What do Louvre, Amazon, Apple, Pixar, Swatch, Facebook, Instagram and Bank of America have in common? World domination in their respective industries – for one. Coincidentally, they have all chosen to use their .ART domains as a clever marketing tool, redirecting from concise .ART addresses to their existing websites or sections of them.
What does one find at www.amazon.art? All Amazon products related to art: books, drawing materials, paintings, funky socks. This is Amazon’s way of saying that their range of products related to the arts and crafts is so extensive that it deserves a separate domain name, although it still has its lawful place as a sub-section of their .com website. Neat trick! In a similar way you can choose a section of your existing website (online shop, current exhibition, new projects) and highlight it for marketing purposes and print. Meanwhile, www.ipad.art redirects to the iPad section of Apple’s US website, where one is practically seduced by the sleek appearance of the new series of an iconic product, with modern art displayed on its screens. Apple has always treated its products as a state-of-the-art technology, it seems they take their domain names with fitting creativity and seriousness.
This tactic popular with the big guys can make your life easier too. Building a website can take a long time, but you can start working on your digital image right away with what you already have! Get a concise .ART domain and redirect it to your profile on social media, Etsy or WordPress. Or choose a section of your existing website to highlight an ongoing exhibition or a separate project.
So why redirect?
- To give the link to your social media profile a professional appearance
British artist Lewissa Wilson, for instance, has chosen to place her Instagram profile link behind an easily marketable .ART domain.
www.lewissa.art > https://www.instagram.com/lewissawilson.artist/
- To shorten a free domain name that comes with a website builder or WordPress
Illustrator Sarah Burgess found a way to make her life easier: her name&surname domain redirects to her Wix website with quite a cryptic default domain name, which would have not looked very consistent with her sleek artistic image.
www.sburgess.art > https://3oknight.wixsite.com/mysite
- To give the e-commerce platform you use an individualised look
This Ukrainian jewellery designer chose to use an established online platform Etsy, while giving it an attractive “packaging” with a .ART domain
www.eteniren.art > https://www.etsy.com/shop/EtenIren
- To save time on hosting change procedures while improving brand image
www.paris-photographer.art > www.theparisphotographer.com/
Many choose this path of least resistance. www.fondationbeyeler.art redirects to the museum’s .com address, and yet they choose to use .ART in their advertising materials. Bank of America is marketing their art conservation projects through www.bofa.art, which redirects to a section on their main .com website dedicated to it. In this simple way the organisation is showing that this is not part of their com(mercial) activity, but rather something they do with a different motivation and reasoning. If you are a business organisation involved in charity, social or cultural activities, a .ART domain will be a simple marketing tool to bring attention to a different side of your business.
There are many ways to play around with domain usage. Dastan Gallery in Tehran (Iran) not only purchased its .ART address, but also an additional address www.ardeshirmohassess.art, which is the name and surname combination of one of the most prominent Persian artists, whose works it features. The address simply redirects back to the main website, and yet it’s a way of honouring the artists and being able to focus the limelight on their work rather than on the whole collection, when needed.
You don’t need to build a complicated professional website to be a part of .ART – just like you don’t need one to call yourself an artist. Work with what you already have: your profile pages on social, artistic and e-commerce networks, your WordPress blog, a section of your existing website, a simple landing page you can make in a few hours with a website builder.
