Maidstone Museum

Giving one of Kent’s most diverse museums, the online presence it deserves

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A museum with over 600,000 artefacts and specimens

In 1858 the Charles Museum opened after Thomas Charles, a local doctor left his collection of art and antiquities to Maidstone Borough Council. The Museum was later renamed Maidstone Museum and today contains over 600,000 artefacts and specimens.

In 2007 the museum was granted £2 million from the Heritage Lottery fund to extend the gallery wing. In the summer of 2010 the new wing opened which has transformed the museum as it operates today.

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How we transformed the website

Having worked on the previous website back in 2004 we knew it was time for change! Our brief was simple; increase automation, reduce admin time for staff and reflect the developments that have been made to the museum over recent years.

The project started with a team trip to the museum. We wanted to re-experience the facilities for ourselves and take inspiration from the building, collections and visitors.

The new colour palette used on the site has given the identity a refresh that sits more comfortably with the target audience, creating a friendly and approachable feel.

77%

The average time a user spends on a page has increased
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Save time with online bookings

To meet the clear objective of increasing efficiency internally we integrated WooCommerce with our WordPress widget framework. Museum staff are now able to sell tickets online which is fully automated, with e-tickets that customers can scan on the door.

The addition of this functionality has resulted in an increase in sales, with many events selling out.

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A picture is worth a thousand words

With such a variety of collections, imagery was key to this project. Our team carried out a full day of capturing photography of key pieces of artefacts and specimens.

Our images of Ta-Kush, an Egyptian mummy which has been a favourite at the Museum since the 1850s were recently featured by the BBC.

Gold

The website took gold in the tourism & hospitality category at the 2017 Kent Digital Awards
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