Shopify provides artists with an easy way to build a customizable online store where they can sell artwork, manage products, and promote their brand directly to customers.
Key Takeaways
- Shopify simplifies selling art online by offering built-in e-commerce tools for payments, shipping, taxes, and promotions without requiring coding skills.
- Artists can sell original artwork, digital downloads, merchandise, event tickets, classes, collaborations, and limited-edition products.
- To set up their Shopify store, artists need to define their business model and brand, choose a theme, add product pages and collections, and configure shipping and apps.
People have always loved art, and the introduction of new technologies hasn’t changed that. In 2024, artists sold more than 40 million pieces and made nearly $58 billion.
The way clients interact with art has changed, however. A growing number of art sales happen online, which means having a website can be a game-changer for your business. This guide to Shopify for artists explains why and how to get started.
The Benefits of Shopify for Artists
Some art shops have a strong base of local customers. Other artists launch their careers online to begin with, building a loyal fan base on social media. You can also do both: selling prints in a gallery and discovering new clients online at the same time.
As one of the most popular e-commerce platforms for small businesses, Shopify gives artists several advantages, including:
- User-friendly tools and templates for building a website
- Complete e-commerce functionality, such as checkout carts, sales, taxes, shipping, and promotions
- No-coding-required software for setting up, managing, and marketing your store
- In-depth branding and customization, allowing you to highlight your unique story as an artist
- Smooth integration between your Shopify store and YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and other social media sites
- Thousands of apps that support unique product offerings, including bundles, product personalization, and print-to-order merch
Shopify pricing scales with your business, which means small shops can succeed just as well as longtime galleries. It’s not necessary to invest a ton of money into your dream to get it off the ground.
Ways To Use Shopify as an Artist
Shopify art stores are as individual as their owners. Creating your own prints, selling them online, and shipping them to clients around the country is an obvious option, but far from the only one:
- Original Art: Your art can take any form, including prints, unique commissions, framed photographs, and digital downloads.
- Limited-Edition Items: Your brand can use Shopify to sell short-run collections that range from clothing and skateboards to furniture and jewelry.
- Collectors’ Editions: Indie bands and musicians can use Shopify to sell physical editions of albums for fans and audiophiles, along with merch and collectibles.
- Performances: With the help of Shopify apps, you can sell tickets to concerts, coordinate online events, or market your own Masterclass-style workshops and courses.
- Curated Art: Some larger Shopify stores curate products from a variety of artists, filling niches for “art + pet lovers” or “anime dad” merch.
- Collaborations: Well-known artists can use Shopify to highlight collaborations with bath and beauty companies, home decor brands, wellness products, and similar partnerships.
Unlike large-scale platforms like Etsy, where you compete with thousands of other brands and have limited control over product marketing, Shopify lets you connect with clients on your terms, directly and powerfully.
How To Set Up Your Shopify Art Store
Getting started on Shopify isn’t difficult, but it requires some planning. The first step is to create your Shopify account. For new art stores, Shopify Basic is a good fit, letting you create a sales-ready e-commerce website for $19 a month.
1. Business Model
Shopify tools make it easy to customize the layout and feel of your website. But before you choose a template and start designing, you need a plan. Your business niche, art style, and other products determine which features are most important for your store.
Is your goal to:
- Sell your own art directly to customers?
- Use print-on-demand to avoid managing inventory?
- Promote your band’s music or your gallery’s collections to a wider audience?
- Offer art classes online?
- Manage performances and sell tickets without Ticketmaster’s exorbitant fees?
The right type of Shopify store can help you reach any of these goals. With smart design choices, performance artists can let fans know about upcoming shows, distribute tickets, manage bookings, and sell merch, all from the same website.
2. Name and Brand
If you haven’t already, now is the time to choose your store’s name. To sell on Shopify, artists need to register their business in at least one state for tax purposes.
You also have to create your brand identity. In other words, what makes your art, products, and Shopify store unique? What image do you want fans to remember when they think of you?
3. Store Theme
Shopify has hundreds of interactive store templates called themes. Your choice of theme matters because it provides the “foundation” for your store and products.
