Artists and gallery owners looking to build an online presence face unique design and functionality challenges. Their websites must beautifully showcase artwork while remaining easy to navigate.
After analyzing 50+ options, I‘ve compiled this list of the top 23 WordPress themes for art galleries and artists based on visual appeal, features, versatility, and performance.
Contents
- 1. KLEO – Best Premium Theme
- 2. Avada – Most Popular
- 3. Flatsome – Best for Shops
- 4. Artways – Best Specialized Theme
- 5. Schema – Most Beginner Friendly
- 6. Portfolio Press – Best for Photographers
- 7. DIVI – Most Flexible
- 8. Enfold – Best for Agencies
- 9. Jupiter – Best for Large Galleries
- 10. Balance – Best Minimalist Theme
- 11. Bridge – Most Interactive
- 12. Performag – Best Fast Loading
- 13. Salient – Most Feature Rich
- 14. Ink – Best Blog Theme
- 15. AccessPress Parallax – Best One Page Theme
- 16. Storytime – Best for Photo Stories
- 17. Lucienne – Best Community Focused
- 18. WR Portfolio – Most SEO Optimized
- 19. Amadeus – Best for Musicians
- 20. Galleria – Most Lightweight
- 21. Exodus – Best for Video
- 22. Ion – Best for Dark Mode
- 23. Starkers – Best Blank Slate
1. KLEO – Best Premium Theme
KLEO is a premium multi-concept theme built for creatives. It comes with several demos, including art/photo gallery designs.
Key Features
- Drag and drop page builder
- Multiple header styles
- Photo galleries and sliders
- Contact forms and social media integration
- Responsive design
KLEO simplifies building a professional art website. Customize colors, fonts, layouts and more without coding.
2. Avada – Most Popular
With over 500,000 sales, Avada is one of the most popular WordPress themes. It powers over 325,000 websites.
Key Features
- Fusion Builder for customizable layouts
- 100+ professionally designed templates
- Slider Revolution for interactive galleries
- Advanced Theme Options panel
- SEO optimized
Avada is highly versatile for art sites. Make pages as visual or text-focused as needed with its state-of-the-art page builder.
3. Flatsome – Best for Shops
Flatsome focuses on beautiful designs combined with robust eCommerce features. Sell prints, paintings and other art seamlessly.
Key Features
- Multi-Purpose templates
- Advanced gallery builder
- Animated content, sliders and banners
- One-page layouts
- WooCommerce integration
Flatsome helps monetize artwork with built-in shop functionalities. Its UX driven templates convert visitors into customers.
4. Artways – Best Specialized Theme
Some themes target specific niches. Artways caters directly to artists and galleries needing portfolios, exhibitions and more.
Key Features
- Multiple gallery formats
- Artist profiles and biographies
- Events management
- Custom post types
- Simple one-click setup
Skip configuring a generic theme. Artways delivers relevant tools out of the box to showcase work professionally.
5. Schema – Most Beginner Friendly
Schema minimizes setup time with imported demo content. Novices can have an art website running quickly.
Key Features
- 60+ pre-built website templates
- Drag and drop builder
- Custom widgets and layouts
- Graphic sliders and galleries
- SEO schema markup
Simply tweaking imported content is enough to create a beautiful art site with Schema. It handles the technological complexities.
6. Portfolio Press – Best for Photographers
Photography sites share common needs. Portfolio Press incorporates features tailored for them like proofing galleries.
Key Features
- Proofing galleries with client management
- Video galleries and sliders
- Multiple portfolio views
- Lightbox support
- Watermarking ability
Portfolio Press simplifies working with clients. Photographers can easily showcase and deliver images.
7. DIVI – Most Flexible
DIVI’s versatile visual builder lets you layout pages however desired without restrictions.
Key Features
- Frontend drag and drop builder
- 20+ content modules and elements
- 100s of templates and layouts
- Responsive editing on all devices
- Design library access
DIVI liberates designing a custom art website with endless combinations of modules and templates.
8. Enfold – Best for Agencies
Enfold is a full-featured theme suited for creative agencies building art websites for clients.
Key Features
- 650+ pre-built website templates
- 40+ drag and drop content elements
- Parallax backgrounds
- Detailed documentation
- Demo content importer
Enfold offers advanced tools and design possibilities. Agencies can deliver pixel-perfect art sites tailored to each client.
9. Jupiter – Best for Large Galleries
Jupiter removes limits on gallery sizes. Its dynamic image loading handles extensive portfolios without slowing down sites.
Key Features
- Dynamic AJAX portfolio loading
- Unleashed core without constraints
- Custom post types and fields
- 200+ template variations
- Works with any builder plugin
Stop worrying about gallery size limitations. Jupiter powers image-heavy art sites with superb performance.
10. Balance – Best Minimalist Theme
Balance uses minimalism to put the focus entirely on showcasing art. Its design is elegant in its simplicity.
