Designing a website is not a simple task. A website, today, needs to meet certain criteria in order to be - not only user friendly - but, also, comprehensible, informative, attractive and aesthetically pleasing. As users tend to move away from the passive reader model, searching for experiences rather than plain information, challenges for website designers and content creators have multiplied. myEleusis.Web seeks to keep pace with current needs; to provide a pleasant, interactive exploration that will serve as a starting point of the initiation to the marvellous world of the Eleusinian Mysteries. 

Browsing through different websites developed for important cultural institutions, MENTOR, that is responsible for the implementation of the website, and the designers of myEleusis.Web adopt good practices to serve the project objectives. More and more museums turn to digital tools and make their exhibits accessible through their websites. Furthermore, websites about specific landmarks offer information, suggest routes and alternative ways of visiting. Let’s check outsome examples:

Starting from some interesting museum cases, we come across the website of the Guggenheim Museum, where users may visit the museum and its collections online through virtual tours, digital collections, audio presentations etc. Then, there is the website of the Vatican Museums, that informs the user about exhibits, while offering virtual tours, tour ticket-booking, and an e-shop, among others.

Another museum with an exemplary website is the British Museum.  As the Museum unites different civilizations from across the globe, under the same roof, its website is based on the exhibits themselves. Design-wise, it is developed following an elegant and modern sense, it stands out due to the contrasting font and background, the embedded GSAP animation and other elements that make it even more pleasing to the eye.

Even though the public is familiar with museum websites, we rarely come across websites dedicated to specific monuments or landmarks. Such a website is the one developed for Hadrian’s Wall that crosses England. The website contains information about regions it crosses, different tours a visitor may follow, and information about other landmarks and monuments. Overall it provides the user with useful content that enhances the tourist experience. 

Such examples inspire the designers of myEleusis.Web, to exploit trends and possibilities offered by technological tools, to create an online visiting experience to the birthplace of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The online visit shall complement in-situ visits to the Museum and the archaeological site of Eleusis, where the greatest Mysteries of antiquity were hosted for centuries.