Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL

What is an Artspan website?
Who are Artspan members?
Why do I need an Artspan website?
Do I have to make my own website?
How long will it take to get my website?
What types of design choices do I have?
How do I update/manage my website?
How do I add art?
How to I decide what to put on my website?
Can someone steal my images?
Can I display my images as slideshows?
Can I post a video?
Can I see how many people visit my site?
Can people contact me through my site?
Can I sell my art through my site?
Will I be rewarded if I recommend Artspan to friends?
How do I sign up?

ARTSPAN SITE FEATURES

How would visitors to Artspan find my site?
How do Searches work?
What Directories are Members featured in?
What are the Artspan Portals?

DOMAINS

What is a domain name?
Can I have personal domain name?
What can I choose for a domain name?
What if I already own a domain name?
Do I have to have a domain name?
Do I get an email account with my domain?

PRICING

How much does it cost?
How much is a domain name?
I already have a domain. What is the cost to use that domain?
How much is a subdomain?
What is web hosting and how much is it?
How much is an Associate membership?
How do I pay for an Artspan membership?
Is my credit card information safe?
Can I cancel my Artspan Membership?

GENERAL

What is an Artspan website?
We provide elegantly designed artist, artisan and photographer websites. Each site has an easy to use control panel where the member can customize and control all aspects of their site. Members can upload images, create galleries and post pages with any info they want.

Who are Artspan members?
Painters, photographers, sculptors, jewelers, printmakers, fiber artists, ceramicists, mixed media artists, digital artists and more.

Why do I need an Artspan website?
An online website is the best way to showcase your work. We provide our members with the simplest and lowest cost way to create a customized personal website. No computer expertise required! A website is essential to promoting your work. Artspan is also a major Internet art destination and you share in the traffic.

Do I have to make my own website?
No, that is our job, everything will be set up for you. To begin: sign up, then upload your artwork and create any other pages you would like to include on your site. NO computer expertise required.

How long will it take to get my website?
You can immediately start building your site using your control panel. It can take a day or so for your website to appear online, but it is usually sooner.

What types of design choices do I have?
Artspan offers 5 basic designs with many color variations, including a customizable design where you can choose different colors and fonts. You can change your design with a click of the mouse.

How do I update/manage my website?
Your Artspan website comes with a user friendly control panel. You login into your control panel using your username and password, and easily control all aspects of your site including: homepage, artwork, galleries, design layouts, marketing tools and more….

How do I add art?
You enter the “Artwork” section on the control panel, then you click “add artwork.” Select the image you would like to upload, and the image will be automatically resized as a thumbnail and full-sized image. You can also choose to add a zoom feature to your image(s) and/or have the images show in a slideshow.

How to I decide what to put on my website?
Showing images of your work is central to any creative person’s website. So you start by uploading images and separating them into different galleries. In addition to the image pages, you can add as many other pages as you would like. Add text and images to these pages and format to suit. Artspan default pages are CV/Bio, Artists Statement & Contact, but you are completely free to do what you need to do to show your work in the best possible way.

Can someone steal my images?
Any image you create automatically has your copyright. Read more here www.link.com
For any commercial exploitation under US and international copyright laws you are protected.
Note that all images on the web have a 72 dpi (dots per inch) resolution, which is a very low resolution for print or other purposes.

Can I display my images as slideshows?
Yes. There are a variety of slideshow patterns and speeds to choose from in the “Artwork” section of your control panel.

Can I post a video?
Yes. You can add a video or other file (such as a pdf) by clicking on an upload icon in the text editor.

Can I see how many people visit my site?
Yes. You can see how many people are visiting your site, what pages are being viewed and from what countries, by accessing the “Stats” section in your control panel.

Can people contact me through my site?
Yes, your site will have a “contact” page, visitors can type a message directly to you without seeing your email address. You can add additional details such as address or phone if want.

Can I sell my art through my site?
Yes. The Artspan website gives you the option. We give you complete information on setting up a Paypal Merchant Account and provide fields where you paste the code that places “buy now” buttons next to your work. Transactions are easy & completely secure.

