Maximizing a Museum’s Website Investment

When less than 30% of your income comes from revenue-generating activities*, operational budgets are always going to be tight. That’s why museums frequently rely on generous grants for website and digital infrastructure spending. But if your museum has to fund its digital platforms through operational budgets, Cuberis has low-code/no-code strategies and toolsets that can move your museum forward.

* According to the 2014, 2016, and 2018 Museums By the Numbers surveys, put out by the Association of Art Museum Directors, the average museum’s earned revenue falls between 25-30% of its overall budget.

Planning Your Museum Project’s Budget*

Design

Information Architecture

$2,000-$5,000

Minimalist Graphic Design

$4,000

Custom Brand

$7,000

Information Architecture. A museum website is a complex object with a wide range of content for broad audiences. Planning an intuitive and well organized navigation system is the first step toward designing an effective museum website.

Minimalist Design. Many museum websites follow a minimalist design aesthetic. This approach keeps the focus on their museum’s collections and programs, rather than their museum’s brand. When this design philosophy fits, it also has the advantage of lower graphic design costs. Custom Brand. Minimalist design is not for every museum. When a more robust design is called for we engage our clients in a brand workshop, applying brand standards to the website context, zeroing in on the right look and feel to fully express your museum’s brand.

Development

Platform Conversions

$10,000-$20,000

MVP Website

$20,000

Standard Website

$40,000

Advanced Website

$60,000

Platform Conversions free museums from out-of-date and inflexible platforms without a full re-design project. Modest interface and design improvements are included in conversions.

MVPs (minimal viable projects) provide all the essentials features for a museum website: exhibition pages, events, blogs, as well as standard site information.

Standard websites include custom exhibition pages, basic collection integration, faceted search and filtering, advanced components for long-form storytelling, and more.

Advanced websites involve transactional features such as eCommerce, member-only content, smart calls-to-action, and other dynamic features.

* Actual budgets are quoted based on specific project requirements.