Have you checked out Foliotwist’s artist websites?
If so, you probably know that it’s a website service for artists—it combines a website, hosting, your own .com domain, selling tools, an integrated blog, etc. And, yep, it’s co-owned and managed by me, editor of EmptyEasel.com. :)
But it’s been a while since I wrote about it here on EE, so today I’d like to share just a few of the newer features that you might NOT realize are included with every Foliotwist website:
1. An unlimited homepage slideshow
One of the most requested features at Foliotwist (for a long time!) was a homepage slideshow. Well, it’s finally here! :)
(Hat tip to Jeremiah Redclay for a beautifully-customized Foliotwist website.)
Now when you choose Foliotwist’s Minimalist Template, you can either create a slideshow of your three favorite works, or let the slideshow just cycle through ALL of your artwork.
Of course if you’d rather not have a slideshow, you can also just feature one artwork all the time, on your homepage.
2. Easy social sharing (for you AND your visitors)
Getting more exposure for your art is always on our mind. That’s why we added seamless sharing buttons above every artwork. You can click ’em, your guests can click ’em. . . And guess what? They do all the work for you!
You see, we know that writing about your own artwork is stressful, and anyone visiting your website might not know what to say either (they just know they want to share on Facebook or Twitter). So we’ve built in special buttons that take the title, image, and other key elements from your page and turn them into a fantastic social post, on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.
Easy-peasy!
3. A multiple purchase shopping cart
The other big request from our artists was a way for visitors to add multiple works of art into their cart, continue shopping, and then purchase all of those works at once during checkout.
We completed this feature just last month, so now if you visit any of our artist’s websites, you’ll see an “add to cart” option, along with a fully integrated shopping cart that can be easily accessed from any page of the website.
This is a great feature for artists who want to sell cards or other smaller items, and it certainly makes life easier for shoppers, too.
4. Blog flexibility
When we first launched Foliotwist, all of our artist websites had a blog, whether the artist really wanted it or not. :)
Over the years we’ve listened to our artists and added more options. . . first was the Minimalist Template which puts less emphasis on the blog by default, and now, we’ve given it even more flexibility.
Today, when you choose the Minimalist Template you can either “hide” your blog completely, OR, you can use your main “blog” link to point to an external blog (like your Blogger or WordPress Blog). It’s a simple choice inside your Admin Panel.
If you’ve already got your own blog and simply need a portfolio site that is simple to use and comes with amazing customer service (basically, no matter what you need, I’ll help you with it!) then definitely check out us out.
5. Support for visually impaired artists and visitors
We’ve also recently added audio captchas on the contact page based on the recommendation of one of our artists, Paul Daye, who lost his sight at the age of 3.
During the process of adding that feature, he commented, “You guys really make it easy for a visually impaired artist to do everything by themselves on their own website. You should be commended.”
That was awesome to hear, and it just makes us even more motivated to make Foliotwist the easiest website option available.
6. One month free for every new member referral
Lastly, we absolutely love it when our artists “like” us on Facebook, tweet about Foliotwist, or tell their friends about us. That’s why we’ve started giving a free month to any of our artists who send another paying member our way.
This isn’t an affiliate program, so there are no special affiliate links to copy and paste or anything like that. . . but if you’re a Foliotwist artist, tell your friends to write down your name when they sign up for our free 30-day trial, and we’ll make sure to thank you with a free month once they join.
If you’re in the market for a customizable art website of your own, I’d love to answer whatever questions you have, or get you set up with our truly free trial—we’ll never ask for your payment info until YOU’RE ready to join for good, so you can just try us out and see what you think, without all the stress.
Head over to Foliotwist.com to learn more, or feel free to contact me here via my contact page and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
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