Looking for the cheapest website for artists? It’s absolutely understandable that you don’t have huge amounts of money to spend when you’re a new artist or starting a small art business. But not every cheap website builder gives you good value for a few bucks. In this post, I review the most affordable websites for artists and I tell you what to watch out for when making your choice.
I understand. If you’re a new artist or you’re just starting out with your own small art business, you gotta be watchful with your spending.
Since you are here reading this post, I’m guessing you’ve already realized that having an artist website is absolutely essential.
You can’t take your art career seriously without one. That’s for sure.
So, it's totally understandable that you're looking for the cheapest website for artists to get you started.
There’s nothing wrong with being budget-conscious. However, there are a few things to watch out for with cheap website builders so you don’t end up making a costly mistake.
In this post, I review the most affordable websites for artists and I tell you what to watch out for when making your choice.
With that said, let’s get into it!
4 cheapest websites for artists tested and reviewed:
👉 WordPress Hosting starting at US$2.95 per month
👉 Pixpa starting at US$3.60 per month
👉 Simvoly starting at US$12 per month
👉 Squarespace starting at US$16 per month
4 Best Cheap Website Builders For Artists At A Glance:
| Website Builder | Why To Get | Pricing Plan | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
|
WordPress
|
• Maximum customizability • Heaps of art-friendly themes • Plugins for anything you need |
Hosting plans starting at $1.99 / mth. (36 months term) | Visit Bluehost's Website |
|
• Made specifically for creatives • Client proofing & watermarking • Great value for small money |
Plans starting at $3.60 / mth. (billed annually) | Visit Pixpa's Website |
|
• Affordable all-in-one platform • Scalable e-commerce features • Plenty of art-focused templates |
Plans starting at $12 / mth. (billed annually) | Visit Simvoly's Website |
|
Squarespace
|
• Stunning, art-focused templates • Full-fledged e-commerce shop • Free custom domain with all plans |
Plans starting at $16 / mth. (billed annually) | Visit Squarespace's Website |
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How to start a small online art business?
Starting a small online art business is probably one of the most budget-efficient things you can do. Why?
Because there are no huge Because it doesn’t require the huge upfront investments that other business models often need. All you really need is your art (which you already have) and a website to showcase and sell it. That’s basically it.
You don’t need an expensive printer because you can have your art printed in a fine art printing lab. You also don’t need an exhibition space to hang and photograph your artwork because there’s a much easier way to display art prints for sale online.
If you’re not quite sure how to turn your creative passion into a business, I have published an entire article on how to start an art business where I show you step by step how to go about it.
In addition, you can download the free art business startup checklist that guides through everything you’ll need to do!
- Grab your FREE Art Business Startup Checklist
What is the best website for small artists?
First and foremost, the best website for small artists shouldn’t break the bank. It should be affordable, yet still functional and scalable.
More specifically, it should let you display your artwork in a beautiful gallery and, once you’re ready to sell, provide eCommerce features so you can launch your own online store.
On top of that, it should be easy to use, even for non-techy creatives who don’t know how to code and have never built a website before.
In short, when choosing the best cheap website builder for artists, you’ll want to make sure it comes with:
- Beautiful templates that are designed for visual artists.
- A drag-and-drop editor that is easy to use without coding skills.
- E-commerce tools to create a full-featured online shop.
- Mobile-friendly design that looks good on phones and tablets.
- SEO & marketing tools to help you build a community and get found online.
What to watch out for in the cheapest website for artists?
There’s nothing wrong with starting out with a cheap website for your art. However, you shouldn’t trade affordability for poor performance that could ultimately hurt you in the long run.
In particular, I recommend avoiding free website builders. Remember the saying: if it’s free, you’re the product. Free builders often clutter your site with ads, giving it an unprofessional look and distracting from your artwork.
Plus, you won’t get your own domain name, like ginangiela.com. Instead, you’ll be stuck with a subdomain such as ginangiela.wix.com or ginangiela.wordpress.com. You want to avoid this because it makes your website look less professional, harder to remember, and more difficult to brand.
Similarly, you’ll want to watch out that the budget-friendly builder does not include:
- Hidden fees like surprise charges for hosting, storage, or connecting your own domain.
- Severely limited bandwidth or storage that makes your site slow or capped when you upload images.
- Low-quality templates that look outdated, unprofessional, or not customizable enough.
- Forced branding like big “Made with XYZ” logos that make your site look unprofessional.
- Poor mobile optimization because your website should look great on phones and tablets, not just desktops.
- Lack of SSL security because a website without HTTPS looks unsafe to visitors.
So, it's totally understandable that you're looking for the cheapest website for artists to get you started.
4 Best cheap websites for artists
1. WordPress
- WordPress
- Why To Get
- Maximum customizability
- Heaps of art-friendly themes
- Plugins for anything you need
- Pricing Plans
- Bluehost hosting starting at $2.95 / mth. (36 months term)
WordPress offers one of the most powerful and versatile ways to build a website. On top of that, it’s probably the cheapest website for artists because you can get it for less than $3 a month!
