Lessons Learned from Creating a Shopify Gallery
This essay is part of an ongoing journal connected to my gallery of limited-edition photographs.
When opening The Eric Bank Gallery, I had several people inquire about what it was like turning completed photographs into a real-time online environment. This wasn't from a technical perspective, but from the more practical/ somewhat uncomfortable process of determining what belongs in the public eye, versus what is private.
The process of determining the character of the online gallery has been somewhat surprising for me. The technology itself didn't create as many obstacles as the numerous smaller decisions that collectively contributed to the tone of the online space. Every decision – what to display, what to exclude, what to measure, and what to disregard – helped shape the gallery into a destination to visit, as opposed to simply another store that converts.
Your Gallery Is Not Your Catalog
Over the course of my career, I have developed multiple websites. However, creating a gallery is distinct from building a typical website or standard eCommerce store. A gallery is an invitation to view your work; a catalog is a directory of products. These two concepts influenced virtually every decision I made during the development of the online version of my gallery.
Once I ceased to consider the website a catalog, I was able to eliminate many items that felt technologically correct, yet emotionally suboptimal. Completeness was not the objective. Coherence was.
Experience vs. Technical Features of Tools
Shopify provided the technical underpinnings I needed to develop and maintain the gallery. My focus immediately shifted toward the user's experience. I aimed to minimize distractions and to resist the use of features that would pull attention away from the photographs themselves.
There will always be an abundance of opportunities to add additional features to enhance the user experience. Extra copy, additional prompts, additional suggestions, etc., are all available, but each one will compete with the work displayed within the gallery. I discovered that the less the interface communicated with the visitor, the more precise the communication through the photographs became.
Establishing the Site Identity Through a Custom Domain Name
Another small change I implemented had a significant effect on how the gallery felt: transitioning from the default Shopify domain name to a custom one. While linking a custom domain name did not improve loading speeds or immediately increase sales, it altered visitors' perception of the gallery.
The gallery began to feel like a standalone location with a front door, as opposed to a hosted project. The platform receded into the background, which is precisely what I wanted. When visitors arrive at the gallery, they see only the work, not the framework behind the wall.
Removing Photographs Based Upon Sequence and Rhythm
Perhaps the most challenging discipline for me was deciding to remove photographs I liked, but that were unnecessary. To view the images as a sequence required a form of editing, based upon rhythm, pace, and continuity of emotion as opposed to removing individual favorites.
The order in which the photographs are presented matters as much as their presentation. Each picture needs to earn its placement by contributing to the visitor's overall experience of the gallery, not solely by providing an opportunity to stand out.
Benefits of Clarity in the Website
An unexpected benefit of creating the website was that it clarified how I viewed the photographs. The decisions regarding the layout and pacing of the pictures prompted me to articulate the questions the work should provoke and the questions it should answer.
This clarity also extended to how I evaluated the website's performance. Rather than concentrating on traffic or obsessing over conversion rates, I focused on other signals. For example, the time visitors spent on the website. The speed at which visitors navigated the website. Did the website encourage the visitor to linger, or did it induce urgency?
Listening to Analytics
I used analytics to listen to visitors, not as a means of evaluating scores. The ability to observe visitor behavior with ease, enabled via Shopify's integration with Google Analytics, simplified my ability to monitor and evaluate it.
However, I limited myself to monitoring behavior, rather than focusing on metrics. The time spent with the photographs, the paths visitors took throughout the website, and the extent to which the space allowed visitors to navigate at their own pace were more important to me than the total number of visits or conversions.
By limiting the metrics that I monitored, I prevented myself from redesigning the website in response to a single metric fluctuation.
Limitations of Dealing with Default Settings in Shopify
As I continued to evolve the gallery, I gained a clearer understanding of what Shopify defaults to. Shopify is very good at promoting urgency, encouraging expansion, and optimizing. Each feature functions well independently, but together they can disrupt the tranquility of a space meant to be viewed quietly.
Any promotional message, badge, pop-up, or automated recommendation adds noise. Even if the design of these elements is good, they still consume the visitor's mental bandwidth. Before implementing any new feature, I now ask myself whether it enhances the work or fills the silence.
Resisting Over-Optimization
In some cases, less structure provides a better experience than a completely optimized funnel. I have resisted the impulse to explain everything or to guide the visitor at every step. Silence has become a feature, not a weakness. The lack of prompts has given the work room to breathe.
Impact of Scale on Tone of the Store
Shopify allows for rapid growth. However, rapid growth alters the store's tone. Adding large quantities of products, variations, and descriptive content may dilute the clarity of the work if performed too rapidly.
For many forms of creative work, a smaller, more focused store does not diminish the work's impact. In fact, it can clarify the work. Self-restraint communicates confidence.
Thoughts for Future Sellers
My primary piece of advice for anyone who plans to utilize Shopify for creative work is to slow down. Use the tools Shopify provides; however, do not allow them to dictate the visitor's experience. Determine the type of space that you want first, and then permit the technology to provide the same experience silently.
When elements such as custom domains and analytics fade into the background, they function best. The platform recedes, and what remains is the invitation — not to purchase something (though that’s always nice), but simply to look.
