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Where curatorial standards meet operational digital design;
Websites and digital platforms for art galleries, museums and heritage organisations — designed for exhibition lifecycle management, searchable collection access, membership programmes and public digital engagement.
Art galleries and museums run digital environments that are fundamentally different from standard promotional websites. A rotating exhibition schedule means the platform must handle launch dates, access windows, and archive states simultaneously. A collection of tens of thousands of objects requires searchable, filterable database infrastructure — not a blog.
Visitor audiences split between casual public visitors, researchers, educators, school groups, members, and major donors — each requiring a different content hierarchy, access level, and digital pathway on the same platform.
We have built the underlying systems that arts and cultural organisations require: exhibition microsites with precise publication timing, collection browsers with advanced filtering, membership and donation flows, and education resource libraries. This page explains what we have built, why it applies directly to galleries and museums, and how we approach the specific digital problems your sector faces.
Built for rotating exhibitions, public access requirements, and the complexity of managing cultural collections online.
Our arts sector credibility comes from direct project work with cultural and heritage organisations — including exhibition digital platforms, history walk applications, and event-driven content systems built around specific programme timelines.
Gallery and museum websites carry operational responsibilities that most agencies treat as content management problems. They are not. An exhibition that opens on a specific date, runs for a defined period, and transitions to an archived state is a workflow problem. The digital platform must reflect that lifecycle without manual intervention at each stage.
Membership programmes require gated content, renewal management, and tiered access — not a simple login screen. A donor portal requires relationship management, acknowledgement systems, and reporting that integrates with back-office processes. These are infrastructure decisions, not design choices.
We approach gallery and museum digital projects as system design problems first. The visual layer is important — these organisations hold significant brand equity and curatorial standards apply to digital outputs. But the architecture underneath must handle scheduling, access control, and content relationships before design has any meaningful context to work in.
Every exhibition has a defined opening date, a run period, and a closing date — after which it enters an archived state. A platform that requires manual content management at each transition point will fail consistently. The architecture must handle scheduled publication, access windows, and graceful archiving without staff intervention at each stage. Most general-purpose CMS implementations do not account for this at the system design level.
A collection of 5,000 to 50,000 objects is not a content library — it is a structured database with object relationships, provenance fields, media attachments, and search requirements that span dozens of attribute types. Visitors arrive with specific search intent: by artist, by period, by medium, by acquisition date. The platform must return accurate, fast results across all of these dimensions, with high-resolution image delivery that does not compromise page performance.
A museum homepage serves a first-time visitor planning a trip, a researcher accessing the collection, a school group coordinator booking a program, an existing member renewing their subscription, and a major donor reviewing their acknowledgement — simultaneously. Each of these audiences requires a different primary pathway, a different content priority, and a different call to action. Collapsing these into a single homepage hierarchy is the most common failure point in gallery and museum websites.
Membership programmes in the arts sector carry specific requirements: tiered access, benefit management, renewal reminders, and acknowledgement obligations at major donor levels. These do not function as standard e-commerce transactions. The donation flow must accommodate one-off giving, recurring giving, tribute gifts, and bequest acknowledgement — each with different processing paths and different CRM integration requirements.
Public-funded and publicly accessible cultural institutions carry legal and ethical obligations around digital accessibility that commercial websites do not face with the same weight. WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is a baseline requirement across most government-funded organisations, which means design, development, and content management workflows must all account for accessibility at every layer — not as an afterthought after visual design is finalised.
These are the digital problems we encounter most consistently across arts and cultural organisation clients.
Exhibition pages built as standalone microsites or one-off landing pages accumulate over time with no consistent architecture, making them impossible to search, archive, or repurpose. The organisation ends up with dozens of disconnected exhibition pages that cannot be maintained or accessed consistently.
Collection databases imported into generic CMS systems lose their structured metadata, making them unsearchable by the specific attributes — medium, period, artist nationality, acquisition source — that researchers and serious visitors need. A full-text search box is not a collection browser.
When the ticketing platform (Eventbrite, ACME, Tessitura) and the website CMS have no integration, event information must be manually duplicated in both systems, creating version control failures and requiring double the content maintenance effort for every programme change.
Members logging into a separate portal on a different subdomain — with different visual design, different navigation, and no access to the main site's content — is a common band-aid that creates a two-tier experience. Member-exclusive content should live within the main site architecture, gated by access level, not siloed in a separate system.
Teacher packs, curriculum-aligned content, and learning programmes are often stored as downloadable PDFs with no filtering by year level, curriculum strand, or exhibition relevance. Teachers searching for materials that meet specific curriculum requirements cannot find them — not because the materials don't exist, but because the information architecture doesn't reflect how teachers search.
