To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

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whitbyframer
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To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by whitbyframer »

I'm not a dinosaur. I use IT all of the time and used to teach it. I play computer games in my spare time and always have done since my first computer way back in the 80's. But, I'm wondering about the viability of adding an online shop to my website. People are obviously buying art out there somewhere as I keep getting work brought in to frame, but are people buying framed art online? What's your experiences?
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prospero
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by prospero »

Good Idea on the face of it. :D You can reach a huge audience for not a lot a cash.

Depends on the type of stuff you are selling. It's not really appropriate for really high-end art which people will
ideally like to see in the flesh before they buy, but at least you can display it on the site.

A really successful online selling enterprise depends on how you organise your infrastructure. Carriers packaging etc...
On course there are problems. Sending glazed pictures is a bit irksome and dealing with awkward customers. :roll:
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by cleaver »

I say why not have a go?

It’s not like the ‘old days’ where you’d have to pay a developer £1000s for a site build...and then more for amends. Do it yourself via somewhere like WIX.

I’m in the midst of building /writing one (on WIX) for a pal who’s an upholsterer. You can fiddle around with the site to your heart’s content.....and you don’t pay a penny until you make the site live.

One bit of advice from someone in the business (I’m a copywriter, by trade), don’t put a blog on there unless you are prepared to put fresh content up regularly. It can be a PITA to keep thinking up new content and topics. And if you don’t, the site can soon look uncared for and flyblown if the latest blog is 2 years old!

Good luck, Whitby, whatever you decide!
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by poliopete »

I totally agree with the advice given so far. :clap:

If I were running my frame shop today I would be embracing all these modern IT tools with alacrity. I realize it's a little sad but I look at all the websites of everyone who posts on here and, as I say, if I were in business I would be shamelessly cherry-picking the best ideas and incorporating them.

As you already have a head start when it comes to It then "go for it" what have you got to lose? and I can't think of anything better than earning money by making sales whilst I'm asleep :giggle:

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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by In the Frame »

Hi,

I think it is certainly a valid idea to have a strong online presence but the importance of regular updates and fresh blog posts makes it a surprisingly time consuming effort to do properly. I have seen may people in small businesses put lots of effort in to the initial building and launching of the website only to completely neglect or give minimal it afterwards...

I suppose like everything else, it takes hard work and commitment...

Robert
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by pramsay13 »

I don't think an online shop for custom framing will be viable, but maybe for selling prints.
You could then offer a postage service or collection from shop and obviously when in shop try and sell custom framing.
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Not your average framer »

I think an on-line presence will always be a good thing, but there's a lot of other businesses out there too! You need something different which customers are looking for that others have missed. Being a bi different might be all that you need. What is it that you already do that the mainstream framers have missed? You don't need to find something new yet, you may already have that thing in your existing specialities and you can always add something else later if required.

Finding the right thing does not always come overnight, take your time and pick a good one, often the right idea comes out of the blue when you least expect it. Too many people out there copying what everyone else is doing and assuming that that's where the money is. Probably too many people chasing the same money.
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Framerpicture »

We run an online gallery in conjunction with a 'bricks and mortar' gallery and it sells a reasonably amount of original paintings, although after 5 years the online sales wouldn't be viable on there own.
We're based in a holiday area and this is one of the rare time's in this busy world we live in, that couples find time to browse together. Customers can then refresh their memory after returning home by visiting our website. The majority of our online customers have already seen the piece or they know the artist's work well, and are confident enough to purchase from a screen image.
Don't underestimate the work involved with running an online eCommerce gallery. If you make it and just leave it floating around the ether its very unlikely to succeed. It will need constant updating and promoting to achieve any level of traffic and all this is quite time consuming. Combine this with order processing and packing and its hard to make any money from web sales until sales volumes rise.
However the Brits have adopted well to buying online and I think the decision to invest should pay off going forwards, but it's far from being a quick buck!
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whitbyframer
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by whitbyframer »

