The Best Website Builder for Artists in 2024

With Wix, all elements can be customized to fit your desired aesthetic. Adjusting size, colors, fonts, or backgrounds is also super-easy, letting creative individuals easily incorporate more complex components, such as portfolio-art galleries, video backgrounds, animated effects, slideshows, or contact forms, so you can make your website stand out.

I also love Wix’s ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence), which automates website creation and makes everything fast and easy. It helps integrate all the user’s ideas into a professional-looking design with minimal input. All the user has to do is answer a few questions, and the AI-powered system will tailor the desired website in minutes.

All Wix paid plans offer a generous storage allowance, a free one-year custom domain, an SSL certificate, and responsive and reliable 24/7 customer service.

However, to sell art and services online, you will have to purchase one of the business or ecommerce plans. This will give you access to Wix Art and the content monetization tools needed to sell, rent, and offer online content subscriptions.

Wix has a decent free version that lets you launch a portfolio website at no cost. Unfortunately, the free plan isn’t e-commerce-enabled and can’t be used to sell artwork or services. It will also show Wix ads, which can hinder user’s professional presence.

For a truly professional website, there are four premium Wix pricing plans presented in the table below:

• Light: The Light plan is ad-free, supports a custom domain, has an SSL certificate, and 24/7 customer care. On the downside, this plan has limited 2 GB bandwidth and 3 GB storage space. It has no ecommerce features and allows up to 2 collaborators.
• Core: The Core plan offers online payments, a Visitors Analytics app, unlimited bandwidth, and 50 GB of storage. It also allows for up to 5 collaborators.
• Business: The Business plan offers up to 10 collaborators and 100 GB of storage. It also supports multiple currencies, product reviews, back-in-stock notifications, and automated sales tax calculations.
• Business Elite: This plan offers unlimited storage, up to 15 collaborators, and priority customer support.

Wix is the best platform for any artist attempting to build their website for the first time. It allows users with minimal technical knowledge to create impressive websites via a simple drag-and-drop editor. Everything is mobile-optimized by default and can be linked to social media accounts with ease, too.

Shopify is fundamentally geared towards helping its users become online retailers. It offers tons of options to customize an online store and a reliable payment system that works with numerous providers. Users can choose between 100 payment methods, but I recommend Shopify’s integrated PayGate payment gateway since it delivers money straight to the store owner.

Shopify brings an intuitive Online Store Editor that lets artists with no particular technical expertise create a website worthy of their artwork. There are many themes and templates to choose from (not all of them are free, though), as well as an app store for downloading ecommerce plugins to boost sales and marketing.

Shopify Magic, a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, also helps artists write descriptions for artwork they aim to sell. Once you sell your artwork, you can rely on highly successful checkout carts, order management tools, shipping and delivery options, and product analytics and reports.

Subscribing to Shopify grants artists access to the vast community of fellow Shopify owners and professionals willing to help. Expert help is valuable in many ways, but it comes in most handy when customizing the available templates.

Shopify offers four plans. All allow artists to open a full-featured webshop, sell and promote unlimited products via multiple channels, and enjoy 24/7 support.

• Basic plan: Allows artists to create their webshop, sell unlimited products, and assign up to two people to help them manage it. On the downside, credit card processing costs via Shopify Payments are highest with this plan.
• Shopify plan: Offers built-in e-commerce automation, up to five staff accounts, and reduced credit card processing fees.
• Advanced plan: Offers the lowest processing fees and the largest number of staff accounts. It also boasts advanced reports, ecommerce workflow automation, shipping discounts and duties, and import tax estimates at checkout.
• Plus plan: Shopify’s priciest plan by a long shot, this tier is best for large-scale businesses that move a lot of product and work with high-volume global selling. You get access to customized rates and 24/7 priority support, among other premium features.

Shopify is the best website builder for artists who want to open a successful online shop quickly and with minimal effort. It is also suitable for those who offer their artwork via social channels or in person.

Squarespace users can enjoy many third-party integrations, from creative apps like Adobe Creative Suite to over 20 social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, X, or Instagram.

