time.
📗 Need more info on legal stuff for artists? Check out the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook.
Such as ensuring that your art business isn’t a desert island nobody knows about.
Website builders like Squarespace, Wix, or Shopify, have intuitive interfaces.
They come with hosting, customizable templates, plus built-in SEO tools that make using these relatively friendly and worry-free.
But you’ll still benefit from a baseline of knowledge, such as:
- effective copywriting;
- using searchable keywords in your descriptions; and
- a solid understanding of how SEO works.
🎓 SkillShare class: Sell More Art Online with SEO
Why? Because if you’re a relatively unknown artist, growing an audience on social media isn’t enough. Having a website is not enough.
Your creative business is a desert island until your content starts to rank on search engines.
This is one of the reasons emerging artists chose to start on Etsy.
Etsy is a marketplace with a built-in audience.
People go there to shop and Etsy wants those transactions to happen. There’s a higher chance your stuff will appear in Etsy’s search engine even if you have little knowledge of how SEO works.
Etsy has its pitfalls though, such as high fees, fickle policies and limitations when you’re aiming to be more than a seller to your audience.
🎥 Watch: The decline of Esty for handmade art
If like me, you opt to build your site using WordPress.org, you’ll have vast control and unparalleled scalability affordably.
The huge upside to WorPress.org is that it’s like owning your property instead of renting it.
The downside is that you’re fully responsible for its good function:
- troubleshooting
- backing up your data
- keeping plugins up to date
- making sure it’s secure, fast, and not crashing.
The learning curve is steep.
You need technical knowledge, and maintenance is time-consuming.
If you are considering WordPress.org as an option, I share more about my experience at the end of this article.
Marketing Your Offerings
Focus your marketing efforts on the offerings (revenue streams) that provide the highest long-term return.
For example, if you’re a relatively unknown artist, it doesn’t make sense to launch a campaign to Kickstart your art book.
It takes experienced artists anywhere from five to ten years to build an audience engaged enough to make a project like this a success.
A better strategy would be to offer a free PDF of your art book as an incentive for people to sign up to your newsletter.
Any time spent offering value to the people who love your work is time well spent.
As any good marketer would say “you grow a brand through engagement”.
Back to the ‘desert island’ analogy – if you want your website or online store to be found by potential clients and fans, then intentionally drive traffic there.
Every post, email, video, giveaway, that provides some sort of benefit to your target audience will ideally lead them to your website.
When what you show or share is valuable to someone, they will desire more.
Be clear on what value you offer so that you can match your website’s functionality to your vision.
“Just be sure that the ongoing weekly or monthly work required to keep selling your products is sustainable for you beyond the initial excitement of starting it up” – Mimimoo Illustration
Having a clear purpose will save you time when you create marketing content.
Because publishing consistently on social media can take its toll and it’s good to know your efforts are making a difference for you and others.
🎓 SkillShare class: Top 5 Marketing Mistakes Artists and Creatives Make
How to Match the Platform to Your Vision
A vision is what defines your future goals. This is the direction you want to go, the results you’re aiming for.
The goals are about your needs.
Common goals for artists starting an online business are to:
- earn a full-time living from art
- have more creative freedom
- be known for a specific art style
- have access to more opportunities (brand deals, interesting projects)
- fulfill a need or a demand (people are asking for it)
- live and work on your terms (flexibility of schedule and location)
- share what you do and know with others
Goals are long-term general outcomes.
Having goals can help you prioritize which ones are aligned with what you are actually doing (your offerings and marketing efforts).
For me, “sharing what I do and know” has always been a source of joy.
Also, “creative freedom” is super important. These are now top priority goals for my business.
Your needs are important because if you love what you do, your passion will show through your work.
Passion is contagious, people will want more of what you have.
Objectives are more specific.
That’s where you establish which revenue streams are aligned with your goals.
Before you finalize your objectives, you’ll want to define your value proposition.
This is the part where you determine the benefits or problems you solve for others with your art business.
The value is about the needs of your audience.
You’ve probably heard this question a thousand times from influencers “why would people buy products or services from you?”.
Once you’ve figured out your vision, goals, objectives and the value you offer, then it’s super easy to determine which revenue streams you can prioritize and when.
