For any gallery website to be relevant and practical, it has to accomplish a number of diverse tasks. The ideal solution is to automate the website’s functions and to make that automation as easy as possible. Some galleries choose to work with Web design companies that can automate their gallery website for in-house maintenance, placing the gallery website on equal footing with other everyday gallery administration tools. By simplifying the process and working with a Web designer that offers an automated solution, the gallery can bring those tasks in-house. A gallery’s staff already uses computer software as part of its daily routines—Microsoft Word and Excel, Adobe Photoshop and the gallery inventory database, (i.e., galleryManager by exhibit-E, ArtBase or ArtSystems). There’s no reason that, with the right administrative package, updating a website shouldn’t be included as one of those tasks. THE STANDARD SYNTAX OF GALLERY WEBSITES
While there is no set format that a gallery website should follow, there is a remarkable consistency between sites regarding their content. A common syntax of content, in terms of what content is presented, appears to have developed among almost every gallery website. This is not due to collusion among Web designers and galleries. Rather, this similarity reflects a common purpose—galleries need certain content online, and over time, a design and navigation logic has emerged. This is a positive, informal development that facilitates ease of use. Typically, sites are broken down into an arrangement of the following content:
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