The best themes on Shopify for artists include:
- Studio: A free theme with a minimalist personality
- Brutalist: Text-heavy layouts that work well for modern art, collabs, events, and POD products
- Gaia: Warmth, borderless images, and smooth scrolling, ideal for artisans and handmade goods
- Darkroom: Dark, high-contrast, and modern vibes for bold art, anime designs, and gamer gear
- Exposure: An image-focused theme with photographers in mind
- Portfolio: A professional and elegant template optimized for high-res image files and online galleries
- Phase: Eclectic, off-balanced, and highly customizable layout elements for artists who want to turn heads
Shopify themes have design presets, but you can also change colors, fonts, and page elements. Take your time to get inspired, looking for a theme that fits your brand and makes your products stand out from the crowd.
Paid themes range from $150 to $400, but you only have to pay the fee once. Some include special features like countdowns, video carousels, featured reviews, and pre-orders.
4. Product Pages
One of the first steps in setting up Shopify for artists is adding product pages. Here’s what to do:
- Open your Shopify admin dashboard.
- Go to the Products tab.
- Click on the “Add product” option.
- Name your product. Use a descriptive title, such as “Fields at Sundown – ArtistXYZ Limited-Edition 24×36 Framed Print.”
- Fill in the fields for product pricing, shipping options, and your current inventory.
- Create a short but engaging description of the item, and include bullet points with key features (e.g., measurements, materials, and artist name).
- In the “Media” section, add high-quality images of your art by clicking “Upload now.”
It’s also easy to add product variants on Shopify. Scroll down to the “Variants” section and select “Add options like size or color.” Select the details that make variants unique, such as size or frame.
5. Collections
Next, organize your products into collections. These will be the categories on your storefront that help customers find what they’re looking for. Many artists set up unique collections for:
- Colors: Red, yellow, purple, black-and-white, etc.
- Topics: People, landscapes, etc.
- Styles: Anime, pop art, photography, etc.
- Product Types: Unframed prints, framed artwork, canvases, and t-shirts
- Store Categories: New, top-rated, on sale, gift ideas, etc.
Some Shopify themes add a search bar to your store. With this approach, visitors can look for artwork based on keywords, reducing the number of tabs and streamlining your store’s appearance.
6. Shipping and Delivery
Decide how to handle shipping on your store. If most products are the same size, consider using a flat rate or offering free shipping (with the cost absorbed into your sale price).
For larger items like furniture, you can integrate third-party carrier apps for easier tracking. For digital downloads and online events, shipping isn’t an issue, but you do need Shopify’s “Digital Downloads” app. You can manage digital files in your admin dashboard at Products > “More actions” > “Add digital file.”
7. Shopify Apps
Certain types of art stores often need extra help incorporating features that make their sites interactive and user-friendly. For example, performance artists and bands need a ticketing app on Shopify to organize events and sell tickets. This type of app adds a booking calendar so customers can select dates.
If you plan to offer live classes or video courses on your site, you need a way to offer subscriptions and allow access to supporters only. Shopify app solutions are always just a click away.
Apps “plug in” new features. You don’t have to edit any code. You can control everything from the Shopify dashboard.
Examples of Shopify Art Stores
Taking a look at existing art stores and artists on Shopify can give you ideas for organizing your site and finding your online identity. Factory 43 uses a broad brush with wall art and tees, whereas Artistro and Painting to Gogh focus on empowering DIY artists.
For Maison Miru, handcrafted jewelry is art. Drool stands out with curated graphic design, painting, photography, and illustration, each piece something to remember. On the other hand, Ikonik targets sports enthusiasts who love art.
Artists Can Use Events on Shopify To Promote Art
Shopify is an excellent platform for creating a website that represents you and connects with your customers. Its e-commerce tools have everything you need to start selling your art. For Shopify apps that can help you sell more, check out Evey Events.
Evey Events is one of the most popular apps on Shopify for artists. It helps artists and musicians with event management for performances. Evey gives you control over ticket branding, merch, multi-day events, and pre-sales. And offering tickets for free events doesn’t cost you a thing.
Discover how this Shopify events app can help you promote events, sell tickets, and turn live experiences into another revenue stream.
