Concept
If truth be told, not all websites are created equal. Some websites project words on the monitor but have little impact. Others capture a visitor's attention, inspire curiosity, enhance skills, encourage learning, and promote repeat visits.
This website explores the best practices for museum website design. It offers tools and resources, models and examples for museum professionals to consider when building your own educational website.
Best Practices to Conceptualize your Website...Defining the Project
As you begin to conceptualize your educational website, ask some basic questions. What is your purpose in hosting a website? What are your goals? Why are you hosting your collection, educational program, or exhibit online?
In the same way that your museum's mission or vision statement helps to focus your onsite operations, the answers to these preliminary questions may create guidelines from which you can begin to conceptualize your needs and set the benchmarks from which you will measure the eventual success of your website.
Invite input from your audience and stakeholder groups in addition to consulting your museum colleagues and reviewing internal operational needs at the initial stage of planning. Consider holding focus group sessions or survey visitors in your exhibit hall to find out what your audience wants to see on your website. Understanding the purpose and intent of your website now will save time, money and headaches in the future.
Best Practices...Contributing Factors
Take an inventory of your museum's resources. Before you hire consultants or design professionals, ask your staff or volunteers to make a list of resources that may be used in the development of a new website. This list will probably include tangible products such as computers, software, photographs, or research information. You may also want to include professional, personal, or sponsor contributions such as donations of time, talent, or expertise.
Your website should reflect your museum's mission and mandate and promote your strengths and abilities as an organization. There are numerous contributing factors in hosting a successful website. Knowing your internal strengths and recognizing where you will need outside support will greatly improve your museum's ability to host a viable website.
Best Practices...Considering Realities
Be realistic about your concept. An effective web page with simple graphics and compelling text will meet your museum and audience needs and will not necessarily be expensive to create and host or complicated to maintain. Conversely, a large website with numerous interactive technologies will require regular supervision and maintenance, technological know-how, and considerable resources. Your budget will determine the scale and scope of the project. It may be better to present less well, rather than more not so well... Here are a few realities to consider.
From Concept to Blueprint
The concept phase of website development opens the door to ideas and possibilities; it invites participation and consultation, and inspires vision and purpose. Once you have created a concept for your educational website, you can begin to develop a blueprint for the design.
CONCEPT