# Museum of Ventura County — Website Information Architecture Redesign

**Date:** 2026-07-09
**Source:** `venturamuseum-content-only/venturamuseum.org` (full static mirror of the current WordPress site)
**Goal:** A clean information architecture for the rebuilt site, with every existing page assigned a home, a canonical version, or a documented reason for retirement.
**Companion file:** `page-migration-map.csv` — row-by-row mapping of every page.

---

## 1. What we're starting from

The download is a `wget`-style mirror of a WordPress + WooCommerce + "The Events Calendar" site.

| Metric | Count |
|---|---|
| Total files | 5,259 |
| Total HTML files | 2,447 |
| Pages (`index.html`) | 1,436 |
| Top-level directories | 163 |
| Real, distinct **static** pages | ~140 |

The gap between 1,436 pages and ~140 real static pages is almost entirely **dynamic archive content** and **capture cruft**:

- **~790 event pages** — `events-archive` (411), `event` (264), `events` (101), `venue` (14). Auto-generated by the Events Calendar plugin, mostly past events.
- **148 videos**, **108 blog posts** (`connect` 74 + `research-library-blog` 34), **32 virtual-learning**, **86 exhibit** pages (past/upcoming/virtual/outdoor).
- **~600 `index.html@…` files** — query-string URLs the mirror captured as separate files. Pure duplicates.
- **WordPress/WooCommerce system routes** — `wp-admin`, `wp-content`, `wp-includes`, `wp-json`, `feed`, `comments`, `tag`, `author`, `cart`, `checkout`, `account`, `my-account`.

## 2. Decisions locked (from brainstorming)

1. **Purpose:** Build a new website IA — a clean menu/category tree that all existing pages map into.
2. **IA shape:** **Hybrid A+B** — the museum's recognizable section backbone, tightened and deduped, with a task-oriented **Plan Your Visit** hub layered on top.
3. **Dynamic bulk:** Events, videos, blog posts, virtual-learning, and exhibit archives become **dynamic collections** (one landing page + filters), not hand-placed nav pages. Only the ~140 static pages are mapped individually.
4. **Section count:** **7 primary sections** — Collections and Research Library merged into one.
5. **Deliverables:** This spec + `page-migration-map.csv`.

## 3. IA principles

- **One canonical page per topic.** The current site has heavy duplication (5 Research Library pages, 5 Membership pages, 3 "Ways to Donate" pages, 3 tour pages). Each collapses to one canonical URL; the rest 301-redirect to it.
- **Collections, not hundreds of nav entries.** Anything with a year, a date, or a series identity (scholarship cycles, years-in-review, puzzle archives, press releases, blog posts, events) lives inside a filterable collection with one landing page.
- **Retire what the platform regenerates.** Cart, checkout, account, login, thank-you, and feeds are rebuilt by the new platform — do not migrate them as content.
- **Nothing silently dropped.** Every page is either mapped, merged (with a canonical target), or explicitly retired with a reason in the CSV.

## 4. The new information architecture

### 1. Plan Your Visit  *(new audience hub)*
- Hours, Admission & Directions — `visit`
- The Museum of Ventura County (Downtown Ventura)
- Agriculture Museum (Santa Paula) — `ag-museum` ← merge `visit-agriculture-museum`, `ventura-county-agriculture-history`, `qr-ag`
- Tours & Group Visits — `ventura-museum-tours-group-visits` (→ `/tours`) ← merge `museum-tours`; + `wilson-stroh-wilson-architectural-driving-tour`
- Tickets & Admission — `tickets`
- Venue Rentals — `event-rentals` ← merge `pavilion`, `venue`
- Contact — `contact-us` ← merge `connections`

### 2. Exhibits
- On Display — `exhibits` ← merge `mvc-exhibits`
- Upcoming — `upcoming-exhibitions` *(collection)*
- Past Exhibits — `past-exhibits` *(collection)*
- Outdoor — `outdoor-exhibits`
- Virtual — `virtual-exhibits` *(collection)*
- Featured Exhibits — Chicano Art, The 19th/Suffrage, Women's Firsts, Carmen Ramirez, George Stuart Historical Figures, Innovision Artists, Enfoque Resource List

### 3. Events & Programs
- Events Calendar — `events` *(collection: ~790 event pages flow in here)* ← merge `event-calendar`
- Signature Programs — Taste of History, History & Horizons (`horizons2026`), Art Walk, Feast or Flop, Lectures & Films, Speaking of Ventura County, Bridge Builder Gala, Mountains to Sea Jubilee

### 4. Collections & Research  *(merges old Collections + Research Library)*
- Collection Highlights — `highlights-from-the-collection`, `fine-art-historical-artifacts`
- George Stuart Historical Figures *(cross-linked from Exhibits)*
- Research Library — `research-library` ← merge `research-library-about`, `research-library-collections`, `library`, `library-museum-ventura-county`
- MVC Then Blog — `research-library-blog` *(collection)* ← merge `connect` (74 legacy posts)
- Oral Histories — Voices of Ventura County, Unwritten, Our Stories
- Family History Project — `family-history-project`
- Journal — `journal-of-ventura-county`, `journal-flashback` *(collection)*
- Community Collecting — 2020 Protest, COVID-19 (+ Stories From COVID), Thomas Fire, Hill/Woolsey Fires, shooting documentation
- Policies — NAGPRA Statement, Collections Development Plan

