1. Choose a domain name. Then, get it hosted.

I recommend www.GoDaddy.com when you’re starting, but there are many inexpensive registrars and hosting services. For more information about this first step, see Website Basics for Artists.

2. Decide the theme or niche for your website.

Select a theme for your website… a specialty. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Do one thing well, and then expand from there. Focus on what you love!

3. Create at least five webpages related to your theme.

If you don’t know HTML, you can use a WYSIWYG program. (WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get) If you have Netscape or Mozilla browsers, they include a free WYSIWYG program, Composer. You may already have it on your computer, and not realize it!

I also recommend the free program, Nvu. (It’s pronounced “N-view.”)

Your webpages should include:

• An index.html. That’s your homepage… the main entry page for your website.
• A contact page, so that collectors, customers, galleries and agents can reach you.
• Three pages related to your art.One could be your CV (resume), one could feature your artist’s statement, and the third can be a mini-gallery with small photos of your art.Or, if you’re creating a website about your watercolor paintings, you might feature three pieces of your art–one each on a different page.Or, consider one page of your art, another to explain about your medium or style in general (and why your work is so great), and a third page that promotes a product that you give away (such as free online postcards).

4. Start a Yahoo or other group, to update people about your new art and webpages.

Yahoo Groups are free and easy to manage. Set yours to “announce only” (newsletter) and then let anyone and everyone join. Promote your Yahoo Group on your webpages, but don’t overdo it.

5. Link to others, but only quality sites.

Links can be the single most important factor in how well you’re listed at Google and other search engines. Link only to websites that are very good.

Above all, do not sign up for one of those “Links4All” link exchanges. Also, try not to link to people whom you consider competition.

After linking to others’ sites, you can ask them to link back to you. Only a small percentage will do this, but some will.

(Link to this website if you feel that my information has helped you. You can link to the main page, http://www.arts-careers.com/ or to any page at this site. Thanks!)

6. Sign up for Google AdSense and/or affiliate programs. [optional]

If AdSense or affiliate programs are part of your income strategy, sign up for them as soon as you can. I earn at least three figures each month, from Google’s AdSense ads on my websites. Use this button to sign up:

I also like (and make money with) LinkShare.com and CommissionJunction.com.I also do very well with AllPosters.com and try to illustrate with their posters when I can.

7. Submit your site to the search engines.

Submit the URL of your index.html page to the search engines. Start with Yahoo and Google. Some feel that DMOZ is important too, but it’s vital to have a competitive and robust site built before submitting to them.

Do NOT over-submit. Check the search engine’s rules. If you submit the same site to Google more than once a month, you risk being considered a spammer.

It can take search engines two weeks to six months to list you among their pages. (Yes, that’s frustrating. Try to be patient.) And, even once you’re listed, you may be in the “sandbox” (the nickname for the lowest listings at the search engine) for as long as eight months.

8. Start learning about keywords and search engine optimization.

Keywords are the heart and soul of your success at search engines. Start learning about them, use them in the tags (META and Title areas) of your website, and focus your content on three or four keywords that fit your niche.

9. Add one new webpage each week.

Now that you know your niche and have chosen a few words for your site’s theme, add a new webpage to your site each week.

Every webpage should have valuable and interesting content. It should be at least 100 words long, but not more than 600 or so. (If it’s longer, consider breaking it up into two pages or more.)

Every webpage should include one or two links to other pages, and one of those pages should be another quality website.

Every page should link back to your home page (index.html) at the very least.

10. Tell people about your newest webpage.

Talk about your new page on your own Yahoo Groups list. Tell people in other groups, too, if their members might be very interested in your new page. (If many of them will be ho-hum, announce your pages every couple of weeks, or just put a link to your newest page below your signature, if the list rules say that’s okay.)

At some search engines, you can submit new webpages as you put them online. Check each search engine’s current rules to be certain.

Where to go from here? Explore website design, site navigation techniques, high-paying keywords if you’re using AdSense, and more.

But, for now, work with these ten points and learn about the rest, later.