So, outline your short-and long-term goals.
Then, you’ll be equipped to select the best possible online setup for your creative business.
Below are artist websites with integrated features based on their vision and value proposition.
Priority on creative freedom:
Compared to my previous platform, Squarespace, Shopify lets me save $1000+ yearly in subscription costs and transaction fees. That’s a huge upside. The downside is that Shopify kind of sucks in the blogging department. – Louis Stigell
Priority on sharing knowledge:
Priority on Client-Work Illustration
🎓 SkillShare class: Build a Portfolio Website With Squarespace
Do You Even Need a Website?
Maybe a website is unnecessary to meet your goals and provide value.
Sam Yang’s priorities are community building, creative freedom, and knowledge sharing.
He achieves his goals through social media engagement.
His top revenue streams are YouTube and Patreon. No website, just a LinkTree.
There’s likely huge demand for a Sam Yang print, so a print-on-demand storefront using InPrnt is his solution.
InPrnt has no setup fees and only takes a few steps after you’re approved:
- upload art
- optimize copy for search engines
- tell fans about new art
- earn 30-50% of sales
His sales are probably decent because he has an enormous audience.
Sam spent years bringing value to his fans. He focussed on developing art he loves and sharing that process to inspire emerging artists.
The lesson here is that offering a benefit or solving someone’s problem is not only rewarding but also one of the most authentic ways to promote your art business.
🎓 Want to learn more about setting up your creative business? Below are SkillShare classes I took that helped me:
- Self-Taught to Self-Employed: Building a Creative Career
- 12 Things I Wish I’d Known as a Beginner Artist
- Plan Your Creative Business: Your Path to Creating Income As An Artist
- Long-Term Success for Artists: Grow and Maintain Your Income Streams
Lessons Learned
In this article, I’ve shared my ‘lessons learned’ to help with your decision-making process.
Hopefully, you now have fresh ideas for getting started with your art business online.
I mentioned that it took me three years to figure out my setup.
Fulfilling print orders from my house was a no-go, but the decision to build my website with WordPress.org was a good one.
I wouldn’t have known without trying those out.
However, had I started my journey with more research and introspection, I would be further along today.
Why I Went with WordPress.org
As mentioned, the advantages of WordPress.org are:
- ownership
- lower long-term costs
- unlimited ability to scale
- full control of the look and functionality
Also, integration with eCommerce and other services is fairly seamless.
I don’t have to worry about platform policy strikes or unexpected plan fee increases.
The disadvantages:
- steep learning curve
- regular upkeep
- troubleshooting – you’re on your own!
I hired a web developer to build my initial website.
As you recall, my priority at the beginning was selling products so I asked for a shop structure.
This structure was built with a free eCommerce plugin called WooCommerce.
I lacked the expertise to set this up securely, like payment integrations, so it was wiser to hire the help.
Once my website was up and running, the responsibility to keep its function became more involved than anticipated.
Like, random plugin updates causing critical errors. This can crash your website unless you’re vigilant about upkeep.
Optimizing for the Future
When I realized that selling prints wasn’t in my heart, and felt burned-out from lack of focus, I took Skillshare classes (those listed earlier in this article).
I learnt about SEO, marketing, online optimization, and how to run a creative business more sustainably.
That’s what led me to:
- Prioritizing what I love, and
- Doing less but better
My past career was in the Learning & Development field. I enjoyed teaching others how to learn.
When I started a YouTube channel in 2023, everything else came together.
As my audience grew, it made sense to start a Blog for enthusiasts of pen and ink drawing.
It was at that time that a re-design of my website was necessary.
The structure needed to shift from a Shop to a Resource.
🎓 SkillShare class: How to Efficiently Build WordPress Websites
My lack of expertise in website development started to cost me time.
Through a colleague’s recommendation, I asked the experts at ABR Platform Inc. for some help.
The performance of my website greatly improved, thanks to their recommendations.
The team at ABR Platform Inc. now maintains and optimizes my website monthly.
If you’d like assistance with your online setup, ABR is super knowledgeable and friendly, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
I wish you all the best in making your dreams come true!