Its developers also considered SEO optimization, so you don’t need to worry about your website’s search engine rank. Squarespace’s many integrated and beginner-friendly SEO features will ensure your site is seen.

Thanks to versatile design tools, such as custom color palettes and fonts, free images, built-in photo editing capabilities, and animation options, Squarespace’s templates can be fully customized to fit an artist’s needs and aesthetics.

Squarespace also boasts unlimited bandwidth, a built-in custom CSS editor, an integrated commenting system, passwords & page locks, and a robust internal search engine that helps site visitors find what they are looking for. Thanks to password-protected pages, users can share confidential work with clients, too.

We recommend taking advantage of Squarespace’s 14-day free trial period to ensure it meets all your expectations. It has several paid plan options to suit your needs.

• Personal plan: Includes unlimited bandwidth, SEO features, SSL security, and Squarespace AI. Unfortunately, it lacks e-commerce functionality.
• Business plan: Offers a professional email from Google, complete customization with CSS and Javascript, additional marketing tools, and essential e-commerce tools.
• Basic Commerce and Advanced Commerce plans: Offer advanced e-commerce and merchandising features. Transaction fees drop to 0% for physical products and services, and both plans include advanced website analytics, among other top-tier features.

The Business Plan is undoubtedly the best value plan Squarespace has to offer to artists. It provides artists with all the features they need to showcase their work on a professional-looking site. It also allows them to sell items and services online.

Besides being the best option for artist portfolio website building, Squarespace is a great choice for all creative individuals, from graphic designers to wedding decorators. Unfortunately, there is no free-forever version nor is Squarespace a particularly low-budget option.

Godaddy is one of the most popular website builders on the market today. It’s affordable, which is also a great plus, considering performing artists don’t always have a huge budget at their disposal, especially if you’re just starting out.

GoDaddy is also a great option for visual artists. It’s almost as easy to use as Wix and offers numerous world-class quality templates to help users showcase their art. In fact, there are more than 200 GoDaddy website templates and themes so that every artist can find a design that suits their aesthetic.

Newbies can also rely on GoDaddy AI to create a webpage by answering just a few questions. Best of all, GoDaddy’s ecommerce features are perfectly made for artists interested in selling art online.

GoDaddy lets users integrate their social feeds and create Facebook and Instagram ads to showcase their skills. Thanks to its mobile responsiveness, GoDaddy performs well across a variety of devices.

Even though there is a GoDaddy free plan, I don’t recommend it for artists who want to establish their professional presence. Instead, artists should opt for one of the three reasonably priced GoDaddy plans.

• Basic Plan: Offers access to the GoDaddy Insights marketing tools, image galleries, video and audio implementation, social sharing, and blogging functionality.
• Premium Plan: Offers appointment and booking features essential for any performing artist. It is possible to receive payments even though this plan does not include full ecommerce functionality.
• Commerce Plan: Grants access to more than useful ecommerce tools, such as product listings, flexible payments & shipping options, and discount and promotional features. Besides processing payments via GoDaddy Payments, you can use other payment options like PayPal, Google & Apple Pay, and Venmo.

All GoDaddy plans offer great value for money and include a free SSL certificate, custom domain, analytics, and customer support. However, watch out for additional fees, especially after the initial billing period.

After the first year, users must pay to renew their domain and professional email plan. Also, using the GoDaddy Payments service includes processing and transaction fees on all sales.

As I mentioned, GoDaddy is the best for performing artists looking to build their online presence fast. Thanks to GoDaddy’s ADI tool, which can create a website based on just a few questions, this platform is suitable for people lacking technical knowledge, too.

Pixpa lets photographers easily sell their prints or digital images and services online. Thanks to its e-commerce features, photographers can set up an online store and monetize their work and Pixpa takes care of SEO optimization, too, so there’s no fear their work will remain unseen.

Pixpa might not be as feature-rich as Wix or WordPress, but what sets it apart from other web builders on this list is its client gallery feature. This allows photographers to share their photographs with clients, who can then choose which to download or order as prints.

Pixpa also comes with social media integration tools to help users reach a broader audience and analytic tools to help artists better understand their visitors and website performance. There’s also a blog option for those who want to regularly keep their clients updated.

