Best Museum Websites to Inspire Your Next Redesign
Sourcing inspiration for your website redesign is key to providing guidance to your agency partner. It helps to create a visual that both the agency and museum stakeholders can aspire to. By finding inspiration from the latest trends and innovations, your newly designed websites can remain relevant and up-to-date.
Below are museum websites handpicked by our team to inspire your next website redesign:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met's website offers an interactive timeline feature that allows users to explore the museum's history and collections through key moments in its 150-year history. It features works of art from the Metropolitan's encyclopedic collections, presenting them in a chronological and geographical format that gives browsers and scholars alike instant access to the art created at any given time in different cultures across the globe.
The British Museum
The site even provides a roadmap on how to navigate the museum in its “Object Trails” section. These trails will lay out all the must-see attractions based on how much time you have at the museum and your interests so you can make the most of your visit.
The Museum of Modern Art
MoMA's website offers a unique and immersive experience for visitors. For example, the website includes an “audio section” where visitors can listen to artists, curators, and others speak about the Museum’s collection and special exhibitions.
Field Museum
The website provides a variety of learning resources for students, teachers, and lifelong learners. These resources include lesson plans, educational videos, and interactive games. There is even a section of the website where visitors can chat or text message, Maximo, a titanosaur. Visitors can ask questions like “what life was like during the Cretaceous Period”, and “what is your favorite color”. Maximo talks back!
The American Museum of Natural History
The website offers a wealth of online educational resources and programs for students and teachers, including lesson plans, activities, and professional development opportunities. The AMNH's website also includes a searchable database of resources that can be filtered by grade level, subject, and resource type.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
This website has a social media integration. It combines the visitor experience with social media by allowing the visitor to explore individual art pages and in one click share their thought and comments with their followers on Facebook, Twitter, and through Email.
The Academy Museum
This website does an excellent job of infusing the museum’s brand into both the visuals of the website and the website effects. The Academy Museum’s brand comes alive with the website color usage as well as subtle callbacks to film such as the use of the shutter effect when clicking through the homepage slider and lens graphics.
Detroit Institute of the Art
The DIA's site offers a clean, modern interface and provides a wealth of information about the museum's collections and programs. The website also includes a robust search function that allows users to browse the collections of 60,000 pieces by artist, medium, culture, and more. Additionally, the DIA's website offers a range of multimedia content, including videos, podcasts, and interactive features, which enhance the visitor's online experience.
The Wrap Up
A website redesign can be a great way to improve your online presence and attract more visitors to your museum. By taking inspiration from other successful websites, you can create a website that is both visually appealing and user-friendly. The websites we've discussed, offer a variety of examples that can inspire your next website redesign. From the clean and modern design of the Detroit Institute of the Arts website to the interactive features of The Field Museum website, there are many different approaches you can take to create a website that stands out from the crowd.
Remember that a successful website redesign requires more than just a new design. It's important to consider factors such as user experience, content strategy, and search engine optimization to ensure that your website is both attractive and functional. Take a look at the 10 Components Your Museum Website Needs to Succeed. By taking the time to plan and execute a thoughtful website redesign, you can create a website that engages visitors, communicates your brand message, and helps boost museum visits.
Looking for expert guidance? Our team can help. Contact us today to learn more about our services at Purple, Rock, Scissors and how we can support your website redesign.
