Ep. 16 — 10 Things for the “Plan Your Visit” Website Page
In this episode, Amy shares the 10 things you need for a successful “Plan Your Visit” page on your museum's website. This page is often your visitors' first experience with your museum and you want to make a good impression.
Show Links
Free Resources:
Museum Metrics Tracker Template: https://bit.ly/amysmuseummetrics
Planning Calendar for Museums: https://bit.ly/2024museumcal
People First Framework Guide for Museums: https://bit.ly/4PSguide_lovemymuseum
Check out the website at: www.lovemymuseum.com
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00]
Hey there! Today we're going to talk about the 10 things that you need on your “Plan Your Visit” page on your museum's website. A lot of times, this page has your visitors first experience with your museum and you want to make a good impression. Let's get started.
Hello, and welcome to the Love my Museum podcast. I'm your host, Amy Kehs, and I love museums. I also am a brand strategist and communications expert, and I've been working in museums for over 30 years. Today, we're going to talk about the “Plan Your Visit” page on your website. Every museum website should have an easy-to-find “Plan Your Visit” page. On your homepage, there should be multiple buttons that take visitors to this page.
[00:01:00]
Now, this sounds like a no brainer, but you wouldn't believe how many websites do not have this information easily accessible for people that are coming to your website to plan their first visit to your museum. You don't want to frustrate visitors before they even get to you, before they even walk through your museum’s doors. So, for those visitors that are trying to plan things, make it easy for them.
The first five things that we're going to talk about are a must. These five things must be on your “Plan your visit” website page. The first of these is directions and transportation. You should provide clear directions to your museum. A map is a great idea. You should include public transportation options. Parking information. Everything that they need to know. To get to your museum.
[00:02:00]
The second thing that is a must on your “Plan Your Visit” page is accessibility information. Make sure that you include information for visitors that may need special accommodations. I hope that your museum is in a building that is 100% accessible, but if it is not, make sure you have that information on your website.
The third “Must Have” is admission information. Let visitors know how much it costs to visit your museum. Are reservations required? Are there any discounts that are available? Is it possible to buy tickets ahead of time? And is that something that you recommend?
The fourth thing is rules, regulations, and tips for a comfortable visit. So answering questions like is food allowed?
[00:03:00]
What about selfie sticks? How about strollers? If you are an art space, do you allow bags? Or do you have a coat check and a bag check? Do you accept cash or were only credit for admission? Do you provide lockers?
Make sure that everyone is prepared. You want people to show up and feel welcome. And part of that is not being surprised by the answers to some of these questions.
And of course the must must have is your hours of operation. Make sure you include your museums hours of operation, including any special hours for holidays or events. And make sure you can keep this up-to-date.
[00:04:00]
I visited a museum this summer with my daughter and despite our best planning, including looking on their website, checking their social media, we still showed up to find out that they were closing for a special event that day. We had already driven to the location. We had already paid for parking. And we found out that they were closing in 10 minutes. That's really frustrating and can definitely discourage people from visiting you in the future.
Once you're sure that these five must haves are easy to find and there are clear. You can add these five, more advanced planning tips for the more detailed planners that might be coming to your website.
The first to help those detailed planners would be some information on your exhibits and collections.
[00:05:00]
What are your “must sees”? This will be different than the special or temporary exhibits that you may be talking about on your homepage. Think of these as like the signature things that you think all visitors must experience.
The second thing would be, are there any additional tickets that they might want to purchase ahead of time for extra things like movies, special exhibits or other experiences? You don't want them to get to here museum to find out that. One of these extras is sold out. And that they won't have a chance to do it that day.
The third thing is if you have a cafe or a gift shop, Make sure that you provide information about that, including the hours of operation. Any special offerings. If you don't have a dining facility, then let visitors know if there is anything nearby that maybe they should consider. Maybe you can have a partnership with the cafe around the corner.
[00:06:00]
The fourth thing is membership information. Let visitors know about membership options that might save them money on their visit if they invest ahead of time.
And the last thing is contact information. Maybe this is a phone number or the email address of the person in charge of school visits. Anything, that if they have additional questions, they'll be able to get in touch with you.
So that's my top 10 tips for things that should be on your “Plan your Visit” website page. But I have a bonus tip. The bonus tip is ask if they want to sign up for your email list here too.
[00:07:00]
Now we'll talk about an email list more in future episodes. But you should start an email list. This will be a way that you can communicate with the visitors that are about to come and also after they've left. Asking people to let you into their email inbox is a big ask and they should get something for that. So, maybe if they give you their email address, they get 10% off admission. Or a discount in the gift shop.
So there you are. There are my 10 tips and one Bonus tip.
It's really important that visitors feel welcome from even before they get to your front door. You want them to know that you're excited that they're visiting you and you want to make their planning process for their visit as easy as possible.
[00:08:00]
I hope that these top 10 updates that you can do quickly and easily to your website will improve your visitors experience with your museum and help them to fall in love with your museum. I hope that this summer series of shorter episodes with actionable items has been helpful. As always, I really appreciate you listening. And I'll see you next time.