All Pixpa plans offer everything needed to showcase your online portfolio and sell your art online.

• Basic plan: Limits the number of pages, original images, and storage (3GB). It also does not come with a free domain or blogging functionality and allows you to offer only three products at a time.
• Creator plan: No restrictions regarding the number of webpages and images, but you can offer up to 10 products at a time. Users get a free domain for a year and a chance to share their workload with up to two contributors. Storage for original images is limited to 5 GB.
• Professional plan: Has 25 GB for storing original images, and the possibility to add as many contributors as you like. Users also get to enjoy advanced shipping and e-mailing possibilities and use watermarks to protect their intellectual property. They can offer up to 100 items/services at a time.
• Advanced plan: Gives you an art website where you can sell as many items as you want, store as many original images as you like, and create countless personalized gallery apps for your clients. Their customers can create store accounts and receive e-mails reminding them to complete their purchases.

Even basic plan subscribers can enjoy premium templates, mobile optimization, SSL certification, search engine optimization tools, password protection, unlimited gallery albums, and integrated e-commerce.

For those unsure of what plan to choose, there is a free 15-day trial period. To save money, users should opt for an annual or 2-year plan.

Pixpa is the best website builder for creative individuals like photographers, designers, and artists, as it lets them start a creative online business or publish blogs. Thanks to its affordable plans, it’s suitable for aspiring young artists too.

Hostinger offers great value for its price as its website builder comes packed with features. I’ve already mentioned the beginner-friendly editor and ready-made templates, as well as a useful AI builder that generates a website in minutes. Yet, there are many more features worth mentioning.

For example, Hostinger offers free web hosting, custom domain name, mobile editor, marketing, and Google Analytics integration. The Business plan also delivers e-commerce functionalities, such as inventory and order management, shipping and payment options, and appointment bookings.

Hostinger doesn’t offer a forever free version but users have a 30-day long trial period to decide whether they want to invest in one of its two paid plans.

• Premium plan: Good starting plan but lacks useful AI tools such as AI Image Generator, AI Writer, AI Blog Generator, AI Heatmaps, and AI SEO Tools, which can be useful for artists setting up a new site for the first time. There is no e-commerce functionality, either.
• Business plan: The Business plan delivers Hostinger’s full range of AI tools, plus all the e-commerce features needed to sell up to 500 items. There are no transaction fees.

Even though both Hostinger pricing plans are affordable and offer great value for money, it is wise to invest $1 a month more and enjoy the helpful, time-saving AI tools.

Hostinger web builder is best for artists who are just starting to build their online presence and lack the funds for other more expensive and elaborate web-building platforms. It might not offer a wide range of integrations and templates as the competition, but it’s easy to use and covers all the basics for a bargain fee.

WordPress is a top choice for UX designers due to its flexibility, customization options, and control over design elements, letting you tailor your or your clients’ websites with custom CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.

WordPress offers a vast selection of themes, including those specifically for portfolios, and numerous plugins to enhance functionality. Because of its user-friendly interface, it’s an excellent choice for any creative individual entering the online world.

The WordPress dashboard might seem overwhelming at first, but once users become familiar with it, they will find it to be a powerful tool for adding elements like headings, images, and tables.

WordPress is also praised for its sophisticated built-in security features, such as SSL encryption, DDoS protection, and automatic software updates that prevent unauthorized access. This is especially important if you plan to run an online store and deal with customer info, sales tracking, etc.

WordPress.com offers an elaborate forever-free platform for website creation. The Free plan includes hosting, a subdomain, numerous integrations, and beautiful design options. However, users who want a more professional-looking website should better invest in WordPress paid plans to unlock additional features such as a domain name.