I’ve built my artist website with WordPress (using the OceanWP theme), and I can assure you that it’s one of the most flexible and scalable website building system you can find out there. Sure, WordPress comes with a learning curve, but once you got the hang of hit, there’s basically no limit.
You can create any type of website—from a simple portfolio site to a full-fledged online store. And the best part: most of that functionality is completely free. All you need to pay for is hosting, which you can get for a couple of dollars a month.
The most important thing to build a cheap artist website with WordPress is the the theme. With the right theme, you can create a beautiful online portfolio, set up a shop to sell prints or downloads of your art, teach courses, and offer memberships and subscriptions.
Some of the best (and partly free) WordPress themes for this are:
- OceanWP (I’m using it for my site)
- Astra
- Divi
- GeneratePress
Astra has a huge library of starter templates, including portfolio and shop layouts for artists and photographers. You can import a complete site design in minutes, swap in your own images and text, and your website up and running!
2. Pixpa
- Why To Get
- Made specifically for creatives
- Client proofing & watermarking
- Great value for small money
- Pricing Plans
- Basic Plan starting at $3.60 / mth. (billed biannually)
Pixpa is another affordable website builder for artists, costing about the same as a WordPress site. But unlike WordPress, it’s much easier to use and doesn’t require a lot of technical skills.
Think of Pixpa as a one-stop solution for artists to build a portfolio and launch an online store. It comes with templates and tools designed specifically for visual creatives, including galleries with client proofing features.
Given that Pixpa covers all the essential needs of creatives in one platform, it is surprisingly inexpensive. For only $3.60 a month, you can showcase your portfolio and start selling your work.
Since Pixpa is specifically for artists, there’s an entire library of visually focused templates that let you build a website in minutes. In fact, Pixpa offers over 180+ pre-designed templates for a wide range of creative needs: portfolio showcases, online stores, blogs, photography, art, fashion, and more.
You can personalize each template to match your aesthetic and branding by adjusting fonts, color palettes, and layouts. All templates are mobile-friendly, making sure your site looks great across desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
3. Simvoly
- Why To Get
- Affordable all-in-one platform
- Scalable e-commerce features
- Plenty of art-focused templates
Simvoly is not as cheap as WordPress and Pixpa, but it still offers relatively affordable websites for artists. Just like Pixpa, Simvoly is an all-in-one platform with website builder, sales funnels, e-commerce, booking tools, CRM, and email marketing.
The Personal plan start at $12 per month and includes one website, one funnel, limited bandwidth, and basic e-commerce capabilities. The good news: there are absolutely no transaction fees on sales across all plans!
Even though Simvoly is not specifically made for artists, it comes with a wide range of art-focused website templates. Those templates feature eye-catching galleries, project detail pages, and various layout options for different needs.
All templates are fully mobile-optimized, drag-and-drop customizable, and include built-in support for galleries, blogs, and e-commerce. You don’t need any coding skills. Instead, you can use Simvoly’s Magic Website Wizard to build a completely unique website and customize it right away.
4. Squarespace
- Squarespace
- Why To Get
- Stunning, art-focused templates
- Full-fledged e-commerce shop
- Free custom domain with all plans
Squarespace is a popular website builder for creatives. Starting at $16 per month, you can’t exactly call it the cheapest website for artists, but it offers excellent value for money. Very much like Pixpa, Squarespace is tailored to visual art.
If you’re looking for a professional yet easy-to-use platform to showcase and sell your artwork online, Squarespace is worth checking out. It strikes a great balance between affordability, design quality, and functionality.
→ Is Squarespace Good For Artists? [Review For Visual Creatives]
The reason Squarespace is so popular among artists is largely its templates. The platform is renowned for visually striking designs that put your artwork front and center. Altogether, there are nearly 200 templates, including a dedicated selection for artists, photographers, and designers.
The templates are sleek and modern, allowing you to create a professional-looking website complete with built-in SEO tools, email campaigns, social media integration, and analytics. Of course, you can also start your own art blog.
To sum it up, WordPress is your best and cheapest option for building a website for your art, provided you are willing to invest some time and energy into learning how it works.
If you don’t have that time, an all-in-one platform like Pixpa is the better choice. Pixpa is focused on artists, and creating a portfolio and online store requires virtually no learning curve.
For advanced marketing tools like funnels, email marketing, and membership offers, check out Simvoly. While it’s not the cheapest website for artists, it doesn’t charge transaction fees, which can make it worthwhile if you plan to sell your work.
Squarespace is an all-time favorite for artists. It is geared towards creatives and offers great value for money. If you want to build a serious art career over the long term, then Squarespace’s professional-looking templates and scalable plans are the way to go.