High-resolution artwork images require delivery infrastructure that serves the right resolution at the right context — a thumbnail grid in the collection browser needs different assets than a full-screen exhibition hero. Platforms without responsive image pipelines either serve oversized files that kill page performance or compress images to a quality level that undermines the organisation's curatorial standards.
We design systems that reflect how arts and cultural organisations actually operate — not how a generic website brief describes them.
Capability: Exhibition-specific digital platform with interactive content, archival media, and time-bound publication requirements
Applies to: Galleries and museums commissioning standalone exhibition digital experiences; organisations with oral history or archival media collections requiring structured digital presentation
The Dunera Boys exhibition required a digital platform that could carry extensive archival material — photographs, documents, oral histories, and personal testimonies — in a format that was navigable by a general public audience while maintaining the archival rigour required for an institution of this standing. The platform needed to handle media-heavy content without compromising load performance, and to present sensitive historical material in a way that respected the subject matter.
An exhibition microsite with structured archival content sections, high-resolution image delivery via a responsive media pipeline, embedded oral history audio with transcript support, and a navigation architecture designed around thematic entry points rather than chronological structure alone. Content management was handled through a custom WordPress build with fields mapped to the exhibition's archival categorisation system, allowing curators to update and extend the record without developer intervention.
Exhibition digital platforms fail most often at the content management layer, not the front-end. When curators cannot update, extend, or correct content without raising a support ticket, the platform becomes static within months of launch. The most valuable design decision on this project was mapping the CMS field structure to curatorial workflow — not to web content conventions.
This type of system directly supports:
What this demonstrates:
Capability: Location-aware digital heritage experience with structured historical content and mobile-first delivery
Applies to: Museums and heritage organisations developing public digital engagement programmes beyond the physical gallery; organisations exploring walking tour or geo-located experience formats
The Collector History Walk required a mobile-first application that could deliver structured historical content — text, images, archival records — keyed to specific physical locations along a walking route. The content needed to be maintainable by local heritage volunteers without technical training, and the application needed to perform reliably in areas with limited mobile connectivity.
A progressive web application with GPS-triggered content delivery, offline content caching for low-connectivity environments, and a simplified CMS interface allowing non-technical contributors to manage location-specific content entries. The architecture handled both the route narrative and individual location records as distinct content types with clear relationships — allowing the walk to be extended without restructuring the underlying system.
Location-based heritage applications built on standard event-triggered Javascript without offline caching fail visibly in the field — users lose content precisely at the moment they are standing in front of the subject. The offline-first architecture decision on this project was not a feature request; it was a fundamental requirement for any heritage experience that takes place outside controlled Wi-Fi environments.
This type of system directly supports:
What this demonstrates:
Custom exhibition digital environments with scheduled publication states, archival transitions, media-rich content sections, and CMS workflows mapped to curatorial — not generic content — management processes. Built to be maintainable by gallery staff without ongoing developer support.
Searchable collection interfaces with attribute-based filtering, high-resolution image delivery, and structured object records that preserve the metadata relationships of the underlying collection data. Designed for both casual visitor browsing and researcher-level access.
Tiered membership systems with gated content access, renewal management, and member communication integration. Donation flows supporting one-off giving, recurring programmes, tribute gifts, and major donor acknowledgement — with CRM integration for relationship management continuity.
Structured learning resource libraries with curriculum strand, year level, and subject filters — built for teacher discovery workflows. Supports downloadable packs, embedded video, and linkage to relevant exhibition content within the same site architecture.
API integration between ticketing platforms (Eventbrite, Humanitix, Tessitura) and the main website CMS, eliminating manual content duplication and ensuring the website event calendar reflects the live ticketing system without staff maintaining two separate records.
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance built into the component system and design process — not audited at the end of a build. Covers colour contrast, keyboard navigation, screen reader support, focus management, and accessible image description workflows for collection assets.
Website Design & Development — Custom WordPress builds for gallery and museum public websites, designed around multiple audience pathways and operational content management requirements.
Exhibition Microsite Development — Standalone or integrated exhibition platforms with scheduled content states, archival media handling, and curator-managed content workflows.
Collection Database Interfaces — Searchable collection browsers with structured metadata, attribute filtering, and high-resolution image delivery pipelines.
Membership System Development — Tiered access, renewal management, and gated content integration built within the main site architecture.
Donation and Giving Platforms — One-off, recurring, and tribute giving flows with CRM integration and major donor acknowledgement management.
Mobile Applications and PWAs — Location-aware and offline-capable applications for heritage walks, self-guided tours, and public engagement programmes outside the gallery.
CMS and Content Architecture — Information architecture and CMS field design mapped to curatorial and programme management workflows — not generic web content conventions.
Accessibility Audits and Remediation — WCAG 2.1 AA assessment and remediation for existing platforms, with component-level fixes and staff guidance on accessible content management.
