Web governance aims to ensure that content meets the brand, quality, and accessibility requirements defined by your organization. According to Georgy Cohen, Director of Digital Strategy at OHO Interactive (a valued DubBot partner!), it’s about making sure "the right content gets created the right way."
Well, isn't web governance just another name for content management? Content management is just one aspect of a web governance framework. Think of web governance as the framework of policies, processes, and people that keep your site consistent, usable, accessible, and up-to-date.
A well-structured web governance should include the following:
- A clear roadmap for your content. The roadmap will outline what you'll create, how to organize it, and how it should be categorized. It also sets the tone and personality you want for your content, ensuring a consistent voice across everything you produce.
- Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, policies, and procedures for creating, approving, and publishing content.
- Appropriate training for content authors in creating, managing, and measuring content.
- A well-defined content ownership structure that identifies a single point of accountability for quality assurances, such as the website administrator or department website director/chair.
- An editorial style guide to inform well-written content, link management, spelling and grammar, and naming conventions. In DubBot, Custom Policies can help you keep these checks in place.
- Adherence to current accessibility standards and guidelines outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG.
Why is Web Governance Important?
Web governance might sound a bit restrictive, but it's pretty important for a few reasons:
- Brand Protection: Web governance helps ensure consistent messaging and branding that builds trust with your audience.
- Consistent User Experience: Imagine a website with six different fonts, broken links, a different navigation scheme on every page, and outdated information. A solid web governance framework keeps your website organized, consistent, and easy to use.
Web governance is all about efficiency. Clear policies and procedures help avoid confusion and wasted time. With web governance, everyone involved in managing the website knows their roles and responsibilities.
In short, web governance helps you create an effective, efficient website that reflects your brand well. It's an essential part of any successful online strategy.
