Reading Room designed and developed the new PHM's site which resulted in a 267% increase in traffic. It interpreted the new brand interruption online, and was built on an open source, easy to use CMS which delivered exceptional value for money, and enabled the non-technical PHM staff to easily incorporate the website management into their day.

PHM had undergone a complete transformation with a modernist £12.5million extension to it's grade 1 listed original building. Our team successfully created a website that matched not only the vision and ambition of the museum building itself, but also reflected the museum's rich collections and history.

The website uses the open source WordPress content management system. We chose WordPress as an easy to use CMS for a variety of PHM staff to update pages with, but without constraining the design in any way.

There was a tight budget and immovable timescale, and we met both. We also worked closely with two external agencies, True North as brand guardians, and Ke Emu as suppliers of the museum cataloguing system. Strong relationships from the start were key to ensuring a great outcome.

It was important that we translated the innovative new PHM brand 'interruption' work into a stunning website design, using the rich heritage of photography that PHM have in their archives - along with a simple but rich user experience for a wide spectrum of user types. We also had to ensure that the KE EMu cataloguing system was fully integrated, sharing content with the core CMS.

Since launch the feedback as been overwhelming - with a 17% increase in footfall at the museum to a staggering 450% increase in website traffic during the month of March (when the site was launched ), and with a continued average increase of 267% there after.

So what does the future hold? We are talking more interactivity, more User Generated Content, museum in my pocket mobile initiatives. Ideas are definitely worth fighting for.

www.phm.org.uk