User experience of art museums online

Abstract: Today's requirements for digital presence mean that museums must think outside the box. Digital strategies or manifestations may serve as a foundation to stand on, but in the end, it is the museum's visitors' needs that need to be fulfilled. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the Moderna Museet in Malmö and Malmö Konstmuseum work to achieve the upsides and downsides of digitalization with their digital services to get their digital visitors to experience art and what kind of user experience do the visitors have when visiting the digital space of these museums’ websites. This study is based on a qualitative study with an abductive approach. Mixed methods were used, interviews with communications managers at each museum were held and six think-aloud interviews were held with internet users aged 30-35 who during the interview were given the task of navigating the websites and a literature analysis together with content and semiotic analysis of the websites is the basis for the conclusions of this study. Through Bourdieu's (2022) theory of capital, we understand that even though digitalization is resource-intensive, there are shortcomings with technology and that the physical experience cannot be replaced by digital means, museums and digitalization have a symbolic value that still makes it worthwhile the cost. Accessibility, democracy, education, and the preservation of art are all positive aspects of digitalization that both Moderna Museet in Malmö and Malmö Konstmuseum are working actively with.