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I still haven't decided on whether to go ahead with one or not as at the moment I am really a framer with a workshop tucked away on a housing estate, so no passing trade really. The pictures on the wall are sales aids as much as anything, and I am concerned about how time consuming an online gallery would be, especially as I'm a one-man-band.
Think I'll keep pondering on it for a while longer.
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prospero
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by prospero »

Even if you didn't do online sales, a good website is a virtual shop window with essentially unlimited space.
Display examples of your work, mouldings, etc, Basically what services you offer. Just be sure to give directions
and contact details so that customers can beat a path to your door. Include an external photo of the place so people
will know they've got the right place. I would do similar, but I've got more than enough to keep me out of mischief. :lol:

btw. Keep it up fresh and up to date. :D
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by GeoSpectrum »

I find Instagram brings in quite a bit of business, particularly from the artist comunity. Incidentally, if you were to use Wordpress there is an app for phones with which you can post new articles. It take about a minute to take a phto, add a bit of text and post it.

80% of my work comes from online sales or call from people who have found me via my website or Instagram.
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whitbyframer
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by whitbyframer »

I've had my website since I opened and I agree that it's invaluable when people are looking for a framer in the area. Being in a tourist area, but off the beaten track, I've used the website and Facebook a lot for marketing purposes, as well as local advertising. I do show some of the work that I've got for sale on the website but because it's not an out and out e-store, the descriptions don't get found when people are doing searches for particular work. That was why I was wondering about the validity of adding an e-store.
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Steve N
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Steve N »

whitbyframer wrote
" I do show some of the work that I've got for sale on the website but because it's not an out and out e-store, the descriptions don't get found when people are doing searches for particular work. That was why I was wondering about the validity of adding an e-store."


Part of your problem that your images do not get found, is that you have numbered the images , such as image1, image 2, so on and so forth, what you will find better practice is to name them, so if it's limited edition , name the image something 'Sofa So Good by Debbie Gillingham.', or if it's a watercolour of Whitby Bay , name it 'Water colour of Whitby Bay'. Also try to put all the images on the page rather than a slide show, I don't think Google likes slide shows

If you do an image search on Google for' Sofa So Good by Debbie Gillingham' your framed image does not show, but the ones on Amazon do show in the search results

I can't see in your page code if you have been verified by Google, if you do get it verified by Google, then you put some code such as I have on my page ,

<meta name="google-site-verification" content="dYQ0kKY6x0On3W_89PZ20YAKPWdpMDg96O" />
<meta name= "ROBOTS" contents"INDEX,FOLLOW"/>
<meta name="revisit-after" content="3 days" />


also you could tell the Google bots to revisit every few days, so that when you have done a update, it will be included in the indexing of you site,

Please don't take the above observations the wrong way, these are all tips I have found along the way, to get my site seen more often , when i ask new customers how they found us, 50% say Google, the other 50% say a friend recommended us
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Justintime »

Google also send out Google Beacons to registered businesses. Stick it on the ceiling above the design table and if a customer has their Location switched on on their smartphone it registers on their phone, allowing them to quickly and easily post a review and answer questions for future google searches.
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by GeoSpectrum »

And don’t forget to register your business on google maps. A map with a pin marking you business will show up in google searches.
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Steve N
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Steve N »

JustI time wrote
"Google also send out Google Beacons to registered businesses. Stick it on the ceiling above the design table and if a customer has their Location switched on on their smartphone it registers on their phone, allowing them to quickly and easily post a review and answer questions for future google searches
"

Never knew that, they have never sent me one :shake: :thinking: :sadsmile: :surprised:
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Justintime »

Steve
Section on "Google my business listing improvement".
Sorry for hijacking the thread! :?
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Not your average framer »

Justintime wrote:Sorry for hijacking the thread! :?
It seems relevant to the original subject , so not really a problem in this case, but the original subject is still active as well.

It sounds like some useful stuff is coming from this thread.
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Re: To build an online gallery or not, that is the question

Post by Justintime »

Sorry, here's the link for my last post.
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2018 ... technology
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