Understanding the future directions of the development of digital infrastructure for museums largely depends on our knowledge of the past of these resources and their development. What is the perception of digital museums today? Chasing novelty in order to bring as many visitors as possible? Or is the main strategy of digitalization of museums associated with the solution of long-term tasks, the conscious process of purposeful use of technologies and their competent and effective application? In order to answer these questions, determine the main trends in development, as well as to learn how museums react to the information technology market, it is necessary to understand how virtual museums have evolved, their contents changed, what functionality have grown, and what the tasks it allowed to solve.