Where to Publish Your Webcomics
- Social Media Platforms
When it comes to social media, three options quickly come to mind. Instagram, Reddit, and Imgur. Both Reddit and Imgur have sections that are exclusively dedicated to comics. For social media Instagram is the place to be for cartoonists of all stripes. It has a thriving comic community that is supportive of creators that range from those just starting out, to established cartoonists. Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr are also good options. Try as many social media platforms as you can, see which one resonates the most with the audience and stick with one platform.
2. Webcomic Platforms
There are several online platforms that are exclusively dedicated to webcomics. LINE Webtoon and Tapas are the biggest ones on in the market. They both have a pre-established rabid mass of readers that are specifically geared towards comics. Some of the comics have as many as a million dedicated readers worldwide! Try posting on both for at least a month, figure out which one gets the most readers/subscribers and stick with one. There are also several smaller scale platforms that are worth trying out:
3. Self-hosted Website
Your final option for publishing your comic online is self-hosting on your website. One word of caution. You would have to do a lot of leg work in terms of Search Engine Optimization and marketing to drive new reader traffic to the website. To setup your website you will need to:
- Purchase a domain name for your website
- Purchase web hosting for your website
- Hire a web designer/developer for your website or use pre-built website templates that are built for comics.
If you are on a budget and cannot afford a web designer/developer, your best option would be to purchase a web hosting plan that supports WordPress. Then you can download some free WordPress plugins and themes that are specifically built for webcomics. The two best options available are: ComicPress/Comic Easel and Toocheke. Both give you the ability to publish setup your webcomic site fairly quickly, and can be easily customized by someone with little to no experience with web design. They both offer features like a comic archive, and comic navigation links. Tumblr also has a template(Simple Webcomic Theme) built specifically for webcomics. You can get a Tumblr website up and running in a matter of minutes.
While comic readers rarely go to self-hosted comic websites(that is unless the comic is widely popular) it never hurts to have comic hosted on your own website. You never know when the other platforms(social media/webcomics) you post on may go down or change to more restrictive publishing guidelines. A self-hosted website provides a central hub where readers can get to follow their favorite comic.
So to sum it up, your best bet is trying to post on as many platforms as possible, with a pre-established webcomic readership, find the one that works for you, and stick with it. Having a self-hosted website is not necessary, but if you want one and are working on a budget, consider using WordPress or Tumblr. Just be aware it will be harder to build an audience on a self-hosted website.
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