Fresh and Interesting Features for any Budget
Ted Drake, San Diego Museum of Art, USA
http://www.sdmart.org

Mini-Workshop: Features on a Budget

This presentation showcases many of the clever features that have made a museum or other web site more interesting, easier to use, or more informational. They are easy to add, free to inexpensive to implement, and will have lasting benefits. These additions will help you keep your museum's site dynamic and your job a bit more rewarding.

User Interaction

• Give visitors the chance to tell a story, i.e. Victoria and Albert Museum.
• Give personalized directions to your museum.
• Movable Type adds the world of blogging to your museum.
• Prompt visitors to print the page or to bookmark your site with a simple button.
• Tease your visitors with previews and features of an upcoming exhibition months in advance.

Navigation

• Give visitors a guided tour of your web site.
• Add a free site search with customized results from Atomz.com.
• Let your visitors know where they are in your site and how they got there by adding breadcrumbs instantly.

Image presentation

• Present high-resolution images that download quickly and are copy-proof with Zoomify.
• Create a distinct, yet simple gallery, such as the one at the Mattress Factory.

General Web Site Utilities

• Use an Icon generator to make your site's bookmarks and address bar distinct.
• Spam proof the e-mail addresses listed on your site with a simple javascript.
• Make your site more accessible with UsableNet's free Dreamweaver extension.

Your museum's web site needs to stay fresh and interesting. Hopefully, these tools and tips will add some features to your site as you build that award-winning feature for next year.