Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL

What is an Artspan website?
Who are Artspan members?
Why do I need an Artspan website?
Do I have to make my own website?
How long will it take to get my website?
What types of design choices do I have?
How do I update/manage my website?
How do I add art?
How to I decide what to put on my website?
Can someone steal my images?
Can I display my images as slideshows?
Can I post a video?
Can I see how many people visit my site?
Can people contact me through my site?
Can I sell my art through my site?
Will I be rewarded if I recommend Artspan to friends?
How do I sign up?

ARTSPAN SITE FEATURES

How would visitors to Artspan find my site?
How do Searches work?
What Directories are Members featured in?
What are the Artspan Portals?

DOMAINS

What is a domain name?
Can I have personal domain name?
What can I choose for a domain name?
What if I already own a domain name?
Do I have to have a domain name?
Do I get an email account with my domain?

PRICING

How much does it cost?
How much is a domain name?
I already have a domain. What is the cost to use that domain?
How much is a subdomain?
What is web hosting and how much is it?
How much is an Associate membership?
How do I pay for an Artspan membership?
Is my credit card information safe?
Can I cancel my Artspan Membership?

PRINTS-ON-DEMAND

What type of prints can I offer?
What size prints can I offer?
What size images do I need to upload?
How about image quality?
How do I send the images to you?
Can I select the frames and mats I offer?
How do I set the prices?
Am I the seller or is Artspan the seller?
What about sales taxes?
How do I set the shipping costs?
How do I handle returns?
What is my responsibility in dealing with customers?
Will Artspan help if I have a dispute with a customer?
How does the customer pay for a print?
How much of the print price do I get?
How much of the accessories price do I get (paper, canvas, mat, frame)?
Can I buy prints of my work to sell elsewhere?
What are the costs for processing sales?
How do I know when I have sold a print?
When do I get paid?

GENERAL

What is an Artspan website?
We provide elegantly designed artist, artisan and photographer websites. Each site has an easy to use control panel where the member can customize and control all aspects of their site. Members can upload images, create galleries and post pages with any info they want.

Who are Artspan members?
Painters, photographers, sculptors, jewelers, printmakers, fiber artists, ceramicists, mixed media artists, digital artists and more.

Why do I need an Artspan website?
An online website is the best way to showcase your work. We provide our members with the simplest and lowest cost way to create a customized personal website. No computer expertise required! A website is essential to promoting your work. Artspan is also a major Internet art destination and you share in the traffic.

Do I have to make my own website?
No, that is our job, everything will be set up for you. To begin: sign up, then upload your artwork and create any other pages you would like to include on your site. NO computer expertise required.

How long will it take to get my website?
You can immediately start building your site using your control panel. It can take a day or so for your website to appear online, but it is usually sooner.

What types of design choices do I have?
Artspan offers 5 basic designs with many color variations, including a customizable design where you can choose different colors and fonts. You can change your design with a click of the mouse.

How do I update/manage my website?
Your Artspan website comes with a user friendly control panel. You login into your control panel using your username and password, and easily control all aspects of your site including: homepage, artwork, galleries, design layouts, marketing tools and more….

How do I add art?
You enter the “Artwork” section on the control panel, then you click “add artwork.” Select the image you would like to upload, and the image will be automatically resized as a thumbnail and full-sized image. You can also choose to add a zoom feature to your image(s) and/or have the images show in a slideshow.

How to I decide what to put on my website?
Showing images of your work is central to any creative person’s website. So you start by uploading images and separating them into different galleries. In addition to the image pages, you can add as many other pages as you would like. Add text and images to these pages and format to suit. Artspan default pages are CV/Bio, Artists Statement & Contact, but you are completely free to do what you need to do to show your work in the best possible way.

Can someone steal my images?
Any image you create automatically has your copyright. Read more here www.link.com
For any commercial exploitation under US and international copyright laws you are protected.
Note that all images on the web have a 72 dpi (dots per inch) resolution, which is a very low resolution for print or other purposes.

Can I display my images as slideshows?
Yes. There are a variety of slideshow patterns and speeds to choose from in the “Artwork” section of your control panel.

Can I post a video?
Yes. You can add a video or other file (such as a pdf) by clicking on an upload icon in the text editor.

Can I see how many people visit my site?
Yes. You can see how many people are visiting your site, what pages are being viewed and from what countries, by accessing the “Stats” section in your control panel.

Can people contact me through my site?
Yes, your site will have a “contact” page, visitors can type a message directly to you without seeing your email address. You can add additional details such as address or phone if want.

Can I sell my art through my site?
Yes. The Artspan website gives you the option. We give you complete information on setting up a Paypal Merchant Account and provide fields where you paste the code that places “buy now” buttons next to your work. Transactions are easy & completely secure.

Will I be rewarded if I recommend Artspan to friends?
Yes.-- Artspan always gives a free month for any member who recommends a new member. When the referral signs up they enter you name under “How did you find out about us.” Artspan is proud to provide this affordable service and is happy that you will recommend us to others.

