Case Study

ArcStone completed a WordPress migration for the Museum of Danish America, delivering an accessible platform with comprehensive integrations.

The Museum of Danish America is the national museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history, art, and culture of Denmark in the United States. Founded in 1983 and located in Elk Horn, Iowa—the largest rural Danish settlement in the United States—the museum holds a nationally accredited collection of over 35,000 artifacts that tell the story of Danish immigration and the Danish-American experience from 1840 to the present. The museum’s mission is to “celebrate Danish roots and American dreams” through its permanent exhibition “Across Oceans, Across Time” and rotating displays.

Beyond its extensive collections, the Museum of Danish America serves as a vital resource for genealogy research, educational programming, and cultural preservation. The museum complex includes historic buildings, a 35-acre prairie restoration park, and houses significant artifacts including entertainer Victor Borge’s first piano. As part of the Danish Villages of Elk Horn and Kimballton, the museum anchors a unique cultural community that maintains strong connections to Denmark while celebrating the immigrant experience that helped shape American society.

Our Role

WordPress Migration Completion (Craft CMS to WordPress)
Accessibility Implementation (WCAG 2.2 AA)
Content Migration & Organization (60+ pages)
Third-Party Integration (PastPerfect, Shopify, ResCarta, LGL)
Events Calendar Implementation
Staff Training & Documentation
Google Translate Integration

The Challenge:

Museum of Danish America faced the complex challenge of completing an interrupted website migration that had been started by another agency using Craft CMS, a platform with limited administrative usability for museum staff. The 299-page content audit revealed the scope of careful migration work needed while ensuring no critical information or cultural context was lost during the transition. The museum’s digital presence needed to maintain the professional standards expected of a nationally accredited institution while serving as an accessible gateway to Danish-American heritage.

The new platform needed to seamlessly integrate multiple specialized museum systems including collection management through PastPerfect, e-commerce capabilities via Shopify, digital archives through ResCarta, and donor management via Little Green Light. These technical requirements had to be balanced with the museum’s mission to serve diverse audiences—from serious genealogy researchers conducting family history to casual tourists exploring Danish culture—all while maintaining cultural sensitivity and ensuring the website could effectively represent the rich heritage and ongoing connections between Denmark and the United States.

Museum of Danish America's website before redesign

Our Approach

ArcStone stepped in to complete the interrupted project by rebuilding the platform entirely in WordPress with comprehensive WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards embedded from the foundation. We conducted a thorough audit of the existing 299 pages, streamlined the complex sitemap to improve user navigation, and created intuitive wireframes that would serve both casual visitors and serious researchers effectively. Our team prioritized the cultural sensitivity required for a national museum, ensuring that the digital representation honored the heritage and stories being preserved while making them accessible to contemporary audiences.

The technical integration phase required careful coordination of the museum’s specialized tools, successfully implementing Events Calendar Pro for programming management and seamlessly connecting Little Green Light forms for donor engagement. We prioritized the museum’s multilingual accessibility needs by implementing Google Translate functionality, recognizing that Danish-American heritage serves both English and Danish-speaking communities. Throughout the process, we maintained close collaboration with museum staff to ensure that the cultural authenticity and professional standards of a nationally accredited institution were preserved.

Our final phase focused on empowering the museum’s internal team through comprehensive training and documentation, ensuring they could confidently manage the new WordPress system independently. We carefully migrated and styled over 60 priority pages, ensuring that each piece of content maintained its historical context and cultural significance while benefiting from improved accessibility and user experience. The training program we developed addressed both immediate operational needs and long-term content management strategies, positioning the museum staff to maintain and grow their digital presence as their programming and collections evolved.

Museum of Danish America's Campus Master Plan

Reviewing The Results

Museum of Danish America now operates a clean, accessible WordPress platform that serves researchers, visitors, and the broader Danish-American community effectively. The simplified backend administration enables museum staff to manage content independently while the flexible integration architecture supports their specialized collection and donor management needs. The website provides a strong foundation for the museum’s Spring 2025 campaign while positioning them for continued growth in cultural preservation and education.