Before you begin
Bring the work. Hangwork handles the site.
You don't need to prepare everything before you start. These three things are enough:
- A few finished pieces. JPG, PNG, GIF, and WebP images work. Exporting large originals for the web will make your pages load faster.
- A short introduction. Your name, a sentence or two about your practice, and the email or social links where people can reach you.
- A free account for your site. You'll connect it when you publish, so you can begin building before you have one.
Choose a starting point
Start with a wall, not a settings screen.
Open the editor and choose the starting point closest to your work. A template gives you a complete structure to edit; Start from blank gives you an empty portfolio.
Nothing is permanent. You can change the type, colors, layout, and page order later.
Add your work
Put the art in first.
In Content, add your name, profile image, biography, and contact details. Open a page to upload pieces, write captions, add video links, or link a work to a project page.
- Drag pieces to change their order.
- Add pages for bodies of work, exhibitions, or a separate about page.
- Use the preview beside the controls to check every change as you make it.
You can leave fields empty. Before publishing, Hangwork points out unfinished details without stopping you from going live.
Shape your wall
Make the presentation support the work.
Use Theme for type, color, and the overall page layout. Use Extras for social links, your signature, and the footer. The Sharing tab controls the title, description, and image people see when your site appears in search results or a message.
Claim your space
Connect the account that will hold your site.
Open Publish and choose Connect. Hangwork uses a free GitHub account to store your website and its files in your name. If you don't have an account, you can create one during this step.
- Choose Continue with GitHub.
- Approve the connection on GitHub.
- You'll return to Hangwork with your draft intact.
The connection is kept in this browser and can be removed with Sign out. If you prefer, the connection window also has an advanced personal-access-key option.
Publish
Choose your address and open the doors.
Choose Publish website. If you haven't bought Hangwork yet, the plan choices appear here. Choose lifetime access with downloads or monthly access without downloads; your draft stays saved while you complete checkout.
Next, pick the name in your included address — for example,
yourname.hangwork.art. Use letters, numbers, and dashes. Hangwork checks
that the name is available before it publishes.
- Review any unfinished details. You can fix them or publish anyway.
- Choose Publish and keep the window open while the steps finish.
- When Your site is live appears, open or copy the address.
After publishing
Come back anytime to rehang.
On the same device, open the editor and continue your saved draft. On a different device, connect the same account and choose Edit my published site. Hangwork brings your live text and images back into the editor.
Make your changes, open Publish, and choose Publish update. Your address stays the same.
Optional
Use a domain you already own.
Publish once before connecting your own domain. Then open Publish, choose
Use a custom domain, and enter an address such as
www.yourname.com.
Hangwork will show the exact DNS record to add where you bought the domain. Copy that record, wait for the change to reach the web, then choose Check DNS. Your included hangwork.art address remains available if you disconnect the domain later.
Domain changes often appear within a few minutes, but can take up to an hour.
If something gets stuck
Start with the small checks.
- My draft isn't here.
- Unpublished drafts stay in the browser where you made them. Return on that device, or connect your account and load a site you've already published.
- My address says the site isn't ready.
- Wait a minute and refresh. If the browser mentions privacy or HTTPS on a brand-new hangwork.art address, give the secure connection a few more minutes.
- The website name is taken.
- Try a small variation using your full name, studio name, medium, or city. Your site name can be different from your account name.
- The account connection didn't return to Hangwork.
- Open Claim your space again and use the advanced personal-access-key option, or email support and tell us which browser you're using.
Still stuck?
Ask a person.
Email william.stroud100@gmail.com. Include the step you were on and what appeared on screen; a reply usually arrives within one business day.
Return to the editor