Consolidating the content of websites can improve discoverability (through better search, grouping of content based on audience needs, consistent navigation) and provide more consistent and authoritative content (through better processes and resourcing).

Why should I?

The 2006 e-Government Strategy targets a reduction in the number of government websites, to make it easier for users of government websites to find information.

What should I do?

Before consolidating your websites, identify business objectives and user needs for the consolidated website. Make sure you know what content you want to keep and where you will place it in the new location. Use the old URL to explain the consolidation. Edit your index page to include the redirect code and customise a message explaining that the old site has been retired and ‘You are now being redirected to (the new URL)’.

You should communicate back to the agency governance body and to stakeholders throughout the consolidation process on.

• progress against the consolidation implementation plan
• issues or obstacles still to be addressed.

How do I?

Consolidating websites can provide considerable benefits. For users it can bring superior discoverability (through improved search, content grouping based on audience needs, consistent navigation) and more compatible and authoritative content (through better processes and resourcing).

Content consolidation checklist

Use this checklist to make sure you have dealt with as many issues of content better practice as possible when consolidating websites.

• Have you conducted audience research to understand the contextual relationship of topics to patterns of use?

Before you consolidate website content, you need to have a sound understanding of your audience and their needs. You can study this through: analysis of website feedback and metrics, interviews and focus groups and one-on-one testing of the current websites. This will enable you to understand how important each audience is to your agency, and what their core requirements are.

• Have you undertaken a content audit?

The audit establishes what content is currently on the site, whether it is current, expired or due for review, its owner, relative importance to audiences (including number of times it has been accessed in the last 12 months) and its relative importance to the agency (e.g. some rarely-accessed items may be mandatory content).

The content audit should also identify areas where content needs to be developed to meet the needs of the audience or the agency.

• Have you considered information architecture planning and testing?

Based on the audience research and content audit a new information architecture may be developed. The information architecture describes the structure for the consolidated content, showing the ways content items will be categorised, indicating what content will be migrated where.

This can be a complex task and requires extensive consultation with business units to ensure their needs will be met, as well as testing with audiences to ensure its viability.

Technical consolidation checklist

• Have you undertaken a technology audit?

This should include an audit of existing technology and infrastructure (e.g. online hosting arrangements, web content management systems, servers) and will help identify opportunities for consolidation and efficiency (e.g. duplication of resources such as software licences).

• Have you completed a contract and vendor review?

Website consolidation may involve changes to contractual arrangements, so it is important to be aware of the current contracts that may be affected and to develop options for change (e.g. it may be financially beneficial to delay some aspects of consolidation until a particular contract expires).

• Have you reviewed processes?

A review of current processes to develop, maintain and manage the website will help identify areas which are not properly resourced or have inadequate management controls. This will lead to the establishment of consistent processes agency-wide.

• Have you completed a risk analysis?

The results of the technology audit and process review enable an assessment of the risks involved in running each website. For example, some websites may be hosted on insecure servers and be vulnerable to hackers, while other websites may have no technical back up. The risks of each website are also measured in relation to overall importance to the agency: a ‘mission critical’ agency website should require greater levels of security and management than a website focused on minor administrative functions with a small audience.

The risk analysis helps prioritise websites and activities for consolidation, so that the overall risk to the agency is managed.

Note: risk analysis and management is an ongoing activity.

• Do you have a formal technology plan?

The technology plan will provide a short-term and long-term plan for consolidating the website technical infrastructure. This usually involves mandating a particular technology and set of processes for all websites, and setting a timeframe for migrating existing websites onto the common platform.

• Do you require new processes and standards development?

Consolidation usually involves the development and implementation of consistent website standards across the agency.

The starting point for standards is the Web Guide that sets the base requirements across government. These standards should then be complemented by any agency-specific standards covering technology, content and management processes. Successful implementation of standards requires that:

• Standards are clearly written and communicated.
• Standards are achievable and can be reasonably met by agency websites within a set timeframe.
• Support is available for the implementation of the standards.

Compliance with the standards is measured and reported on regularly.

• Have you formulated a technology implementation and testing plan?

The implementation of the technology must allow for adequate testing before websites are switched over so that there is no disruption to service.

• Are you auditing and constraining technical requirements?

Once a common technical infrastructure has been adopted it is vital to ensure that all websites stay within the infrastructure. Business units may argue that their situation or need is unique and that they should be allowed to go their own way. However for the greater good of the agency, creative solutions to their problems need to be found within the existing infrastructure or through a program of planned enhancements that benefits the agency as a whole.

• Are you able to re-purpose any of the technology?

The consolidation process could result in some equipment and software licenses becoming redundant. These could be sold-off or re-purposed to ensure that the benefits of consolidation are realised.

• Are any of the sites involved in the consolidation to be decommissioned?

Consolidation of websites usually results in some websites being decommissioned. This involves:

• managing website owners and website staff
• communication with stakeholders
• impact on existing and new contracts / vendors
• archiving and migrating content
• managing linked websites
• decommissioning / redeployment of software and hardware
• decommissioning of the domain name.

Subjects:

• Decommissioning
• Content
• disposals
• Domain name
• consolidation
• closure