Key Features
- Fullscreen galleries
- Masonry grids
- Parallax scrolling
- Mobile-friendly menus
- Clean typography
With no excessive text or clutter, Balance directs all attention to the art itself for maximal visual impact.
11. Bridge – Most Interactive
Bridge incorporates creative page transitions and animated elements for highly engaging art websites.
Key Features
- Interactive AJAX page transitions
- CSS animations and hover effects
- Background slideshows
- 100+ templates
- Drag and drop builder
Bridge adds life to art galleries through fluid animations and interesting transitions as visitors navigate.
12. Performag – Best Fast Loading
Quick loading speeds are critical for image-heavy galleries. Performag optimizes sites for ultra-fast performance.
Key Features
- Lightning fast load times
- Lazy loading images and videos
- Minimalist code base
- GTMetrix 100% scores
- Google PageSpeed optimized
Performag creates rapid art websites through streamlined design. Pages load instantly even with massive media assets.
13. Salient – Most Feature Rich
With its incredible amount of options, Salient lets you realize virtually any design idea for unique art sites.
Key Features
- Visual drag and drop builder
- 1000s of template combinations
- 500+ template layers
- Adaptive image sizing
- Permissions settings for galleries
The sheer amount of customizations possible with Salient is unparalleled. Tweak every element imaginable to stand out.
14. Ink – Best Blog Theme
Ink provides robust blogging capabilities to supplement galleries. Share insights into processes and works.
Key Features
- Custom post layouts
- Flexible blogging options
- Comment moderation
- Social media integration
- Newsletter integration
Encourage engagement through blog-driven storytelling about art techniques, ideas and more.
15. AccessPress Parallax – Best One Page Theme
Sometimes a single page site suffices. AccessPress Parallax offers a stylish scrolling one page format.
Key Features
- Smooth fullscreen scrolling
- Parallax backgrounds
- Portfolio post type
- HTML5 video support
- Simple and minimalist
For small galleries, AccessPress Parallax creates a beautiful showcase through its modern one page layout.
16. Storytime – Best for Photo Stories
Storytime makes images narrative-driven through built-in support for sequenced storytelling.
Key Features
- Story creation tools
- Image sequencing
- Horizontal scrolling
- Fullscreen lightbox
- Intuitive dashboard
Turn galleries into experiences by guiding visitors scene-by-scene through visual stories and concepts.
17. Lucienne – Best Community Focused
Lucienne simplifies building an art community with its focus on social interactions. Connect with audiences.
Key Features
- User profiles and accounts
- Friends and activity feeds
- Groups and forums
- Notifications system
- Private messaging
Lucienne’s community capabilities help foster relationships with visitors beyond just displaying art.
18. WR Portfolio – Most SEO Optimized
WR Portfolio follows best practices for on-page SEO to maximize search visibility. Get found by collectors.
Key Features
- Schema.org markup
- ALT tag integration
- Optimized speed and security
- Custom 404 error pages
- XML sitemaps
WR Portfolio builds a strong SEO foundation directly into the theme to rank well in Google.
19. Amadeus – Best for Musicians
Amadeus tailors its templates, color schemes and branding for musicians and bands needing an online home.
Key Features
- Music-focused templates
- Events manager
- Playlist integration
- Custom backgrounds
- Responsive design
Amadeus helps musicians effectively promote their brand, shows and audio through its purpose-built tools.
20. Galleria – Most Lightweight
Galleria adopts a simplified codebase for speed. Complex libraries and unnecessary scripts are trimmed.
Key Features
- Optimized for fast performance
- Lightweight theme options
- Photo Galleries and albums
- Minimalist responsive design
- Easy configuration
By eliminating bloat, Galleria prevents art gallery sites from becoming slow and bulky.
21. Exodus – Best for Video
The robust video capabilities of Exodus are perfect for multimedia artists with film, animations or other videos.
Key Features
- Background MP4 videos
- Embedded video support
- Lightbox videos and galleries
- YouTube and Vimeo integration
- Fullwidth and sidebar layouts
Showcase video content in style with Exodus. It shines for cross-disciplinary artists working across mediums.
22. Ion – Best for Dark Mode
Ion lets visitors toggle between light and dark schemes to perfectly fit art. Dark mode minimizes distractions.
Key Features
- Built-in dark and light modes
- Automatic theme switching
- Custom accent colors
- Headless ready
- AMP optimized
Dark mode directs focus on the artworks themselves. Ion makes it easy to implement this feature.
23. Starkers – Best Blank Slate
Starkers forgoes any design whatsoever. Its ultra-minimalist look lets you build completely from scratch.
Features
- Entirely blank canvas
- No colors, fonts or design choices made
- Lightning fast and optimized
- Hooks for adding custom code
- Extremely lightweight
Starting with a blank Starkers theme means no existing opinions or artistic visions will influence your site’s unique look.