When opening The Eric Bank Gallery, I had several people inquire about what it was like turning completed photographs into a real-time online environment. This wasn't from a technical perspective, but from the more practical/ somewhat uncomfortable process of determining what belongs in the public eye, versus what is private.
The process of determining the character of the online gallery has been somewhat surprising for me. The technology itself didn't create as many obstacles as the numerous smaller decisions that collectively contributed to the tone of the online space. Every decision – what to display, what to exclude, what to measure, and what to disregard – helped shape the gallery into a destination to visit, as opposed to simply another store that converts.
Your Gallery Is Not Your Catalog
Over the course of my career, I have developed multiple websites. However, creating a gallery is distinct from building a typical website or standard eCommerce store. A gallery is an invitation to view your work; a catalog is a directory of products. These two concepts influenced virtually every decision I made during the development of the online version of my gallery.
Once I ceased to consider the website a catalog, I was able to eliminate many items that felt technologically correct, yet emotionally suboptimal. Completeness was not the objective. Coherence was.
Experience vs. Technical Features of Tools
Shopify provided the technical underpinnings I needed to develop and maintain the gallery. My focus immediately shifted toward the user's experience. I aimed to minimize distractions and to resist the use of features that would pull attention away from the photographs themselves.
There will always be an abundance of opportunities to add additional features to enhance the user experience. Extra copy, additional prompts, additional suggestions, etc., are all available, but each one will compete with the work displayed within the gallery. I discovered that the less the interface communicated with the visitor, the more precise the communication through the photographs became.
Establishing the Site Identity Through a Custom Domain Name
Another small change I implemented had a significant effect on how the gallery felt: transitioning from the default Shopify domain name to a custom one. While linking a custom domain name did not improve loading speeds or immediately increase sales, it altered visitors' perception of the gallery.
The gallery began to feel like a standalone location with a front door, as opposed to a hosted project. The platform receded into the background, which is precisely what I wanted. When visitors arrive at the gallery, they see only the work, not the framework behind the wall.
Removing Photographs Based Upon Sequence and Rhythm
Perhaps the most challenging discipline for me was deciding to remove photographs I liked, but that were unnecessary. To view the images as a sequence required a form of editing, based upon rhythm, pace, and continuity of emotion as opposed to removing individual favorites.
The order in which the photographs are presented matters as much as their presentation. Each picture needs to earn its placement by contributing to the visitor's overall experience of the gallery, not solely by providing an opportunity to stand out.
Benefits of Clarity in the Website
An unexpected benefit of creating the website was that it clarified how I viewed the photographs. The decisions regarding the layout and pacing of the pictures prompted me to articulate the questions the work should provoke and the questions it should answer.
This clarity also extended to how I evaluated the website's performance. Rather than concentrating on traffic or obsessing over conversion rates, I focused on other signals. For example, the time visitors spent on the website. The speed at which visitors navigated the website. Did the website encourage the visitor to linger, or did it induce urgency?
Listening to Analytics
I used analytics to listen to visitors, not as a means of evaluating scores. The ability to observe visitor behavior with ease, enabled via Shopify's integration with Google Analytics, simplified my ability to monitor and evaluate it.
However, I limited myself to monitoring behavior, rather than focusing on metrics. The time spent with the photographs, the paths visitors took throughout the website, and the extent to which the space allowed visitors to navigate at their own pace were more important to me than the total number of visits or conversions.
By limiting the metrics that I monitored, I prevented myself from redesigning the website in response to a single metric fluctuation.
Limitations of Dealing with Default Settings in Shopify
As I continued to evolve the gallery, I gained a clearer understanding of what Shopify defaults to. Shopify is very good at promoting urgency, encouraging expansion, and optimizing. Each feature functions well independently, but together they can disrupt the tranquility of a space meant to be viewed quietly.
Any promotional message, badge, pop-up, or automated recommendation adds noise. Even if the design of these elements is good, they still consume the visitor's mental bandwidth. Before implementing any new feature, I now ask myself whether it enhances the work or fills the silence.
Resisting Over-Optimization
In some cases, less structure provides a better experience than a completely optimized funnel. I have resisted the impulse to explain everything or to guide the visitor at every step. Silence has become a feature, not a weakness. The lack of prompts has given the work room to breathe.
Impact of Scale on Tone of the Store
Shopify allows for rapid growth. However, rapid growth alters the store's tone. Adding large quantities of products, variations, and descriptive content may dilute the clarity of the work if performed too rapidly.
For many forms of creative work, a smaller, more focused store does not diminish the work's impact. In fact, it can clarify the work. Self-restraint communicates confidence.
Thoughts for Future Sellers
My primary piece of advice for anyone who plans to utilize Shopify for creative work is to slow down. Use the tools Shopify provides; however, do not allow them to dictate the visitor's experience. Determine the type of space that you want first, and then permit the technology to provide the same experience silently.
When elements such as custom domains and analytics fade into the background, they function best. The platform recedes, and what remains is the invitation — not to purchase something (though that’s always nice), but simply to look.