Anna and August Heckscher founded the Heckscher Museum in 1920. They donated the Museum building and 185 works of art to the Town of Huntington, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Heckscher envisioned Heckscher Park and the Museum as the center of the community’s cultural, recreational, and social life. One hundred years later, the Museum continues to champion the value of publicly accessible art and arts education.

The Problem:

The Heckscher Museum website was outdated and inconsistent. There is no consistency in the messaging and no call to action. The archaic design is unfitting for a modern center of art, education, and culture. The old website was ill-adapted for today’s mobile devices. Also, the former site lacked essential functionality and critical features Museum visitors and staff need.

Analysis:

The Heckscher Museum website needed a complete redesign and reimagining with a strong emphasis on current UI/UX principles and mobile strategy. The website must deliver enhanced functionality in three areas:

  • Staff with limited technical experience need to create visually appealing exhibitions that showcase the information required per artwork.
  • Museum members need pre-populated forms with the membership or sponsorship the user selects and display a customized calendar of events.
  • Museum Volunteers require password-protected access to the volunteer section.
  • Members of the general public should see a strong call-to-action encouraging them to submit information, inquiries and donations.

In all aspects, the website must incorporate best practice UI/UX design and development control through the content management platform. For security, the site will leverage industry standards and best practices for web security and intrusion detection. Finally, the new website should use state-of-the-art technology to optimize the experience for users and administrators.

The Solution:

MaxBurst recommended a redesigned website built on the LAMP stack (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) using the Bootstrap mobile responsive grid. This platform will ensure that users on any device have a similar user experience on all mobile, tablet, and desktop platforms. The theme is coded on the latest version of the WordPress platform and integrates SEO Optimized Plugins and custom theme coding. Permanent 301 redirects will preserve current SEO rankings.

The new website integrates all existing social media campaigns. Users can interact with the Museum’s social media pages without leaving the new web platform.

Security is an essential part of the design. The website features CAPTCHA verification for all web forms to prevent SPAM and Malware.

The Results:

The new website is a fitting tribute to the history of the Heckscher Museum. The site delivers brand continuity on every page. It’s creative, and high-end design is easy for administrators to edit. This ease of use increases productivity in the office.

The virtual exhibitions, mobile responsiveness, and interactive event calendar should deliver more leads.

The Heckscher Museum has a one hundred year history of making art accessible to the public. The redesigned website will continue its vital mission well into the future.