How do I sign up?
Visit www.artspan.com and click the join us link at the top of the page to fill out the simple online application. Sign up today and be online tonight.

ARTSPAN SITE FEATURES

How would visitors to Artspan find my site?
There are three main ways visitors access member sites: Searches, Directories and Portals.

How do Searches work?
Visitors can search by keywords, for example, “blue sky.” The results will be thumbnails of images whose keywords match “blue sky” and “blue” and “sky” Searches can be further defined by category (painting, photography, etc), medium (oil, print, etc) and subject (landscape, abstract, etc). Visitors also use drop-down menus to search.
Members enter their own keywords and other search criteria for each image.

What Directories are Members featured in?
The three main Directories are the A-Z directories, the Category Directories, and the Regional Directories. For example if you are a nature photographer named Robert Black and live in New York, a thumbnail image of your work will appear above your name in the B Directory, in the Photography Directory, in the Nature Photography Directory and in the New York Directory. Clicking on the image will bring an enlargement of the image and clicking on that enlargement will bring the visitor to your website. If you also show landscape paintings on your site, your work will also appear in the Directories corresponding to those terms.

What are the Artspan Portals?
Artspan currently close to 30 Portals containing information relating to a particular genre, category or region. Portals feature articles, events, news, extensive lists of resources and artwork linking to member sites.

DOMAINS

What is a domain name?
A domain name is the name of your website, ie www.YourName.com. This is also called a URL or web address.

Can I have personal domain name?
Yes. We strongly recommend it. You can choose your own unique domain name as part of the Artspan application process. Please note: your domain is your property and you are responsible for renewing it.

What can I choose for a domain name?
Anything that is available. We suggest you use your name, as that is how most people will search for you. For example, www.RobertBlack.com. If this is not available, try other variations such as RobertBlackArt.com, RobertBlackPhoto.com or RobertBlackStudio.com Try to keep your domain name as simple as possible. It should be easy to remember and simple to type in the browser window.

What if I already own a domain name?
No problem. You can easily redirect your current domain name to your Artspan website. You will need to change your DNS (Domain Name Servers or Name Servers). You do this at the website of your current domain registrar. The new DNS information you enter should be:
ns1.artspan.com
ns2.artspan.com
ns3.artspan.com
ns4.artspan.com
ns5.artspan.com

Do I have to have a domain name?
No. You can have an Artspan subdomain, ie www.YourName.artspan.com. This is free.

Do I get an email account with my domain?
Yes, as many as you like. Just tell the Help Desk.

PRICING

How much does it cost?
Artspan offers three full-featured website packages from $13.95 to 19.95/month. There is a 10% discount for annual payment ($12.55 to 17.95/month). There is one-time set-up fee of $29.00 to help cover administrative costs. All the plans include website hosting.

How much is a domain name?
For one year, the cost is $15.89. For two years, its $14.89 per year. And for five years, its $13.89 per year.

I already have a domain. What is the cost to use that domain?
If you a domain elsewhere, you can use that domain for your Artspan site at no cost.

How much is a subdomain?
There is no charge to use a subdomain for your Artspan website.

What is web hosting and how much is it?
Web hosts are companies that provide space on their server for clients to use. Artspan servers provide 99.98% server uptime. There is no extra charge for this or for hosting extra images and videos.

How much is an Associate membership?
An Associate membership is $35 per year.

How do I pay for an Artspan Membership?
We accept Visa, Master, Discover and American Express credit and debit cards. If you pay annually, you can also make arrangements to pay by check.

Is my credit card information safe
The security of your credit card and personal information is our maximum priority . We use advanced 128-bit SSL encryption technology whenever sensitive information is updated or transmitted through our network. Rest assured, your information is guaranteed safe and secure with Artspan at all times. We have been staking our reputation and our business on it since 1999.

Can I cancel my Artspan Membership?
There is a 30 day notice required, but, yes, its easy to do. Just send our Help Desk a message.

PRINTS-ON-DEMAND

What type of prints can I offer?
Your prints will be Giclee prints created from high-resolution digital images, using the best quality ink and paper stock available. This process results in color resolution that far exceeds any other type of image printing.

Your prints will be generated on a pair of 8-color Epson 9600 ink jet printers. These printers are able to produce amazingly detailed prints of both works of fine art and photographs. For the ink, we use only Epson Ultrachrome ink, which is of archival quality. This guarantees you (and more importantly, your collectors!) a long-lasting museum quality work of art.

What size prints can I offer?
Based on the proportions of the image uploaded we generate a range of possible sizes it can be printed at, from maximum to minimum we make 6 size options available.  You can offer the entire range of sizes or just some of them. You may choose to offer only smaller or larger sizes or you may just want to offer one size that you feel works best.   The choice is yours.   The smallest possible print dimensions are 5” X 5" and the largest possible print dimensions are 40” X 40."

