Artsy Shark Study Reveals Artists' Websites Fail at Converting Visitors

A new study by Artsy Shark, based on professional reviews of 93 artist websites, reveals a significant disconnect between artists' perceptions of their website problems and the actual issues. While 71% of artists stated their primary goal was to generate sales or facilitate purchases, and 43% believed their biggest challenge was traffic and discoverability, the professional reviews found that 74% of the websites had problems with the path to buying or inquiring. This indicates that many artists focus on attracting more visitors, but their sites are not optimized to convert interested visitors into buyers or contacts. The study, titled the 2026 Artsy Shark Artist Website Study, was conducted by Carolyn Edlund and involved surveying artists about their goals and challenges, followed by a thorough professional evaluation of their sites. The findings suggest that before investing in traffic generation, artists should ensure their websites provide clear information about artwork availability, pricing, and easy ways to make inquiries or purchases. The study aims to help artists understand that more traffic alone is not the solution if their website fails to guide visitors toward taking action. The full study includes practical recommendations for improving website performance.