Webgalerien

Webgalerien are online collections of media, primarily images, organized for viewing on the web. They serve as portfolios, archives, catalogues, or interactive exhibits, enabling creators, institutions, and businesses to present visual content to a broad audience.

A typical webgalerie displays thumbnails in a grid or carousel, with options to view larger versions, captions, and metadata such as author, date, and licensing. Users can navigate by categories, tags, search queries, or filters, and some galleries support slideshows or lightbox viewing.

Technically, galleries are built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, often integrated into content management systems or e-commerce platforms. Images are stored in standard formats (JPEG, PNG, WEBP) and may use optimization techniques like responsive sizing, lazy loading, and compression.

Webgalerien can be hosted on dedicated gallery platforms, on personal or corporate websites, or embedded via plugins and widgets. Popular examples include hosted services like Flickr, SmugMug, 500px, and CMS-based galleries in WordPress or Joomla.

Legal and ethical considerations include copyright and licensing, attribution, and consent for featuring people. Accessibility should be addressed with descriptive alt text, keyboard navigation, and sufficient color contrast to ensure readability for all users.

The use of webgalerien supports discoverability, portfolio presentation, and e-commerce by enabling image sales or commissions, while posing challenges such as bandwidth, image rights management, and search engine optimization. Good practices include clear licensing, consistent metadata, and responsive design.