Why should my website look minimal like an art gallery?

The best place to buy art or photography in the real world is inside an art gallery or museum. That’s why all galleries and museums look the same: plain white walls, art well-lit, and nothing else. When building websites for selling art, the goal is to replicate this proven paradigm in the digital context. Make the buying experience as close as possible to being in a gallery. That’s why effective art websites are minimalist with white backgrounds (or occasionally black), clean layouts, and the focus entirely on the artwork. You’re trying to translate what works in the physical gallery space into the online environment, because that’s the environment where art sales naturally happen.

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Asked by an artist designing their website · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2023-09-29