by Carolyn Edlund
Artists often know when their website isn’t producing the results they want. The harder question is why.
This summer, Artsy Shark asked 93 artists to tell us about their websites. We asked what they most wanted their sites to accomplish and what they believed their biggest challenges were. Then we professionally reviewed those same 93 sites for a thorough evaluation.
That gave us an unusual opportunity to compare what artists thought was holding them back with what was actually happening on their websites. And the results were revealing.
Artists want their websites to produce results
Artists were quite clear about what they want. 71% said they want their website to generate sales or facilitate purchases. That doesn’t necessarily mean clicking a “Buy Now” button. For some artists, success means receiving an inquiry from a collector, connecting with a designer, attracting gallery interest or generating a commission.
Regardless of the stated goal, the artist’s website must help an interested visitor take the next step.
Artists think they need more traffic
When we asked artists about their biggest website challenges, 43% identified traffic and discoverability. That clearly makes sense, because if your art isn’t selling, it’s logical to assume you need more people to see it. However (and here’s where it gets surprising), our professional reviews uncovered a different problem entirely—one that was more widespread than expected.
74% of the websites had issues with the path to buying or inquiring.
What does this mean? It indicates that many artists were concentrating on simply getting more people to their websites. Meanwhile, their sites were making it harder than necessary for interested visitors to take action, resulting in people simply clicking away instead of making purchases or contacting the artist.
What happens after someone arrives?
To understand the results of the review, consider a visitor’s experience on your own website. Someone discovers your work through Instagram, a Google search, a referral link or some other source. They like what they see enough to visit your website.
What happens next? Is that visitor immediately able to find artwork that’s available? Can they tell how much it costs, or easily request a price without a lot of clicks or searching? Can they make a purchase decision because there is sufficient information for them to understand what they are buying, and the terms of sale?
These were the kinds of problems that appeared repeatedly in the professional reviews. The sites themselves often became a source of frustration and confusion for visitors. And without a fix for these problems, the website issues will persist.
More traffic isn’t always the answer
Suppose 500 people visit your website and almost nobody buys, inquires or joins your email list. Would sending another 500 people to exactly the same website solve the problem? Probably not.
Traffic is important, and many artists genuinely do need greater visibility. But before investing your effort into attracting more visitors, make sure your website is prepared to serve the people who are already interested enough to show up. Sometimes the more productive question isn’t “How do I get more traffic?” It’s “What happens when I get it?”
Read our findings
The complete 2026 Artsy Shark Artist Website Study goes much further. The study looks at what artists want their websites to accomplish, what they believe is holding them back, what the reviews actually found, and practical changes artists can make to improve their results. This study may be an eye-opening experience if you want to do more business through your art website.
Read the 2026 Artist Website Study
Speak Your Mind