Last Modified: 2026-10-30T18:00
Museum Website Changelog
Version 3.4 - November 2026
See What’s New
An administrative record of how this website has evolved. Track our latest updates, bug fixes, and feature releases as we continuously improve your online experience.
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System Update & Website Release Log
This public registry tracks website releases, accessibility improvements, privacy reviews, and design and technical refinements for the official Combe Martin Museum website.
The former web address (combemartinmuseum.co.uk) was retired in July 2025 and replaced by the current official domain at combemartinmuseum.org.
Content and Accessibility Updates: The site features local history resources, event information and accessibility guidance. Accessibility measures include high-contrast colours, keyboard focus indicators and screen-reader support. Conformance with a particular WCAG level should only be claimed following appropriate testing.
Website Version History
A record of website releases, accessibility and design refinements, privacy and data protection reviews, technical metadata guidance, and ongoing maintenance.
| Version | Release Date | Category | Main Objective | Summary of Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v3.4.0 Active | Seasonal Content, Design & Accessibility | Winter visitor information, Christmas promotions and improved gift shop navigation. | Updated and refined the winter opening-hours banner ahead of the seasonal change taking effect on 2 November 2026. Simplified the presentation of winter opening hours, improved visual hierarchy, spacing, readability and responsive behaviour, and refined accessibility features within the HTML and CSS, including semantic labelling, keyboard focus and reduced-motion support. Updated the Christmas newsflash banner to promote Christmas presents, locally made craft items and the 2-for-1 Christmas craft sale running until the Museum closes for the holidays. Added information about the 2027 charity calendars, available from the Museum and the Castle Inn on Castle Street, priced at £8.00. Refined gift shop navigation wording to better describe the available range of keepsakes, maps, books and local artisan items, using the heading "Gifts & Souvenirs – Keepsakes, Maps, Books & Local Artisan Items". Further refined banner presentation and responsive styling to support consistent display across desktop, tablet and mobile screens. | |
| v3.3.0 | Privacy & Governance | Privacy policy review, data protection transparency and technical metadata guidance. | Reviewed the Privacy Policy wording covering personal data collection, website usage data, third-party advertising, external links and linked third-party logos. Refined the distinction between the museum's data-controller responsibilities and the website developer's technical role following formal website handover. Reviewed wording concerning occasional post-handover support and the handling of personal data. Set the preferred canonical URL for the Privacy Policy page. Investigated options for resolving an oversized photograph displayed as a section background in Webador. | |
| v3.2.0 | Design Refinement | Newsflash banner updates and layout adjustments. | Updated newsflash banner text to highlight the 2-for-1 Christmas craft sale. Changed the banner border to gold and adjusted the title box width to 50% on larger screens for improved balance. Moved the Christmas offer notice to the bottom of the newsflash list. | |
| v3.2.0 | Design Overhaul | Website redesign, homepage hero, call-to-action buttons and information panel. | Refined the user interface, redesigned the homepage hero using forest green and gold styling, improved call-to-action buttons and reorganised the About This Site information panel for clearer presentation. | |
| v3.1.0 | Content & Data | Exhibition catalogue expansion and banner updates. | Updated local history resources, integrated Information Point resources and refined header banner text for easier reading. | |
| v3.0.0 | Layout Refinement | Homepage layout and performance improvements. | Simplified homepage layout, removed unnecessary graphic dividers and adjusted spacing to improve visual clarity and reduce excessive scrolling. | |
| v3.0.0 | Security | Website security checks and search performance monitoring. | Recorded routine website security checks and search performance monitoring arrangements intended to help identify technical issues. | |
| v3.0.0 | Structured Data | Search information and student placement updates. | Added student placement information and structured website data to help search engines interpret relevant content, including opening hours and frequently asked questions. | |
| v2.9.0 | Performance | Virtual tour media and loading performance. | Moved 360-degree virtual tour images to dedicated cloud storage and streamlined tour links across the website. | |
| v2.9.0 | Content & Navigation | Community portal and menu organisation. | Launched a dedicated community hub and updated navigation links to help visitors find local history and events. | |
| v2.8.2 | Mobile Usability | Touchscreen button sizing and spacing. | Increased button target areas and improved spacing between links to make touchscreen navigation easier on phones and tablets. | |
| v2.8.1 | Accessibility | Footer structure and assistive technology support. | Reworked footer link layouts using semantic HTML to improve navigation for assistive technologies and clarify page structure. | |
| v2.8.0 | Design Refresh | Consistent visual branding across page banners. | Standardised colours, fonts and container styling across key landing pages to provide a more consistent museum identity. | |
| v1.0.0 | Initial Release | Launch of the new Combe Martin Museum website. | Launched the redesigned website with visitor information, collection directories, accessible navigation and the transition from combemartinmuseum.co.uk to combemartinmuseum.org. |
Glossary of Technical & Web Terms
- Call to Action (CTA)
- Buttons and links that help visitors take useful actions, such as viewing opening hours, finding visitor information or contacting the museum.
- UI / UX Design
- User Interface refers to visual elements such as layout, typography and colours. User Experience concerns how easily visitors can navigate and use the website.
- WCAG 2.2
- The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide testable criteria for making websites more accessible to people with disabilities.
- Touch Targets
- The size and spacing of buttons and links intended to help people select controls accurately on touchscreens.
- ARIA Landmarks
- Accessibility attributes that help assistive technologies identify and navigate important page regions, such as navigation and main content.
- JSON-LD Structured Data
- A structured data format that helps search engines interpret information about an organisation, its website and relevant page content.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- A web performance metric that measures unexpected movement of visible content as a page loads.
- Asset Migration
- Moving media files to suitable hosting or delivery services to help improve loading performance.
- Canonical URL
- A link element in the page's HTML head that identifies the preferred URL when duplicate or similar page addresses exist.
- Data Controller
- The person or organisation that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data under applicable data protection law.