Website Content for Artisans and Craftsmen

By Louise Coulson

It is almost a cliché to say that "content is king" when it comes to presenting your website to the public, but it rings true time after time. Even the powers-that-be at the search engines say they are most interested in content. Its time to take them seriously.

Artisans and craftsmen have both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to providing content to site visitors. Your work is fascinating, unique and frequently based in historical tradition. Articles and information about a specific craft, trends, techniques, design, and materials can provide great content for the artisan website, but the articles on your should target your buyer rather than others in your field. We have seen craftsmen and artisans who set up links, articles, tips, and white papers and even tutorials to appeal to others in their field.
Obviously, this doesn't make any sense if you are trying to provide content that attracts buyers for your pieces.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and linking campaigns are necessary and fairly simple but time consuming, but it is not all that a site needs to get better positions in the search engines.
Your content needs to be well written, current, relevant to your product, unique and accurate. Your unique content can include some of the following:

• Trends in your field
• How to care for the work
• History of your particular type of work
• How to use your pieces with their own wardrobe (if it is wearable art) or in their own homes (if it is a decor or furniture item)
• Legends about historical pieces similar to your work
• Information about materials you use
• Myths about the raw materials
• Historical information about the origins of your techniques
• Do's and Don'ts associated with your pieces (this can about care, use or storage of your pieces)
• Plans for future pieces
• A journal showing what is currently on your workbench
• An article describing your design process from idea to completion.
• Quizzes about some phase of your work from technique to tools or materials.
• Games such as crossword puzzles or word searches that feature the vocabulary of your type of work
• A planner or worksheet so your customer can plan how the piece will fit into his or her wardrobe or home
• Calendar of your show schedule
• Screen savers featuring your pieces

The style of writing used on a Web site is different from that used in print media. People seem to scan pages rather than reading them. Reading from the monitor is tiring for the eyes and is about 25% slower than reading printed material. The Internet is so full of information that the reader will may move on to another site quickly, so information needs to be easily accessible. These basic techniques will help make your content readable and accessible to your visitors.

1. Use short sentences and paragraphs.
2. Use headlines and sub heads so your reader can scan the page.
3. Check your grammar and spelling.
4. Use lists and bullets for easy accessibility.
5. The font used in your web page needs to be large enough to read - 12. pt. is standard.

Once your site is online, the time spent on the site is either spent on marketing or keeping your content current. Attention to current and relevant content will pay you back in site visitors.

Kingfisher Designs
Louise Coulson creates hand woven knotted jewelry from sterling silver and gold filled wire. Louise has a fiber arts background and her work reflects the best of creativity, craftsmanship and materials. She is webmaster for Kingfisher Designs at http://www.wireweavers.com and Jewelry Spectrum at http://www.jewelryspectrum.com. Website ShowCase: Artisan's Guide to Website Development and Marketing is her new eBook, which is available at http://www.jewelryspectrum.com/showcase.htm