What kind of images do I need to upload?
Images should be 300 dots per inch or better and should be JPEGs (our recommendation) or TIFF format (RGB). As to the actual size of the image file needed, at 300dpi (dots per inch) resolution: the height in pixels divided by 300 X the width in pixels divided by 300 gives the largest possible print size for that image file. For example, 1200 pixels high X 2100 pixels wide gives you a maximum print size of 4 X 7 inches (1200/300 X 2100/300 = 4 X 7 inches) . To get a maximum size of 20”high x 35”wide, you will need to send us an image of 6000 pixels high X 10,500 pixels wide. At that size, you will be able to offer up to 6 different size prints – Artspan will calculate the correct sizes for you.

How about image quality?
These have to be best quality:

a. Resolution has to be 300 dots per inch or better.
b. Image sides should be perpendicular to the top and bottom and parallel to each other.
c. Make sure there is no glare (ie remove any glass before photographing)
d. Colors should be accurate.
e. If you need to tweak your image file, try using Photoshop Element. Elements is a scaled down version of the full Photoshop (Subscribe to Lynda.com for online tutorials).

Remember, you want your customers to be happy and for others to see your print(s) and want them for themselves. So, if you are not ready to take the best quality pictures, hire a professional and learn to do it yourself.

How do I upload the images to you?
You upload them in your Control Panel – click on the Artwork button. Artspan resizes the images as thumbnails and as enlargements and stores the largest version for prints. For images that you currently have on the site and that you now want to offer as prints, you will need to send larger image file sizes (see “What kind of images…” above).

Can I select the frames and mats I offer?
You can select the mats, frames and paper types to offer for all of your prints.  You can also customize each print to have a particular default combination of frame, mat and paper.

How do I set the prices?
When you upload an image, you will enter a variety of info including price(s) and keywords for searches. As a pricing example, you could enter, for an 8 x 10 inch print, $25, for a 16 x 20 inch print, $50, and so on. The paper, mat and frame cost are added on to the cost of the print.

Am I the seller or is Artspan the seller?
The images are on your site, the visitor wil buy on your site, and the shopping cart is yours only. You are the seller. You are responsible for any taxes due, and you must set a returns policy and refund any monies due under that policy. You also decide pricing. Artspan will process the order and print and ship.

What about sales taxes?
Your shopping cart checkout will automatically calculate the sales tax for 7,000 tax jurisdictions in the US and Canada. You are responsible for securing any necessary tax certificates and paying the tax to the appropriate tax authority or authorities. In most cast cases, the only tax due will be the tax due your locality or state/province when you ship to an address within that locality and/or state/province. For example, if you live in New York City and ship to an address in New York City, the sales tax is 8.375%. If you ship to Albany, NY, the tax is 8.00%.

How do I set the shipping costs?
Your customer will choose the shipping method and the cost will be automatically calculated.

How do I handle returns?
You can choose between 3 different policies:

1) You grant your buyers the unconditional right to return any item(s) purchased within a 7 (seven) day period following delivery of the purchased item(s).
Or
2) You specify one size print along with a mat and frame. Together these will become the “default print.” You grant your buyers the unconditional right to return this default print within a 7 (seven) day period following delivery of the purchased item(s). All other print orders would be non-refundable.
Or
3) You specify that all sales are final.

Artspan suggests that you accept returns as in 1) above and that you adjust your pricing to accommodate a 1-2% returns rate.

What is my responsibility in dealing with customers?
You will be responsible for contact with your customers and agree to respond to any inquiries in a timely fashion.

Will Artspan help if I have a dispute with a customer?
In the event of any dispute between you and the buyer regarding damaged items or other issues with buyers, you and the buyer may ask Artspan to mediate the dispute. If Artspan consents to do this, you agree to abide by any decision and/or recommendation(s) made by Artspan. 

How does the customer pay for a print?
Customers can pay with credit cards (all credit card data is secured by SSL encryption) or they can pay with a transfer from their PayPal account.

How much of the print price do I get?
You get 100% of the price (except for credit card processing cost and a small commission to Artspan – see below).

How much of the accessories price do I get (paper, canvas, mat, frame)?
You will receive 10% of the price of any accessories sold.

Can I buy prints of my work to sell elsewhere?
Yes.  This is a great way to buy museum-quality prints of your own artwork at a price that you set... in whatever sizes you need... whenever you need them!

What are the costs for processing sales?
If you opt to use an Artspan integrated shopping cart on your site, you agree to pay a 7.5% commission on sales transacted through the shopping cart. This commission will include credit card processing and other fees.

How do I know when I have sold a print?
When you receive an order, an e-mail notification will sent to you.   The e-mail will list the print(s) that were sold, the sizes of the print(s), and your profit on the sale.   

When do I get paid?
All sales proceeds, net of the 7.5% fee to cover the Artspan commission and the credit card processing and other fees, are credited to your account within a few days.