The Problem With Art Gallery Websites Built for You (But Not Editable by You)
There's a specific kind of website that looks great in the initial pitch and becomes a problem six months later: the website built entirely by someone else, with no real thought given to what happens after launch.
The initial appeal
It's easy to see why galleries choose this route. A developer or agency handles everything — design, structure, content — and you get a polished result without lifting a finger. For a launch, this can feel like the ideal solution.
The problem that shows up later
The trouble starts the first time you need to change something. A new exhibition. A new artist joining your roster. New gallery opening hours. Suddenly, you're not looking at a finished product — you're looking at a system you don't understand, built with decisions you weren't part of, that only the original builder can safely edit.
This creates a dependency that outlasts the initial project. Every future update requires going back to the same person (who may be busy, unavailable, or simply expensive), or trying to find someone else who can safely work within a codebase they didn't write.
Why "beautiful" isn't the same as "usable"
A website can be visually stunning and still fail your gallery if you can't manage it day-to-day. Design is only one part of the equation. The other half is whether the site fits into how your gallery actually operates — announcing shows, updating collections, responding to enquiries — without needing outside help every time.
What galleries actually need
Independent editability. A website where:
You can log in and make changes immediately
The structure is simple enough to understand at a glance
Common gallery tasks (new exhibition, new artist, artwork) follow a repeatable pattern
You're not paying ongoing fees just to keep the lights on
A better starting point
This is why I build gallery websites on Squarespace rather than custom code — and why I created a dedicated Squarespace Art Gallery Template rather than relying on generic templates. It gives galleries the best of both: a professionally designed site from day one, and full ownership of it afterward. True story! For custom sites, all my Squarespace clients take over after launch, no monthly maintenance package needed.
You're not locked out of your own website. You're not waiting on anyone. You built it, and you can grow it.
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Looking for a website that's actually yours to run? Check out my Squarespace Art Gallery Template — designed for galleries, editable by galleries.
Built for the art world
When art galleries started asking me to build them Squarespace websites, I KNEW there should be an easier way; and thus the Studio Fresco Squarespace template was born.