• Starter plan: Offers 6GB of storage, access to premium themes, an ad-free experience, and fast DNS with secure SSL. Users also receive e-mail support and reliable expert WordPress help. The transaction fee for online payments is 8% (+ standard processing fee).
• Explorer plan: This plan offers customized fonts and colors, unlimited automatic social media shares, live chat support, and the possibility of earning from displaying ads and uploading 4K videos. The transaction fee is reduced to 4%, and the storage capacity is raised to 13 GB.
• Creator plan: Includes global edge caching, web application firewall (WAF), managed malware protection, spam and DDoS protection, real-time security scans, global CDN, high-frequency CPUs, SEO and analytics tools, isolated site infrastructure, free staging site, and automated updates. The transaction fee is reduced to 2%, and the storage capacity is raised to 50 GB.
• Entrepreneur plan: Offers optimized WooCommerce hosting, powerful store design tools, unlimited products, product add-ons,back-in-stock notifications, automated upsell, cross-sell product recommendations, advanced email marketing functionality, inventory management, and extendable checkout. You can sell their artwork in 60+ countries and accept 135+ currencies. There are no transaction fees.

Obviously, the higher the tier, the more storage space and support you’ll receive and the less they have to pay for transaction fees. Users also receive more advanced e-commerce features the more they pay for the plan. However, in my opinion, the Creator plan is more than enough for artists and UX designers.

UX designers and other artists can put WordPress to good use no matter what plan they opt for. It is a platform that offers countless possibilities for creative individuals of all trades.

All Weebly plans are feature-packed—even the free one. First, there is a user-friendly editor with numerous customization options, a range of SEO tools, and dedicated hosting services. All the designs are automatically adjusted for mobile devices, too.

Weebly’s e-commerce tools and mobile apps are top-notch. Even the free version allows users to sell unlimited items with various payment options. Thanks to the suite of analytics tools, site owners can monitor website performance on the go – from any mobile device.

Weebly’s free plan is an excellent option for artists who want to build a website and sell their work online but lack money. Besides the basic website-building features, this plan delivers SSL security, analytics, third-party coding, and a more than satisfying e-commerce suite. It also grants you access to community forums and chat and email support.

On the downside, a free Weebly website displays ads on your own website and has a Weebly subdomain. To avoid this, users should check out the paid plans in the table below.

• Personal plan: Allows users to add a domain and sell digital media. They also get some advanced e-commerce features, such as customizable shipping.
• Professional plan: This plan offers unlimited storage, a free domain for the first year, advanced site statistics, and password protection. There are no Square ads, and users get phone support.
• Performance plan: It can accept PayPal payments and automatically receive customer reviews. Users also benefit from abandoned cart emails, enhanced e-commerce insights, and priority customer support.

Even though all of Weebly’s paid plans are reasonably priced and have their advantages, I still think their free plan is more than sufficient for building artist websites and selling artwork online.

Free Weebly plan boasts the best free e-commerce tools anyone can find on this list. Hence, it is ideal for artists and performers unable to commit to paid plans.

I particularly like that SmugMug is integrated with print labs so that every sale goes smoothly. This means that tanks to direct connections with suppliers, there is no need to keep a large inventory and you don’t have to make the prints yourself and send them.

SmugMug offers photography features such as unlimited photo and video storage with no image compression and mobile integrations for managing photos on the go. The useful e-commerce features enable selling photos and video downloads.

Images can be protected with watermarks or displayed as low-resolution previews, and the platform also allows users to host password-protected private art galleries for customers.

In addition to photography features, SmugMug allows the addition of videos, text blocks, visitor comments, search boxes, maps, and Google Calendars. There are also basic built-in SEO tools, stats and analytics, and a practical Lightroom plugin.

SmugMug does not offer a free plan but has a 14-day free trial period. After the testing period, photographers can decide between three available plans.

• Portfolio plan: Includes e-commerce functionality, watermark and photo theft protection tools, full-service customer order fulfillment, and easy photo and gallery digital delivery.
• Pro plan: Offers everything in the Portfolio plan plus the ability to add multiple custom pricelists for photos and galleries, marketing tools, coupons, and client management tools.
• Venture plan: The Venture plan includes everything in the Pro plan plus access to a hands-on account representative for all your needs, including design, workflow, and organization consultation and support. It also comes with custom product integration and more.

As usual, the more users pay, the more useful tools you’ll get. I recommend the annual plans, which will save you 29% to 33%.

SmugMug is an ideal website-builder platform for photographers who want to display and sell their work online, including digital downloads, prints, and photography services.