Will I be rewarded if I recommend Artspan to friends?
Yes.-- Artspan always gives a free month for any member who recommends a new member. When the referral signs up they enter you name under “How did you find out about us.” Artspan is proud to provide this affordable service and is happy that you will recommend us to others.

How do I sign up?
Visit www.artspan.com and click the join us link at the top of the page to fill out the simple online application. Sign up today and be online tonight.

ARTSPAN SITE FEATURES

How would visitors to Artspan find my site?
There are three main ways visitors access member sites: Searches, Directories and Portals.

How do Searches work?
Visitors can search by keywords, for example, “blue sky.” The results will be thumbnails of images whose keywords match “blue sky” and “blue” and “sky” Searches can be further defined by category (painting, photography, etc), medium (oil, print, etc) and subject (landscape, abstract, etc). Visitors also use drop-down menus to search.
Members enter their own keywords and other search criteria for each image.

What Directories are Members featured in?
The three main Directories are the A-Z directories, the Category Directories, and the Regional Directories. For example if you are a nature photographer named Robert Black and live in New York, a thumbnail image of your work will appear above your name in the B Directory, in the Photography Directory, in the Nature Photography Directory and in the New York Directory. Clicking on the image will bring an enlargement of the image and clicking on that enlargement will bring the visitor to your website. If you also show landscape paintings on your site, your work will also appear in the Directories corresponding to those terms.

What are the Artspan Portals?
Artspan currently close to 30 Portals containing information relating to a particular genre, category or region. Portals feature articles, events, news, extensive lists of resources and artwork linking to member sites.

DOMAINS

What is a domain name?
A domain name is the name of your website, ie www.YourName.com. This is also called a URL or web address.

Can I have personal domain name?
Yes. We strongly recommend it. You can choose your own unique domain name as part of the Artspan application process. Please note: your domain is your property and you are responsible for renewing it.

What can I choose for a domain name?
Anything that is available. We suggest you use your name, as that is how most people will search for you. For example, www.RobertBlack.com. If this is not available, try other variations such as RobertBlackArt.com, RobertBlackPhoto.com or RobertBlackStudio.com Try to keep your domain name as simple as possible. It should be easy to remember and simple to type in the browser window.

What if I already own a domain name?
No problem. You can easily redirect your current domain name to your Artspan website.

Do I have to have a domain name?
No. You can have an Artspan subdomain, ie www.YourName.artspan.com. This is free.

Do I get an email account with my domain?
Yes, as many as you like. Just tell the Help Desk.

PRICING

How much does it cost?
Artspan offers three full-featured website packages from $13.95 to 19.95/month. There is a 10% discount for annual payment ($12.55 to 17.95/month). There is one-time set-up fee of $29.00 to help cover administrative costs. All the plans include website hosting.

How much is a domain name?
For one year, the cost is $15.89. For two years, its $14.89 per year. And for five years, its $13.89 per year.

I already have a domain. What is the cost to use that domain?
If you a domain elsewhere, you can use that domain for your Artspan site at no cost.

How much is a subdomain?
There is no charge to use a subdomain for your Artspan website.

What is web hosting and how much is it?
Web hosts are companies that provide space on their server for clients to use. Artspan servers provide 99.98% server uptime. There is no extra charge for this or for hosting extra images and videos.

How much is an Associate membership?
An Associate membership is $35 per year without hosting or $9.95 per month with hosting on an Artspan server (10% off for annual payment).

How do I pay for an Artspan Membership?
We accept Visa, Master, Discover and American Express credit and debit cards. If you pay annually, you can also make arrangements to pay by check.

Is my credit card information safe
The security of your credit card and personal information is our maximum priority . We use advanced 128-bit SSL encryption technology whenever sensitive information is updated or transmitted through our network. Rest assured, your information is guaranteed safe and secure with Artspan at all times. We have been staking our reputation and our business on it since 1999.

Can I cancel my Artspan Membership?
There is a 30 day notice required, but, yes, its easy to do. Just send our Help Desk a message.