o Graphical Header - At top of the web page that will appear
on most/all of your web pages. It contains your name or your
company name and a short 3-4 word statement that tells what
you do. The purpose is to give the web visitor a solid idea
of what you do/who you are within a few seconds.
o What’s New – If you choose to include this,
make sure you update it at least every month. A nice addition
is to allow visitors to sign up for periodic email news updates
from you, which could mean future business.
o Credits – This can include everywhere your art,
music, etc. has appeared (e.g., magazines, exhibitions, music
festivals, etc.). Credits can also include awards you have
received.
o About Me/Us – This is a web page that contains a
story about you (or your company) and your work. It is like
a resume, but with a personal twist as a creative professional.
o Gallery or Sample Work – Show samples of your work.
Visual artists can show photographic/graphic images of their
work. If you are a filmmaker, you can include video clips.
If you are a musician, you can include music clips. To protect
your work, you may want to include a digital watermark. There
are services that allow you to track anyone who downloads
your images and puts them on their web sites. One company
that provides this service is Digimarc.
o Services – If you are using your web site to promote
your services, a services web page is essential. You can list
and describe everything that you do. For convenience, you
may want to include a “contact us” link on this
web page so potential clients can contact you.
o Affiliations – Do you belong to industry associations?
Not only would it be useful to have them listed, but you should
always make sure your web site is listed in association directories’
web sites as well.
o Contact Us – Let your web site visitors know how
to contact you. If you do not want to publish your personal
address and phone, you can have a “contact us”
link (with your email in the link) that opens the user’s
email program and he/she can send you an email. Another option
is a web “form” that visitors fill out and submit,
which then is set up to be sent to your email address.
o Copyright – This is essential to every artist. Protect
your ideas and work by including a copyright statement at
the bottom every page (e.g., © Copyright, Your Name/Your
Company. All Rights Reserved), and a separate copyright page
that has more information regarding your copyrights.
Learn more about protecting your work with copyrights.
