How to Build a Social Art Website with Rebelmouse

I have profiles at multiple social networks. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of all of these at once. I often wished there was one tool or homepage to organize what I post at these social networks, along with RSS feeds.

I’ve tried social management apps such as Bufferapp and Hootsuite, and content curation systems, such as Paper.li, but haven’t been completely satisfied with what they offered.

 

 

I recently discovered Rebelmouse. This happens to be just what I have been looking for. Rebelmouse organizes everything from social profiles and RSS feeds onto an attractive responsive homepage. The page automatically updates in real time, pulling in statuses from Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and more. Pages can be organized as you like, with posts moved and edited.  Rebel mouse also includes a wide variety of different layouts and themes, and a host of features for free. A premium version will allow for even more customizations, including a custom domain, Mailchimp and Google Analytics integration, custom CSS controls and more.

For now, the free version is quite suitable. I have been busy setting up the Rebelmouse APM site and playing with the settings. This is what I have come up with so far… Artpromotivate Rebelmouse page

As you can see, I have added the Artpromotivate banner, and included navigation links at the top. Two external links are here, one going to this site and the other to Designpromotivate. I have also included category pages for posts based on the tags Artist Spotlight and Art Promotion.

Overall, this functions similar to an online newsletter – and will keep visitors updated with everything we post online all in the convenience of one easily accessible page. If you would like to subscribe, you can do so by entering your email at the top.

I have included a tutorial below on how artists can create their own Rebelmouse page, which if setup correctly, can serve as a hub for all online activities.

Tutorial for Creating a Social Artist Website Using Rebelmouse

1. Visit Rebelmouse.
   
   There are four options to signup: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+. Choose one of these to be taken to the Rebelmouse site setup page. A site name will be automatically chosen based on your username. Change it if you like, enter your email and hit Create.
   
   
2. Next, you will get an opportunity to connect your other social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Linkedin. Also make use of the bookmarklet button by dragging the little icon to your browser bookmarks bar.
   
   
   
   When finished connecting your networks, click one of the buttons at the top to view your new Rebelmouse website.
   
   
3. Editing your Rebelmouse website
   
   There are various things you can do to personalize your Rebelmouse site, so I will go over these one at a time.
   
   
4. Setup Rebel Nav
   
   Hit the little pencil icon to do this. Here, you can edit, add and reorder your navigation pages. Notice that you can also add any URL to your navigation by editing the Page type. You can edit the page name, page type, add a description and include tags. The tags you select will determine what populates your pages. Tags can be added according to the ones you have in your posts. At the bottom, you will see a list of your most popular tags, which can help you in creating your Rebelmouse pages. Also don’t forget to set all your pages to Public before saving.
   
   
5. Edit Header
   
   Hover your cursor over the header section and choose Edit Header. Here, you have 3 options for a header. To add a banner from another site or on your computer, select the third option.
   
   
6. Dashboard
   
   Here you will find many customizations and features for Rebelmouse. I will mention some which you may want to pay attention to.
   
   
7. Adding site feeds
   
   Here, you will find even more options for including social networks and feeds, including Pinterest, Flickr, Stocktwits, Youtube and Tumblr.
   
    
8. Design
   
   Alter the basic theme of your website, changing layout, header and description text.
   
   
9. Embed
   
   Here, Rebel mouse can be added as a page on your website.
   
   
10. Post features
    
    Any post can be dragged and repositioned where you want. Hover your cursor over a post to bring up a vertical menu. I particularly like the freeze option here, as it allows the post to stay on a certain spot for a set amount of time.

 

 

What do you think of Rebelmouse? If you have a Rebelmouse page, you can let us know about it in the comments.

I will feature some Rebelmouse art pages in an upcoming post.