Visitors were finding it hard to plan trips across Museum Wales' seven national sites. Usability testing with a diverse range of users identified exactly where visit planning and booking were breaking down, and what needed to change.
- Who: Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, a Welsh Government sponsored body representing seven museums across Wales.
- What: Moderated usability testing exploring key visitor journeys, including visit planning, free ticket booking, events and exhibitions, learning content and accessibility.
- How: We spoke to a diverse mix of users, including teachers and people with access needs. Through one-to-one sessions, we explored how people plan museum visits, observed how they navigated the website and identified where the experience supported them and where it became unclear.
- Result: Clear recommendations to strengthen navigation, simplify visit planning and help visitors understand how the seven museums relate to one another.
Background
Museum Wales brings together seven distinct museums under one national organisation. Each museum has its own collections, location and audiences, while also being part of a wider national offer. Following a series of website updates, including the introduction of free ticket booking, the Museum Wales team wanted to review how well the site supports visitors planning their trip.
For most people, visiting a museum starts with a few simple questions: What is it about and what is there to see? Where is it? Do I need to book? And is it right for me or the people I am visiting with? The research reinforced how important it is that these questions are answered quickly and clearly. When visitors understand what a museum offers and how to plan their visit, they feel more confident about committing to the trip.
What we did
We conducted moderated usability testing with testers representing a wide range of Museum Wales audiences. This included general visitors, teachers planning school trips and people with physical, sensory and cognitive access needs. Participants used a mix of mobile and desktop devices, reflecting how visitors typically access museum websites.
Testing focused on key journeys across the site. Looking at the experience across these journeys helped identify where the site worked well and where visitors needed more clarity or support.
Impact
The research gave Museum Wales a clearer understanding of how visitors interpret and navigate the website, particularly when exploring the relationship between the seven museums and planning a visit.
The work provided strategic direction on how the digital experience can more clearly communicate the structure of the museum group, helping visitors understand where they are within the site and how different museums relate to one another.
It also highlighted opportunities to strengthen the foundations of the visitor journey by making practical planning information easier to find and ensuring that key tasks such as exploring exhibitions or arranging a visit feel straightforward and well supported.
The findings informed recommendations to improve navigation, content clarity and accessibility across the website. These changes will help reduce friction for visitors, support a wider range of audiences and enable people to plan museum visits with greater confidence.
As a result, Museum Wales now has a clear roadmap for evolving the website into a simpler, more intuitive and more inclusive experience that better supports visitors across all seven museums.
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