Don't let your website suffer from Abandoned Site Syndrome!

For details, read on . . . . .

One day as I surfed the net, I came across an artist whose work I had always loved.  I had first seen the artist's work ten years prior, but, at that earlier time could not afford his work.  '

So I was glad to have found his site.  I just might purchase a piece.

I wonder who represents him now?   I thought.

Then I saw a prominent link on his site that read, "upcoming exhibits."

Great!

I was excited, that's exactly what I wanted:  To see his new work in an upcoming exhibit.

The exhibit was listed for September of 1998.

Just one problem.  It was now September of 2003, four years later.

His website felt abandoned.  I felt like I had just wandered into an old friend's house and discovered a layer of dust covering everything. 

"Anybody Home?"  I wanted to yell.

Being ever persistent, I decided to email the artist.   But I could find no contact info anywhere on the site.

In frustration, I gave up, after all there are other great artists in the world.

I decided to call this scenario Abandoned Site Syndrome.  Or abreviated we could say AS* . . . ..  oh wait, maybe we can't make an acronym out of this one.  (Although I did think that the artist was an AS* for having a four year old exhibit on his upcoming exhibits web page).

Do not let this scenario happen to your web site visitors.

Your site needs to be easy for you to update and in your control. It must be easy so you’ll actually do it and it must be in your control so that your site is always current. Always. Nothing turns off site visitors more than a web site that is gathering dust. If you list a workshop that is over, then take it off the site, if you list an exhibit that has passed, take it off the site, if you have sold a painting, take it off the site (or at least clearly mark these items as passed or sold). Visitors feel like they can’t trust your web site if it is not up to date and if they can’t trust your site, they feel like they can’t trust YOU.

If you're not sure how to keep a website up to date yourself, you might want to give our service, FineArtStudioOnline a try.  Abandoned Site Syndrome is exactly the problem I was trying to cure when I developed FineArtStudioOnline in the first place.  (And one of the first features I added was automatic archiving of past exhibits so that they get removed from "Upcoming Exhibit" pages automatically).

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic

PS - Since your web site is your “home base”, you need to make sure that it includes certain information and features that art collectors have come to expect.

I've have been marketing art since 1989 and have had an online art marketing presence since 1996 . . . I have learned what works, what doesn’t and what art buyers expect.

And, I've finally taken the time to compile all that information into one e-book for artists who want to do their web site right!

The 39-page e-book contains detailed instructions and resources for how to implement the 11 most important elements that should be included on every artist’s website.

>> Click here to get more details about our new e-book, 11 Essential Elements for Every Artist's Website <<