### 5. Education
- Overview — `education` ← merge `education-virtual-tours`, `edu`
- Online Learning — `online-learning` ← merge `learn`; + Virtual Learning archive `virtual-learning` *(collection)*
- School Tours — `ag-museum-school-tours` ← merge `agriculture-museum-school-tours`, `school-programs`
- Puzzles, Quizlets & Games — `puzzles-archive` landing; `digital-jigsaw-puzzles`, `quizlets`; yearly puzzle archives *(collection)*
- Art Scholarships — `bonita-c-mcfarland` landing; all yearly cycles + award-winner pages *(collection)*
- Internships — Historical Research, Library/Archive

### 6. Support / Get Involved
- Donate — `donate-now` ← merge `how-to-donate`, `support-usdonate`, `connection`
- Membership — `membership` ← merge `join-or-renew`, `membership-archive`, `mvc-business-club`, `business-members-corporate-sponsors`
- Sponsorships — `sponsorships`; VC150 (`vc150`, `become-a-vc-150-sponsor`)
- Planned Giving — Edith Hobson Hoffman Society, Estate Planning
- Endowments — `endowments`
- Memorials & Tributes — `memorials`, `tribute-donations` ← merge `tribute-donations-march`
- Volunteer — `volunteer-opportunities`

### 7. About
- About MVC — `about`
- Mission & History — `mission-history`
- Board & Governance — `board-and-committees` ← merge `board-member-bios`; + `bylaws`
- Strategic Plan — `five-year-strategic-plan-2024-2029`
- Years in Review — `2020` / `2021` / `2022-23` / `2024-25` *(collection)*
- Press & Media — `press-and-video` ← merge `press`, `news`, `gallery`; + Video library (148) *(collection)*
- Financials *(new — placeholder in current footer)*

### Utility / Footer
- Shop / Gallery Store — `shop`, `museum-gallery-store-intake-form`
- Newsletter Subscribe — `subscribe` ← merge `acornsubscribe`, `facebooksubscribe`
- Legal — Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Refund & Returns Policy
- Contact

## 5. Dynamic collections summary

| Collection | Landing page | Feeds from | Approx pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Events Calendar | `events` | `event`, `events-archive`, `venue` | ~790 |
| Video Library | `press-and-video` | `video` | 148 |
| MVC Then Blog | `research-library-blog` | `connect` | 108 |
| Virtual Learning | `online-learning` | `virtual-learning` | 32 |
| Past / Upcoming / Virtual Exhibits | `exhibits` | respective dirs | ~62 |
| Art Scholarships | `bonita-c-mcfarland` | yearly cycle pages | ~12 |
| Press Releases | `press-and-video` | `press` | 20 |
| Journal Flashback | `journal-flashback` | series posts | 23 |
| Years in Review | About section | yearly pages | 4 |
| Puzzle Archives | `puzzles-archive` | yearly pages | 5 |

**Migration note:** these do not need to be hand-placed. In the new CMS each becomes a content type / collection with tags for year and program, and the landing page renders them with filters.

## 6. Retire / do not migrate

- **Query-string capture cruft (~600 files):** every `index.html@…` file.
- **WordPress/WooCommerce system routes:** `wp-admin`, `wp-content` (migrate media assets only), `wp-includes`, `wp-json`, `feed`, `comments`, `tag`, `author`, `artist`, `cart`, `checkout`, `account`, `my-account`, `wp-login.php*`.
- **Test/staging pages:** `event-test`, `events-hold`, `chumash-history-tour-third-grade-test`, `challenge`.
- **Funnel confirmations:** `thank-you`, `thank-you-for-subscribing` (regenerated by new platform).
- **Pagination duplicates:** `*.1.html` files (`video.html`, `virtual-learning.1.html`, etc.).
- **Expired one-offs → Archive bucket (verify before delete):** `target-circle`, `free-gift-for-our-members`, `june-5-2026`, `summer-programs`, `revisit`, `SpringAppeal2026.html`, dated press releases.

## 7. Redirect strategy

Every MERGE and REDIRECT row in the CSV needs a **301 redirect** from the old URL to the canonical target, to preserve inbound links and SEO. Priority order:

1. Canonical merges with real inbound traffic (Research Library, Membership, Donate, Education, Tours).
2. Renamed slugs (`support-usdonate` → `donate-now`, tours slug change).
3. Collection items — redirect old individual URLs to the new collection landing (or to the migrated item if the CMS preserves it).

## 8. Open items to verify before build

- **`revisit`, `challenge`, `our-stories`, `edu`, `school-programs`** — thin/empty titles; confirm content value before merge-vs-drop.
- **`connection` vs `connections`** — one is a donation campaign ("Invest in what connects us"), one is contact ("Connect with MVC"). Mapped separately; confirm.
- **Taste of History vs History & Horizons** — currently distinct events; confirm they stay separate under Signature Programs.
- **Financials** — footer links to a Financials page not found as a top-level dir; confirm source (likely an external Guidestar/PDF link).
- **Media assets** — `wp-content/uploads` holds the images/PDFs; inventory and migrate these separately from page content.

## 9. Suggested next phase

1. Confirm the open items in §8.
2. Decide the target platform (drives collection modeling and redirect implementation).
3. Build the redirect map (old URL → new URL) from the CSV.
4. Plan the media-asset migration from `wp-content/uploads`.