Overview and Features of Foliotwist – Websites for Artists

I have taken a look at many artist website services in the past, many of which I have mentioned here at Artpromotivate. I recently had an opportunity to view the Foliotwist administration panel, and am very impressed with all that is included (see video below).

Foliotwist has everything an artist would need to promote their art, all in one place. They have a portfolio, art blog, integrated Paypal buttons, free domain, unlimited uploads, and much more. I will go into detail about some of these features, along with others below.

 

There are two different payment plans, which are displayed below, along with a risk free trial period of 10 days. For those who need extra help with promoting and using SEO on their website, they can sign up for the Starter Website which includes 50 Traffic Booster lessons, weekly critiques of your Foliotwist website, and direct email support from the founders.

To check out Foliotwist before reading on, please go here.

 

Foliotwist Features

 

1. Unlimited uploads

   It would be useless having a portfolio site if the uploads were limited, especially if you have many artworks. With Foliotwist, you need not worry about running out of space, or having to delete artworks to make space for others. They also have another feature, which is perfect for showing differing views of sculptural work and displaying details of paintings – the ability to include 5 separate images of a single piece.
   
   
   

2. A domain name of your choosing

   I have mentioned several times here about the importance of a unique domain name for artist websites. For Foliotwist your domain will NOT be a subdomain like www.YOURNAME.foliotwist.com, but will be whatever you choose it to be. All you have to do is enter it in the box, and they set it up for you – and it will be yours as long as you have a Foliowist site. Also, if you already have a domain, this one can be used.
   
   
   

3. Website Templates

   There are two templates to choose from – minimalist and blogger. While I think there should be more, because all Foliotwist sites may look the same… or at least have the same two layouts, these are the most popular choices for portfolio sites anyway. These templates can be customized with your own fonts, colors, header, etc. to make them look original from others.
   
   Remember, what is important for portfolio sites is not a flashy design, but how good your art looks there. Foliotwist keeps things simple to make your art the center of attraction… and they also give you plenty of ways to promote that portfolio, which I will speak about below.
   
   
   

4. Art Blogs!

   I have spoken much about art blogs in the past, and how useful they are for artists. There is no need in repeating myself in how they can help artists promote art.
   
   Please review these articles for info. on how you can do that:
   
   How to Make a Popular Art Blog
   103 Art Blog Topics 
   
   Each Foliotwist portfolio has an art blog built right in. It is under the same domain, so visitors will know they are on the same website. The blog is fully featured, including an HTML editor, editing of past posts, category management, and moderating comments.
   
   
   

5. Newsletter and subscriber management

   Foliotwist allows artists to gather subscribers, create an artist newsletter, and email them directly from the back office. The messages can be either in plain text or HTML, so either include a predesigned template here, or create your own. There is also a space here for adding subscribers yourself.
    
   
   

6. Promoting your art website

   The two main methods of getting your portfolio seen by others are social networking and from search engines. Foliotwist provides lots of assistance in both these areas. There is a place in your administration panel to include links for various social media profiles, all of which will appear at your pages. These are Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Pinterest, Delicious, and Digg. These same sharing options can be added to blog posts as well.
   
   As for help with search engines, the sitemap is automatically submitted to Google daily. They also have a series of 50 Traffic Booster lessons in the Starter Website package, which offer plenty of advice on SEO and promoting art. If that wasn’t enough, they also send out regular critiques of member websites from the starter package. This is one on one help, and is very rare for such a service.
   
   
   

7. Lots More features!

   I have only scratched the surface of all that Foliotwist has to offer for artists. There is also the ability to create several distinct galleries, and move them around. Google analytics and Paypal integration are some of the most useful features for artists wanting to track visitors and sell art directly from their websites. The price sheet will help to easily set prices for artworks, and mark them as SOLD or not for sale, if need be. Last, but not least is the Foliotwist forum, which only members have access to.

 

Free 10 day Trial!

Foliotwist has a free 10 day no-obligation trial period. Artists can preview the site for a full 10 days. Credit card information will not even be asked for. People who sign up will even receive two free lessons from Traffic Booster.

Go to FolioTwist

Enter your details as directed in the screenshot.

This will help to support this website, keep us online, and keep providing advice for artists for free. Thank-you!

 

Foliotwist Membership Packages

 

 

Foliotwist is for the Serious Online Artist!

In spite of all the tools that Foliotwist gives you, you still have to do the work of adding images, writing descriptions, writing blog posts, promoting your website, etc. Foliotwist is a great tool for art promotion, but if you decide to join, please use it fully. If you do not have the time to continually add artworks, or update your blog, then quite frankly Foliotwist may not be for you. A service like Foliotwist is for the serious online artist who is ready to bring their art promotion to the next level, and devote the time to it. So, to avoid disappointment, use everything that Foliotwist has to offer. Work on making enough money from your site to cover the membership fee first. Then, build on that!