Michael Oates wrote:

> Can anyone offer advice on the guidelines for a website for a small
> museum?  Advice re: the use of
> consultants/designers, handling incoming info requests, etc. would be
> appreciated,

Michael:

When we decided to put up our small museum website, one of the most important factors for us was timeliness.  So many small nonprofits have accepted help from a consultant to get the site up and running, and then found themselves dependent on that consultant to make all changes and
updates.  And if these services have been donated in any part, you have even less control.  I'm sure we all have experienced that sort of website -- looks good, but the information is dated.

We thought about it long and hard, decided to do it ourselves, and then made the commitment that all e-mails and info requests would be answered within 24 hours (excluding odd circumstances) and all website information would be kept timely.

Our site is only two months old, and I am still adding more information on a regular basis, but already I can see how difficult it would be to have someone from the outside doing the updates.  It seems like everything changes at a different time!  Several times a week I update
something -- either our calendar, exhibits, classes, event, trip information, etc.  At this point in time (now that I'm on the comfortable side of the learning curve) it is much easier to do the updates myself than it would be to give them to someone else to upload.

This solution seems to be working for us, anyway.

If you'd like more specific information, please contact me.

And I invite everyone to visit our site: http://www.ellasharp.org/

Heather Price
Ella Sharp Museum
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Jackson, Michigan

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