Recommended Home Screen Sections
Ultimately, the layout of your home screen will depend on the nature of your content, but most guides should include a handful (around 6-8) sections. We recommend starting with something like this:
- Welcome/About Us
- Plan Your Visit/Visitor Information
- Collection Highlights
- Now on Display/Current Exhibitions
- Future Exhibitions
- Past Exhibitions
- Stay Connected/Get Involved
Welcome/About Us Recommendations
The first section of a guide is a great place to present the values, mission, and programming of your organization and/or provide a personal welcome from leaders or stakeholders. It can take the form of either a single Exhibition or Item, or a carousel with more extensive content.
- “About Us” should not contain word-for-word duplicate information given in the Info section. Instead, think of it as an expansion of that initial text, providing more detail or context: What is your organization best known for? What makes it unique? What are some interesting facts about your organization? What are its values?
- A “How to Use This Guide” Item can provide details for on- and off-site visitors.
- A personal welcome message – using text, video, or audio – from the CEO, director, or president can be a nice addition to the beginning of the guide. Think about starting off the guide with what you want audiences to know, think, or feel. How can you connect with your audience both within the museum and outside of it?
- Take care not to use a logo as the lead image in the first section of a guide; the logo already appears at the top of the home screen.