Historical societies receive a stream of small questions that matter: when are you open, do you have records on this street, can my class come. A website cannot answer them all, but it can answer the most common ones and route the rest to a person in an organized way. That saves a volunteer hours each week.
Answer the questions volunteers hear most
Make a list of the five questions your volunteers repeat. For most societies they are hours, admission, parking, research and donating an item. Each gets a short section on the site. The research page, in particular, should say what you hold, what you can look up and how long a request takes.
We build the research request as a short form: name, topic, what you already know and how you would like to receive the answer. It reaches the person who handles requests rather than a general inbox.
What the research page explains
- ✓What the archive holds — types of records and the years covered
- ✓What you can do remotely — look-ups, copies and photographs
- ✓Fees and donations — if you charge, stated plainly
- ✓Turnaround — an honest range of time
- ✓In-person visits — appointment rules and hours
Events and giving
Summer walking tours, a fall lecture series and a holiday open house make up a calendar. We list them with dates, price and a registration link, and keep an archive of past programs. If you take payment for a tour, your own tool handles it.
A monthly gift helps with the unglamorous costs: archival boxes, a climate-controlled room, insurance. Say what yours covers, in your own words. We connect your donation platform for gifts and receipts, and add a short note on donating objects, since many people arrive wanting to give an heirloom.
Pages worth having
- ✓Visit — hours, tours and admission
- ✓Research — request form and what to expect
- ✓Events — calendar with registration
- ✓Donate items — what you accept and how
- ✓Support — membership and monthly gifts
What to expect, honestly
- ✓We do not digitize your archive — we publish what you supply
- ✓Object acceptance is your policy — we word it as you decide
- ✓Gift handling is on your platform — its fees apply
One example of what your site could look like
This is one sample we designed. Yours is built around your business, your photos and your words, and we have more examples if you want to compare directions.
What it costs
Websites are priced one-time by size, plus Website Care at $30/month for hosting, HTTPS, backups, weekly checks and A/B testing. Every package includes a consultation, mobile-friendly design, copy we write for you, a contact form, essential search setup and 10 revision rounds. Monthly SEO is an optional add-on when you are ready for it.
Optional add-ons, billed separately
The prices above are for your website. These two are separate monthly products you can add now or later. Neither is part of the website price.
Monthly SEO, from $50/month: new pages published on your site every month. See Monthly SEO →
Business Spotlight, from $30/month: articles about your business, labeled as paid, published on The Company Chronicle. See Business Spotlight →
How it works
1. Consultation
We learn your services, customers and goals, in English or Spanish.
2. We write and design
We draft the words and build the site around your business.
3. 10 revision rounds
You review and request changes until it is right.
4. Launch and care
We launch, then Website Care keeps it hosted, backed up, checked weekly and A/B tested.
Keep reading
Recurring donation websites · Websites for historical societies · Event registration websites · Giving pages for museums
