How to Sell Digital Art and Graphics Online (The Easy Way)

As a web designer with over 15 years of experience building online stores, I‘ve seen digital products explode in popularity. Gone are the days of relying solely on selling physical items. Now artists can profit from selling digital downloads of their artwork directly to customers.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll show you how to start selling your digital art and graphics online, step-by-step.

Why You Should Sell Digital Art Online

Before we dive in, let‘s look at some of the key reasons why selling digital files makes sense for artists:

Reach a wider audience. By selling online, your work can be purchased by anyone, anywhere. No need to rely solely on local foot traffic. Digital files allow you to maximize your reach.

Lower overhead. With physical products, you have to account for manufacturing, shipping, and storage costs. Digital files eliminate overhead expenses.

Passive income potential. Once a digital file is created, it can earn you money 24/7. You can keep creating new artwork while existing pieces continue selling.

Easy duplication. You‘ll never run out of inventory. Digital files can be downloaded an unlimited number of times.

Faster distribution. No shipping physical items. Customers get instant access to artwork upon purchase.

Higher profit margins. Since there are no reproduction costs, you earn more per sale selling downloads directly vs wholesale.

Selling digital products levels the playing field. It makes selling art viable even if you‘re just starting out.

According to a 2022 survey, over 75% of artists now sell their work online in some format. And the global digital art market is expected to grow by over 9% per year through 2030.

Clearly, transitioning to digital brings huge opportunities. But how exactly do you sell digital art online? Let‘s find out…

Step 1: Set Up Your Website

To sell art in any format, the first thing you need is an online storefront…a website to showcase and sell your work.

While you could use Etsy, eBay, or other marketplaces, I advise building your own website.

Benefits of having your own art website include:

• Complete creative control over your brand
• Ability to customize the look and feel
• Keep more profits instead of paying platform fees
• Own your audience data and relationships
• Room to grow your online business over time

For setting up a website, I recommend using WordPress paired with a web hosting company like SiteGround.

Why WordPress?

WordPress is the world‘s most popular website builder, powering over 43% of all sites on the internet. Some key advantages:

• Easy to use, even for beginners
• Completely customizable and flexible
• Has thousands of free designs and plugins
• Scales to meet higher traffic demands
• Gives you full ownership and control

For hosting, SiteGround has specialized WordPress plans starting around $6 per month. Their expert support team will even migrate your site for free.

After registering your domain name and signing up for hosting, you can easily install WordPress with a few clicks. From there, the possibilities are endless when it comes to customizing your art shop.

Step 2: Install Your eCommerce Plugin

Now that you have a WordPress site, you need an eCommerce solution to actually sell your art.

There are many WordPress eCommerce plugins out there, but in my experience, Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is the best choice for selling digital artwork and graphics.

Some advantages of using EDD include:

• Made specifically for selling digital downloads
• Free to install and use
• Unlimited file hosting and products
• Abundant payment gateway options
• Extensions for discounts, memberships, etc.
• Lightning fast performance

EDD seamlessly integrates into WordPress. To install it:

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard
2. Go to Plugins » Add New
3. Search for "Easy Digital Downloads"
4. Install and activate the plugin

And that‘s it! EDD will now be ready to use for uploading and selling your digital art files.

Step 3: Set Up Your Payment Method

You‘ll want to get your payment processor connected before adding products to sell.

EDD integrates with 50+ payment gateways including:

• Stripe
• PayPal
• Authorize.net
• 2Checkout
• Amazon Pay

The most beginner friendly options are Stripe and PayPal, so I recommend starting with one of those.

To set up a payment gateway in EDD:

1. Go to Downloads » Settings » Payment Gateways
2. Select your preferred gateway
3. Enter your API credentials from the payment processor
4. Make sure the gateway is enabled
5. Set it as the default if desired

That‘s all it takes to start accepting online payments for digital products. The gateways integrate seamlessly, so the checkout process will be smooth for your customers.

Step 4: Upload and Configure Your Digital Products

Now for the fun part…adding your digital art and graphics to sell in your WordPress shop!

To create a new downloadable product:

1. Go to Downloads » Add New
2. Give your product a title and description
3. Upload your digital file(s)
4. Set your pricing
5. Add images
6. Publish the product

I recommend keeping your product pages simple and focused entirely on that particular download.

For example, if you‘re selling a landscape PNG file, call it something like "Mountain Landscape PNG" then mention technical details in the description like sizing and resolution.

You can organize your shop anyway you like using categories and tags. For example, group downloads by print sizes, color schemes, genres, etc.

Once a product is published, customers will be able to add it to their cart and check out on your site.

Step 5: Customize Your Purchase Emails

When a customer buys your artwork, EDD will automatically send them a receipt email with access to the download file.

Make sure to customize these emails so they align with your brand and provide a great customer experience.

To edit the purchase receipt emails:

1. Go to Downloads » Settings » Emails
2. Customize the sender name, subject line, headings, and body content
3. Make sure your logo and brand colors are correct
4. Add any important details about accessing or using the file

Little personal touches here go a long way. You want customers to feel good about their purchase!

Step 6: Test the Buying Process

Before officially launching your art shop, you need to test the checkout process.

The best way is to create a dummy product, enable "Test Mode" in your payment settings, then buy the product yourself.

This will allow you to verify:

• Payment gateways are working
• Email confirmations are sent out properly
• Downloading the product file is seamless

Spot check on desktop and mobile to identify any issues to fix across devices. Don‘t launch until you‘re fully confident in the customer experience!

Step 7: Pick an Appealing WordPress Theme

How your website looks and feels plays a big role in selling anything online. You want a theme that helps build trust and captures your brand style.

For digital art stores, I recommend choosing a clean, simple, and minimalist WordPress theme. This will keep the focus on your gorgeous artwork!

Some great options to consider include:

• Astra – very customizable free theme
• OceanWP – beautiful free theme with lots of style options
• Divi – powerful drag-and-drop page builder theme
• Flatsome – popular eCommerce focused theme

Shop around until you find the right visual identity. Take advantage of theme demo sites to test out designs.

Step 8: Market Your Digital Artwork

At this point, your online art shop is ready to go. Now you need to get the word out!

Spread the news across all your marketing channels:

• Email lists – let subscribers know about new pieces. Offer special discounts for loyal fans.

• Social media – post teasers leading up to new releases. Share behind-the-scenes sneak peeks.

• SEO – optimize blog posts with keywords so potential buyers can find your site.

• Collaborations – team up with relevant bloggers and influencers in your niche to access new audiences.

• Paid ads – run targeted Facebook and Instagram ads focused on your ideal buyers.

• Offline marketing – hang posters, attend events, network locally to drive people to your site.

It takes consistent effort, but the more people you reach, the more art you‘ll sell. Be helpful, build community, and provide value through your marketing.

Final Thoughts

Selling digital art and graphics online is easier and more viable than ever in 2022.

I firmly believe artists should retain ownership of their work and maximize profits. By using WordPress and Easy Digital Downloads, you can build an online shop on your own terms.

Remember, go step-by-step:

1. Get hosting and install WordPress
2. Set up your eCommerce plugin
3. Integrate payments
4. Upload products
5. Customize order emails
6. Test the buying experience
7. Choose a visually appealing theme
8. Promote your art consistently

Within a week, you can have a fully functioning website making passive sales!

As you build your online art business, focus on creating amazing experiences for anyone who interacts with your brand. Over-deliver on value, stay true to your artistic vision, and success will follow.

I hope this guide provided a roadmap to selling digital artwork in a way that‘s rewarding both financially and creatively. Let me know if you have any other questions!