Gallery and museum digital projects require a partner who understands that the platform is an operational system — not a marketing website. The organisation's entire public-facing programme, membership offering, and collection access depends on it functioning reliably across multiple concurrent audience types.
Key considerations when evaluating a digital partner for arts and cultural organisations:
Yes. We have built digital platforms for galleries, museums, and heritage organisations — including exhibition microsites, collection browser interfaces, history walk applications, and education resource libraries. Our work covers both the public website and the specialised systems (membership, ticketing integration, collection access) that cultural organisations require alongside it.
Yes. We build collection browser interfaces with attribute-based filtering, high-resolution image delivery, and structured object records. The architecture depends on where your collection data currently lives — whether in a dedicated collection management system (CMS like KE EMu, Vernon, or Argus), a spreadsheet export, or an existing database — and what level of integration or migration is required. We scope this during the discovery phase.
Both approaches are valid and the right choice depends on your operational model. Integrated exhibition sections within the main site allow consistent search, cross-linking, and archive management. Standalone microsites offer greater creative flexibility and are appropriate when an exhibition has its own distinct identity and a defined lifespan. We have built both, and we recommend based on your programme structure and staff capacity to maintain multiple environments.
Yes — depending on the platform. Eventbrite, Humanitix, and similar consumer ticketing platforms have public APIs that allow event data to be pulled into your website CMS, eliminating manual duplication. Specialist platforms like Tessitura have more complex integration requirements. We scope integration work after reviewing the specific platform's API documentation and your website's architecture.
Yes. We build membership systems integrated within the main site architecture — not in a separate subdomain portal. This covers tiered access levels, gated content sections, renewal management, and integration with email platforms for member communications. We do not build custom CRM systems, but we integrate with existing CRM and membership database tools where APIs are available.
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is built into our component design system and development process from the start — not applied as an audit at the end of a build. This covers colour contrast, keyboard navigation, focus management, screen reader support, and accessible image description workflows. For organisations with existing non-compliant platforms, we conduct structured accessibility audits and provide remediation at the component level.
Yes. We have built progressive web applications for heritage walking experiences with GPS-triggered content delivery, offline caching for low-connectivity environments, and simplified CMS interfaces for non-technical content contributors. Whether a native app or a PWA is the right format depends on your audience, distribution requirements, and long-term maintenance capacity — we advise on this during scoping.
WordPress is our primary platform for gallery and museum websites. It provides the flexibility to build custom content types for exhibitions, collection objects, and programme entries, while remaining maintainable by curators and communications staff without technical training. We configure the CMS architecture around your specific content workflows — not around generic web content conventions.
A full website build for a mid-sized gallery or museum — covering public site, programme calendar, education resources, and basic membership — typically runs 12 to 20 weeks from signed brief to launch. Collection browser builds, ticketing integrations, and custom exhibition platforms add scope and are estimated separately based on data complexity and integration requirements.
Yes. We have worked with publicly funded cultural organisations and are familiar with the procurement documentation, reporting requirements, and acquittal processes that come with government-funded projects. We can provide quotes structured for funding body approval and project documentation that meets standard grant reporting requirements.
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Our Mission:
Gallery and museum websites are operational platforms - managing exhibition lifecycles, collection access, and donor relationships simultaneously.
Q: How do you approach building a website for an art gallery or museum?
A: We begin with audience segmentation — mapping the distinct pathways that visitors, researchers, school groups, members, and donors each need on the same platform. Most gallery websites fail because these audiences are collapsed into a single information architecture. Once pathways are defined, we design the CMS content type structure to reflect the organisation's operational workflow: exhibition lifecycle management, programme scheduling, and collection access. Visual design follows from architecture, not the other way around.
Q: What does your discovery process look like for a gallery or museum project?
A: Discovery for cultural sector clients covers four areas: audience analysis (who uses the site and for what purpose), content audit (what exists and in what format), system inventory (what ticketing, CRM, collection management, and membership tools are currently in use), and technical constraints (hosting, accessibility obligations, budget). We typically deliver a discovery document with recommended architecture, CMS structure, and integration scope before any design work begins.
Q: How do you manage exhibition content across opening, current, and archived states?
A: Exhibition content states are managed at the CMS architecture level — not manually. Each exhibition record carries a publication schedule with defined open and close dates. When a close date passes, the exhibition automatically transitions to an archived state with its own URL and template, without appearing in the current programme navigation. This means no manual content removal is required at the end of an exhibition run, and the archive accumulates automatically over time.
Q: Can you migrate our existing website content to a new platform?
A: Yes. Content migration scope depends on the volume of content, the current platform's export capabilities, and the degree of content restructuring required. For galleries and museums with large content archives — particularly exhibition histories and collection records — migration is typically the largest variable in project scoping. We assess migration requirements during discovery and provide a structured migration estimate before contracts are signed.
