I have noticed that in my location, most tattoo artists and tattoo shops do not have their own professional website. Quite a few have MySpace pages that include photos of their work and a perhaps a brief description of the shop, but so many are lacking a website that they can call their own. Personally I think this is a shame, as many artists would benefit from owning an organized web space to display their artwork and to introduce themselves to their potential customers.

Although MySpace offers a place for artists to make connections and show off their work to the world, many of these pages are not well-designed and do not give the impression that most artists would like to convey. A clean and organized design is vital to all professionals, especially those in the art field, in order to build a sense of trust and reliability. I myself always find a brick-and-mortar location to be more reputable if they also maintain a well-kept website, as this shows that the business is willing to dedicate time and effort into running a professional organization. Also, a website provides an undecided client with a method of checking out a business in their free time, and may provide them with a quick answer to a question that might otherwise require a phone call.

Most artists do not  need a complicated site to convey their services. In fact, a basic website including only three or four pages would suffice. I’ve broken down the basic website for a tattoo artist or shop into three essential pages, and one optional page, depending on the information architecture of the website.

1. Home Page: This is a great place to immediately display your best artwork, as the purpose of the home page is to attract the customer and give him or her a reason to stay on your website. Artwork can be shown in the header as a piece that changes when the page is refreshed, or a mini “preview” portfolio can be displayed to give the user a glimpse of what you’re capable of. Depending on what architecture is used, the home page can also be used to give a brief overview of the shop, and/or its artists. Keep in mind, however, that you do not want to bog down your reader with text on the home page. If your shop employs several artists, you would be better to include this information on a new page.
2. About Page (optional): If you have a fair amount to say about your artists or shop in general, you would be well  to include an About page in your website. This would also be an ideal spot to include your shop’s hours, or the hours for each artist employed at your shop.
3. Portfolio: This is the cornerstone of your website. Potential clients are on your website to scope out your talent, and you want to show them what you are capable of.  The basic portfolio consists of a thumbnail (small picture) of each piece that you want to show off that when clicked, presents the user with a larger, more detailed photo of the work. A popular approach to portfolio development is the lightbox approach, where when the thumbnail is clicked, the full-scale photo overlays the entire page and fades the background page so that the full-scale photo is prominent.
4. Contact Page: If your customers like your work, they will need a way to contact you to get more details, or to schedule an appointment. Be sure to include your shop’s address and phone number on this page, and potentially a small map to show where you are located (Mapquest provides ways to embed a static map on your website). The Contact page is also an excellent location for your shops hours. If you are good at keeping up with email, you can include a contact form on this page, which will email the customers inquiry to you when filled out. The form includes a number of fields which correlate to the information you regularly need from your clients, including Name, Phone Number, E-mail Address, and a Comment field where clients can ask their questions.

While artists can keep their MySpace pages as a way to network with other artists, a website is highly recommended to get their name visible on the internet. A good freelance designer/developer or development company can help you layout and design your site, and will offer you options for hosting your website, securing your domain name (the address that visitors enter to get to your site), and getting your site online.

Today, while I was visiting my local Barnes and Noble bookstore, I came across a magazine for web designers. I can’t quite remember the title of the magazine, but I do know that the magazine is published in the UK and carries a hefty $15 cover price in the States. Regardless, I perused the magazine in hopes of finding an interesting tip or tidbit that I could explore further when I returned home. My efforts paid off as I came across an article that suggested that web design is a dying art. Of course I was intrigued (and worried) by this idea, since this posed a threat to one of my passions, and not to mention, my career choice.

But when I stopped to think about what this magazine had just suggested, I realized that the notion of a death of web design is impossible.

The idea behind the decay of web design comes from the growing popularity of website and blog templates.  In theory, since a wide variety of templates (paid and free) are available to the user, the web designer is no longer needed, since a clean, pre-exisinting template is ready for use. No longer is the web designer needed to determine what layout is the best fit for a website, and which colors should go where. While it is true that less people may spend the time to learn and practice the art of web design, this by no means implies that website design as an art or career will disappear. The reasons why the web design field will continue to thrive are just too many.

The main reason why we will continue to see web designers is that those template designs must come from SOMEWHERE. They do not just manifest themselves onto the web. A designer had the spend the time and effort to come up with that template design. So how can these templates continue to overtake the web if someone is not there to design them for us?

A second reason why web design isn’t going anywhere is because clients, especially businesses, will not use a cookie-cutter design that everyone has access to. Businesses and organizations are looking to differentiate themselves from the competition, not just use the same template as their competitor but with different colors. As the popularity of the web continues to grow and more business is conducted online, customers will be turned off by look-alike websites. I know that as a consumer, I tend to shy away from businesses that look to have spent little time in planning their website, as I think that company probably will not be around for long. Most template websites belong to individuals and small businesses that require a starter website, not the organizations that are leading the way in web design inspiration.

Perhaps a less obvious reason that web design will stick around is that using templates halts the progress of the web. Whenever a developer builds a new application, the designer must find a way to accomodate for that application on the website. Templates do not provide the flexibility that a web designer is capable of. After all, a designer begins with a blank canvas and has the option to place page elements wherever he or she desires. Without that flexibility, the web will grow stale and practically come to a halt in terms of technological advancement. And who wants that?

Although web design will never disappear, the only trend that the growing popularity of templates might bring about is a decline in how many people will take up the craft. However, those who are truly dedicated to the web will continue to study of art of design, and they and seasoned pros alike will be the ones who are the top professionals in the field, designing the templates for those simply looking to experience a taste of the web.