If you are an artist, or work in the art community, you might be thinking of setting up a website to make your content more visible. You might wish to establish an online portfolio, build a site for receiving commissions, or maybe you just want to have a place online to publish your favorite work.

When setting up your brand new site, the domain name you choose is important—you want it to reflect who you are and what you do. However, if you really want to take your website to the next level, you might want to consider ditching the standard .COM or .NET extensions and opt for something with a little more credibility. If this sounds appealing, you should consider a .ART domain.

What is .ART?

.ART is a domain extension, just like .COM or .NET; however, .ART is a specialized domain which indicates an affiliation with art or the art community. When you register a domain name for your website, getting a .ART extension is easy and quick—all it takes is one request to your domain registrar. 

In the past, when the Internet was a bit younger, specialized domain extensions beyond .COM, .NET, or .ORG were very much the minority, if they were available at all. This contributed to the prevalence of these domain extensions today. Just because they’re popular, though, doesn’t mean that they are still the best choice for your site. Nowadays, registrars have hundreds of domain extensions available to choose from, and specialized domains are slowly becoming more commonplace. If you want to identify yourself with the art community, stand out, and be on the cutting edge of a new trend in domain naming, a .ART extension is a great choice for you!

Why is it important?

Association with the Art Community

.ART is the ultimate signifier of belonging to the art world, with the word “art” being universally understood and integrated in all languages.

One of the most obvious reasons for registering a .ART domain is that it associates you with the art community. Whether your site flaunts your own art or is focused on others, a .ART domain lets your audience know, even before they even click on your site, that your content is dedicated to the art scene. More than that though, it helps you out in search results. Having the word “art” literally in your domain name makes it more likely that people browsing the internet looking for art or art related websites will find you. 

Be on the Edge of a Popular but Lasting Trend

.ART is on the leading edge of a growing digital aesthetics trend.

Opting for a specialized domain name is more than just a newly-conceived quirk to give your website a boost; there is plenty of precedent for industry-specific domains already beating out traditional domains. .AERO, for example, is a domain specific to the aviation industry, .BANK is specific to banks, and .BIZ (which you’ve probably already heard of) is specific to businesses. .ART is another specialized domain extension, and it is gaining traction within the art community.

Make Yourself Seen

The relevance of words in the domain name and extension improve website search results for specific keywords.

One of the most important, and yet often neglected, factors to consider when establishing your domain is how it will improve the visibility of your site. Rankbrain, an algorithm used by Google to find the most relevant sites for a user who enters a query into their search bar, could prefer a specialized domain extension if the domain extension was closely related to what the user was searching for. For example, if your site was named “creativeonline.art,” or “onlineclasses.art,” you could be more likely to appear in the search results because of your domain name. Both of these domains, and others like them, are available at most online registrars. See a more complete selection of available .ART domains here. 

Keep Your Clients Safe

This particular advantage benefits those doing business over their websites, such as artists taking commissions. A common trick that cyber criminals use to steal information from your clients is called “phishing.” When phishing, a hacker will send a fraudulent email to a number of people on the mailing list for your website. The fake email will be sent from a site that the hacker has set up but that looks like it came from your domain, and might say something along the lines of “reply with your credit card number so I can complete your commission.” If anyone is fooled and responds, the hacker can steal from your clients and end up damaging your site’s reputation. With a .ART domain, however, anyone receiving an email will have a significantly easier time recognizing a fake email from a real one. For example, and email sent from my.art versus myart.com is much easier to spot than an email sent from myart.com versus myart.net. While anyone, even a cyber criminal, will be able to register a .ART domain, having that extra step in place can still make a world of difference.

Where can I get a .ART domain?

There are plenty of other fantastic reasons to choose .ART for your domain name as well. We have more of those listed here. It is an excellent resource for answering any additional questions or concerns you might have about how the .ART extension will affect your website.

At present, unlike some other specialized or industry-specific domain extensions, there are no restrictions on who can use a .ART domain. Technically, you could register one even if you aren’t intending to use your website for art (although you would miss out on the benefits of doing so). To pick up a .ART extension for your domain, just go to your domain registrar and purchase one. 

If you’re still not convinced of .ART, consider our mission statement:

Our mission is to support the artistic community, protect and strengthen digital identity of its members and generate value from art. .ART fosters creativity in a variety of forms through sponsorship of innovation in art and tech industries, managing various awards and special projects. By joining .ART you will expand your boundaries. You will unleash your art online and become a part of a growing network of creatives.

Also published on Medium.