This guide will introduce you to the Wishlists feature in websites. What they are, how they work and how to set them up for the most impact.
Overview
The wishlist lets visitors save artworks as they browse your site and then send you a single enquiry about everything they've saved, instead of enquiring about one work at a time.
A small heart icon appears on your artworks, a counter appears in your site header, and a dedicated wishlist page collects the saved works alongside an enquiry form. When a visitor submits it, you receive one email listing every work they were interested in.
You do not need an online store or e-commerce set up to use the wishlist — it works on any website that shows artworks.
Why you'll love it:
- More leads, less friction — a simple heart icon makes it effortless for collectors to express interest
- Richer enquiries — see everything a client is interested in, all in one email
- Zero extra admin — enquiries land in your existing inbox and auto-sync to your contacts
- Spam-protected — optional invisible reCAPTCHA keeps submissions clean
- Up and running in minutes — one toggle in Settings, fully customisable wording
A smarter way to capture serious interest before it slips away.
Before you start
A few things to know before switching it on:
Artworks only. Visitors can save artworks. Exhibitions, artists, events, art fairs, viewing rooms, publications and store products cannot be added to a wishlist.
Version 2 websites only. The wishlist settings appear on version 2 template sites. If your site is on the older version 1 template, contact support@artlogic.net.
It's one switch, site-wide. Turning the wishlist on adds the heart to every artwork grid on your site — the main Artworks page, artist Works and Series sections, exhibition and viewing room work lists, and the Store grid. There is no way to enable it only on specific pages.
Every artwork gets a heart. Unlike "Add to cart", the heart appears on sold, reserved and price-on-application works too. Visitors can save anything.
The wishlist is not a basket. No prices are shown anywhere on the wishlist, and nothing is purchased through it. It produces an enquiry, not an order.
Turning the Wishlist on
Go to Settings > Settings.
In the left-hand menu, under Sections, choose Artworks.
Scroll down to the Wishlist heading (it sits between Artwork grid layout and Artwork categories).
Tick Enable wishlist.
Click Save.
Ticking the box reveals the wording options underneath it. Your changes appear on the live site straight away — the wishlist pages are not cached.
That's all that's needed — every other field under the Wishlist heading is wording you can adjust later. See Customising the wording below.
What your visitors see
The heart on artwork listings
On artwork grids the control is a small heart icon in the artwork's caption area. It's faded when the work isn't saved and solid once it is. Clicking it again removes the work.
The button on artwork detail pages
On an individual artwork page the control is a text button, reading Add to wishlist by default. Once the work is saved it changes to Remove from wishlist. Both wordings are editable.
The wishlist counter in your header
As soon as the wishlist is on, a heart icon with a number beside it appears in your site header, alongside your search and basket icons. The number is the count of saved works, and it updates instantly without reloading the page. Clicking it takes the visitor to their wishlist page.
The icon appears on every page of your site. On standard version 2 sites it stays visible even when the list is empty.
The "item added" popup
The first time a visitor saves a work, a small popup confirms it. It shows:
a heading — set by Popup heading
a line of text — set by Popup message
a button through to the wishlist — set by Popup "View" button label
a button to dismiss it and keep browsing — set by Popup "Continue" button label
This popup only appears once, on the very first item added. It does not reappear for subsequent works.
The wishlist page
The visitor's saved works live at /wishlist/basket/. This page is built into your website — you don't need to create it.
It shows a heading, the saved works listed down the left (thumbnail, artist / title / year, and the work's details such as medium, dimensions and edition), and an enquiry form on the right. Each row has a remove link.
If the list is empty, the page shows a short message instead of the form — "Your wishlist is empty" by default, editable via Empty wishlist label.
Note: The wishlist page is not added to your site menu automatically — the header heart icon is how visitors reach it. If you'd rather also add a menu link, point it at /wishlist/basket/ (not /wishlist/, which is blank).
The enquiry form
The form on the wishlist page asks for:
| Field | Required |
| Name | Yes |
| Yes | |
| Phone | No |
| Message | No |
The submit button wording comes from the Enquiry button label setting.
After a successful submission the visitor sees a confirmation dialog reading "Thank you! Your enquiry has been received. We will be in touch shortly." There is no separate thank-you page.
Note: The saved works stay on the list after an enquiry is sent — the wishlist is not cleared. A visitor can carry on browsing with their list intact, but it also means they can send the same enquiry twice.
Spam protection
You can add a reCAPTCHA check to the wishlist enquiry form, the same as the one available on your contact form and mailing list signup.
Go to Settings > Settings > Website > Contact & Enquiries.
Scroll to Captcha Settings.
Tick Enable captcha on the wishlist enquiry form.
Click Save.