Q: Do you provide staff training after launch?
A: Yes. We provide CMS training sessions tailored to the specific roles that will manage content — curatorial staff, communications managers, education coordinators, and membership administrators may each interact with a different part of the system. Training documentation is also provided in written and video format for use when staff turn over and institutional knowledge about the CMS needs to be rebuilt.
Q: What technology stack do you use for gallery and museum websites?
A: WordPress is our primary platform, configured with custom post types for exhibitions, collection objects, programme entries, and education resources. For collection browser interfaces, we use custom database queries and filtered search architecture rather than standard WordPress search, which does not handle attribute-based filtering at the required depth. Membership and access control is handled via purpose-built gating logic — not generic membership plugins, which typically lack the tiering and access flexibility arts organisations require.
Q: Can you integrate with our collection management system (like KE EMu, Vernon, or Argus)?
A: Integration with collection management systems depends on whether the system exposes an API or data export. KE EMu, Vernon, and Argus each have different integration models. In most cases, we build an integration layer that imports collection records on a scheduled basis, maps the CMS fields to the collection management system's data structure, and presents the result through a custom collection browser interface. We scope integration complexity after reviewing the specific system and data export format.
Q: How do you handle high-resolution image delivery for artwork collections?
A: High-resolution artwork images require a responsive delivery pipeline that serves the correct resolution for each context — thumbnail grids in the collection browser, full-screen exhibition heroes, and zoomable detail views each require different asset sizes. We use server-side image processing to generate the required sizes on upload, with lazy loading and next-generation format delivery (WebP with JPEG fallback) to maintain page performance without compromising display quality.
Q: Do you build progressive web applications for offline or low-connectivity use?
A: Yes. For heritage walking tours, outdoor museum experiences, and any programme delivered in environments with unreliable mobile connectivity, we build progressive web applications with service worker caching. This allows the application to serve content from a local cache when network connectivity is unavailable — critical for field-use heritage experiences where losing content at the point of delivery is unacceptable.
Q: Can you integrate donation processing with our existing fundraising or CRM platform?
A: Yes, where the platform exposes an API or webhook integration. Common integrations include Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, and Blackbaud for CRM, and Stripe or eWAY for payment processing. The donation flow on the website — covering one-off, recurring, tribute, and major donor giving — is built as a custom front-end layer that passes transaction and donor data to the relevant back-end system. We scope integration requirements after reviewing your specific CRM and payment platform.
Q: How does your experience with adjacent sectors apply to galleries and museums?
A: Our work in events, heritage, education, and membership-driven organisations maps directly to the structural problems galleries and museums face digitally. Exhibition lifecycle management is structurally identical to event programme management. Collection browsers share architecture with product catalogue databases. Membership gating for galleries operates on the same access control logic as subscription platforms. The difference is domain language and content type — the underlying system design is consistent. We translate that experience explicitly rather than treating cultural sector work as a separate category.
Q: What outcomes should a gallery or museum expect from a well-built digital platform?
A: Measurable outcomes from a well-architected gallery or museum website include: reduced staff time on content management (because the CMS reflects operational workflows, not generic web conventions), increased membership conversion (because the membership pathway is integrated into the main site experience rather than siloed in a separate portal), improved education programme bookings (because the resource library is searchable by curriculum requirement, not just browsable), and reduced post-launch development cost (because the platform was built for ongoing extension, not just initial launch).
Q: How do you measure the success of a gallery or museum digital project?
A: Success metrics for cultural sector digital projects are defined during discovery, not applied generically after launch. Common metrics include: exhibition page engagement depth (scroll depth and time on page, not just visits), education resource downloads by curriculum strand, membership conversion rate from public visitor to member, event booking completion rates from the website, and collection search success rate (queries that return a result the user engages with, versus zero-result searches). We set baseline measurements before build and review against them at 3 and 6 months post-launch.
Q: What is the most common mistake galleries and museums make with their digital projects?
A: Treating the website brief as a design brief. The most consistent failure we see in gallery and museum digital projects is commissioning a visual redesign without first auditing the information architecture, CMS structure, and audience pathway logic. The result is a visually updated platform that retains all the structural problems of the previous version — because those problems live in the architecture, not the design. The brief needs to start with operational requirements and audience analysis before a single wireframe is drawn.
Q: Do you offer retainer or ongoing support arrangements for cultural sector clients?
A: Yes. We offer ongoing support and maintenance retainers that cover platform updates, security patching, content support, and minor feature development. For cultural organisations with significant seasonal programming — summer exhibitions, annual fundraising campaigns, school term education programmes — retainer arrangements allow us to plan capacity around programme peaks rather than responding reactively to urgent requests.
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