If you’d like to have a private gallery for clients, this feature could be very useful for you.
Our recommendation is that the first step should be setting up a new Art Print Store which will just be used for your private clients' products. Then for each client you'll add their products into their own folder in the store. The reason for this is so you can set up privacy options which will prevent the products from appearing on search results in your site.
This article will show you how to create new folders in your store: How to: Manage Folders in your Store
Please follow these steps to achieve this:
Log in to your Art Storefronts Site Manager and click on the Art Print Store you want to upload images into. Today, we will be working in the Art Print Store titled Warehouse.
You’ll be taken to a new page where you will need to make sure you are on the tab labeled Products. This is where you’re going to be given the option to upload your images.
Once you’ve made sure you’re on the tab labeled Products, you’ll need to scroll down and find the Folders section.
Please create a New folder by clicking on the Add Folder button. A new pop-up will appear where you can give the folder a name. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’ll use a Folder named Sample. Once you’ve given the folder a name, click on the Create button
Once you've created a folder, to make it private you should follow these steps. First you'll need to select the folder in your store on the list to the left, move your cursor over the Edit & Manage link to the right of this, and then click on edit folder.
This will open the folder options, and you'll want to make changes to the three items under Controls on the Info tab.
Visibility will set this folder to not be visible to visitors to the site unless they access it from a direct link to the folder which you'll be providing the customer, and should be set to Private.
See in Search/Product Gallery controls whether the folder and its contents will show up from searches on the site, and should be set to No.
Password Protect will add a password dialogue to your live site for anybody attempting to access this folder, where they will need to enter the password you set up in this field in order to open it. Then click on Save to apply these settings.
Please note: You can also set up a Password on specific pages, such as gallery pages, using this guide here: How To: Password Protect A Page
Now the folder has been set up and configured, you can start uploading your images here, after which you can set up the media availability, sizes, and other options. How To: Upload an Image to a Folder in an Art Print Store
Once you've populated the folder and you're ready to share it with your client, you'll need to generate the address that you'll be sharing with them. You'll start in the Art Print Store again, and this time you'll select the folder on the left, then move your cursor over Edit & Manage, and this time click on view in browser.
This will load up the page on your live site, with the Password dialogue being displayed. However this is still using your artstorefronts.com address, and you'll need to generate a new link which uses your custom domain name. Click on View Site on Custom Domain on the bottom right of the window.
And with that, you’ll have successfully created a private folder only visible to the intended audience only.
Have fun.