The check is invisible by default — visitors see nothing extra and simply submit the form as normal, while obvious bot submissions are blocked. If you'd rather visitors saw a visible "I'm not a robot" tick box, use the Show visible captcha request option in the same block. Note that this option is shared with your contact form, so switching it on makes the captcha visible on both.
If a submission fails the check, the enquiry is not sent and the visitor sees a message asking them to try the verification again.
Note: Captcha options are available on Expert tier websites. If you don't see the Captcha Settings block, contact support@artlogic.net.
Where wishlist enquiries go
Wishlist enquiries use the same recipient address as your normal contact and enquiry forms. There is no separate wishlist address.
To check or change it: Settings > Settings > Website > Contact & Enquiries, then under Contact & Enquiry forms see Email address send to. You can enter several addresses separated by commas.
Important: If that field is empty, enquiries are sent to Artlogic rather than to you. If you're not receiving wishlist enquiries, check this field first.
Your record of it
Every wishlist enquiry is recorded in Admin > Email log, listed under the type Wishlist enquiry. You can see the date, subject, recipients and the full email body there. (Accessing the email log requires admin rights or the email log permission.)
If your website is connected to your Artlogic database, a successful enquiry also creates or matches the contact and links the saved artworks to them, exactly as your other enquiry forms do.
Customising the wording
All of these live under the Wishlist heading on the Artworks settings page.
| Setting | What it changes | Default |
"Add" button label |
The wording of the button on an artwork detail page. On artwork grids only the heart icon is shown, so this doesn't change what visitors see there. |
Add to wishlist |
| "Remove" button label | The wording of the same button once the work has been saved. Again, detail pages only. |
Remove from wishlist |
Popup heading |
The heading on the "item added" popup. |
Wishlist |
| Popup message | The line of text inside the "item added" popup. |
You can either review your list and make an enquiry, or continue adding to the list |
| Popup "View" button label | The button in that popup that takes the visitor to their wishlist. |
View wishlist |
Popup "Continue" button label |
The button in that popup that closes it and returns the visitor to browsing. |
Continue browsing |
| Basket page heading | The heading at the top of the wishlist page. |
Wishlist |
| Empty wishlist label | The message shown in place of the form when the visitor has nothing saved. Write it as a full sentence — it's used exactly as you type it. |
Your wishlist is empty |
Enquiry button label |
The submit button on the wishlist enquiry form. |
Send us an enquiry |
Translating the wording
All of the fields above can be translated. On a multi-language site each one shows a translate link beside it, so your wishlist reads correctly in every language you publish.
Wording that can't be changed
For completeness, these are fixed and not editable from the CMS: the Wishlist label on the header icon, the Submit heading above the enquiry form, and the "Thank you — your enquiry has been received. We will be in touch shortly." confirmation. The confirmation message is translated automatically on multi-language sites.
Good to know
Wishlists are saved in the visitor's browser, not to an account. There is no login, and lists are not stored against a customer record. A list typically lasts around 30 minutes of inactivity and is tied to that one browser on that one device. If a visitor closes their browser, switches to their phone, or clears their cookies, the list is gone. Neither you nor they can recover it.
You can't see a visitor's wishlist. There's no screen in the CMS showing who has saved what, and no "most wishlisted works" report. The only record you get is the enquiry email, once the visitor chooses to send it.
No prices appear on the wishlist. Saved works show the image, artist, title, year and caption details only. Your currency and VAT settings have no bearing on it, and no prices appear in the enquiry email either.
The wishlist sits alongside your other buttons. "Add to cart", "Enquire" and the wishlist heart are independent — all three can appear on the same artwork. Turning the wishlist on doesn't remove or replace your existing enquiry buttons.
Sharing a wishlist isn't available yet. Visitors can send their list to you, but they can't forward it to someone else. If that's something you'd like, let us know at support@artlogic.net.
Troubleshooting
"I changed the popup wording and nothing happened." The "item added" popup only appears on a visitor's first saved work. If you've already saved something while testing, you won't see the popup again until you start a fresh browser session.
"We're not receiving wishlist enquiries." Check Settings > Website > Contact & Enquiries > Email address send to. If it's blank, enquiries aren't reaching you. Also check Admin > Email log for entries of type Wishlist enquiry — if they're listed there, the email was sent and the issue is at the receiving end.
"I tested on our preview site and the email never arrived." Emails from preview and staging sites are deliberately redirected to an Artlogic test address and won't reach your inbox. Test on your live site.
"A visitor says they lost their saved works." Expected behaviour — lists are held in the browser session only and aren't recoverable. See Good to know above.
"The empty wishlist page shows no message at all." Check that Empty wishlist label isn't blank. Unlike the other wording fields, this one has no fallback text — if you clear it, nothing is shown in its place.
"I can't find the captcha option." Captcha settings are on the Contact & Enquiries page rather than under Wishlist, and are available on Expert tier sites. See Spam protection above.