ARTERNAL builds custom websites for galleries. Your site is designed for your gallery by our team, and it runs on the data you already keep in ARTERNAL. Artists, artworks, exhibitions and fairs come straight from your account, so you don't enter anything twice.
This is a full gallery website on your own domain. It isn't a template, and it isn't an Online Viewing Room. To see what one can look like, visit our ARTERNAL website example.
đť What's included
Websites are a $200/month package that you can add to any ARTERNAL plan. The package covers:
Custom design and build. No templates or DIY builders.
Hosting
Custom fonts and brand kit
SEO and LLM optimization
Priority website support
You bring your own domain, and it stays registered in your name.
đ What's connected to ARTERNAL
Your website reads directly from your ARTERNAL account:
Artists: name, bio, country, birth and death years, cover image, portrait and CV
Artworks: title, medium, year, dimensions, images, edition, price and availability
Exhibitions and fairs: title, dates, location, description, press release, hero image, installation views, artists and works
News and posts: news, press and store posts you write in the CMS
When you update a record in ARTERNAL, such as a price, an image or exhibition dates, the change flows through to your website. Store items are the exception: they don't update automatically when a work sells or its price changes, so you'll update them in the CMS.
Your site also sends information back to ARTERNAL:
Inquiries: when a visitor inquires about a work, the inquiry is emailed to your gallery so you can reply to the visitor directly. The visitor is also added to your contacts and placed on a Website Enquiries list.
Newsletter signups: visitors who sign up are added to your contacts on a Website Subscribers list.
đ ď¸ Managing your site in the CMS
Once your site is live, you'll see CMS in the ARTERNAL navigation bar. This is where you control what appears on your website.
Choose what's on your site
Open CMS and go to the Artists, Exhibitions or Fairs page.
Turn records on or off one at a time, or use Toggle all.
Open an artist, exhibition or fair to choose which of its works appear on its page.
Click Publish to make your changes live. Until you publish, your changes are saved as drafts.
Exhibitions and fairs need a start and an end date before they can be published. See Exhibitions and Fairs Need Dates Before They Publish.
Keep new works hidden until you're ready
In the Home page settings, turn on New works hidden by default. New works you add to an artist, exhibition or fair will stay off your website until you show them.
Other things you can manage
Posts: write news, press and store posts.
Page settings: set the SEO title, description and social sharing image for each page.
Inquiry settings: on the Home page settings, choose which email address receives inquiries and rename the inquiry list.
Artist and exhibition details: add an artist's cover image, portrait and CV, or set an exhibition's hero image style.
Translations: if your site is in more than one language, a Translations checklist shows what still needs translating.
đď¸ How a website build works
Tell us about your gallery. Fill out a short interest form so we can understand your goals.
Complete your Website Blueprint. This planning document covers your inspiration, page structure, homepage layout, branding and content. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Design meetings. You'll have two design meetings with our team. Come with specific examples: websites you like, your fonts and colors, and the pages you want in order. Clear examples make the build faster.
Build and review. We build your site with your ARTERNAL data, then meet with you to review it and finalize the look.
Launch. We connect your domain and your site goes live.
The whole process usually takes around two weeks.
đ Connecting your domain
At launch, we'll send you instructions for updating your domain's DNS records with your domain provider, such as GoDaddy or Squarespace. The change usually takes a few hours and can take up to 24 hours to reach everyone. During that window, some visitors may still see your old site.
Once the switch is complete, your old website will no longer load at your domain.
âFAQs
Q: Can I see examples of websites you've built?
A: Yes. Take a look at our ARTERNAL website example, which runs on sample data from an ARTERNAL account. Each site is designed for its gallery, so yours will look different. Message us in the chat and we'll also share links to live gallery sites.
Q: Will the content from my current website move over?
A: Your site is built from your ARTERNAL data. Anything that isn't in ARTERNAL, such as exhibition history or images that only live on your old site, needs to be brought into ARTERNAL first. We'll go over what's missing with you during the build.
Q: Can I update the site myself?
A: Yes. Update your records in ARTERNAL as you normally do, and use the CMS to choose what's shown, write posts and publish changes. For design changes, contact our team.
Q: Can my site be in a language other than English?
A: Yes. Your site can be in English and another language, such as Spanish or French, and you can edit each version in the CMS. Let us know which languages you need during your design meetings.
Q: Is this the same as an Online Viewing Room?
A: No. An Online Viewing Room is a private, shareable presentation of selected works. Your website is your gallery's full public site.
Q: Which plan do I need?
A: Websites can be added to any ARTERNAL plan.
đ Get started
Ready to talk about your website? Book a call with our team.