Programme overview
Introduction:
Organisational websites grow page by page until nobody owns the content, broken links and outdated notices pile up, editors publish without review and the hosting contract says nothing about restore times. Website management turns that sprawl into a governed service with named owners, publishing rules and measured performance. This Core Concept course trains web managers, digital teams and content owners to set up web governance roles, run CMS publishing workflows, check accessibility and bilingual pages, track site KPIs and control hosting, backups and patching. Participants produce a Web Governance Framework and Site Audit Report for a case organisation.
Course Objectives:
- Assess an existing website's ownership, content inventory, technical health and publishing practice against a website management baseline
- Set up a web governance model with defined roles, decision rights, publishing rules and review cycles using the 5 R's model
- Run CMS publishing workflows with role-based permissions, version control, templates and content lifecycle rules
- Check pages against WCAG principles and bilingual right-to-left layout requirements and log defects for correction
- Track web analytics KPIs, page speed, uptime, backups and patch status and act on the findings with hosting providers
- Produce a Web Governance Framework and Site Audit Report with a prioritised remediation and redesign roadmap
Target Audience:
- Web managers who run the organisation's public website and intranet day to day
- Digital team members responsible for CMS administration, page building and publishing schedules
- Content owners in business units who supply, approve and keep their section's pages current
- Communication and marketing staff who publish news, campaigns and notices on the website
- IT support staff who look after hosting, domains, certificates, backups and website updates
Course Outline:
Day 1: Website Management Baseline and Ownership Mapping
- Website Estate Register: Domains, Subsites, Microsites and Intranet Portals
- Content Inventory Spreadsheet: URLs, Owners, Last Review Date and Page Status
- Website Stakeholder Map: Sponsors, Web Team, Content Owners and Suppliers
- Broken Link, Orphan Page and Redundant Content Crawl Report
- Website Health Scorecard for the Current State
Day 2: Web Governance Models, Roles and Publishing Rules
- Web Governance 5 R's: Roles, Responsibilities, Relationships, Rules and Review
- Centralised, Decentralised and Federated Web Governance Model Selection
- Web Steering Group Charter and Decision Rights RACI Matrix
- Web Style Guide, Editorial Standards and Page Template Library
- Content Strategy: Audience Tasks, Page Purpose Statements and Retirement Rules
Day 3: CMS Operations, Information Architecture and Bilingual Content
- CMS Publishing Workflow: Draft, Edit, Approve, Publish and Archive States
- CMS User Roles, Permission Groups and Version History Rollback
- Information Architecture: Site Map, Menu Labels and Card Sorting Session
- Bilingual Page Pairing, Right-to-Left Layout and Language Switcher Checks
- WCAG Principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust Page Checks
Day 4: Site Performance, Hosting, Security and Privacy Controls
- Web Analytics KPI Set: Task Completion, Search Exits and Top Landing Pages
- Page Speed Test, Uptime Monitoring Alerts and Search Engine Indexing Basics
- Hosting Agreement Review: Service Levels, Backup Frequency and Restore Test
- CMS Core, Plugin and Theme Patching Calendar with TLS Certificate Renewal
- Privacy Notice, Cookie Banner Consent Settings and Web Form Data Handling
Day 5: Case Work: Web Governance Framework and Site Audit
- Case Organisation Website Pack: Crawl Export, Analytics Extract and Hosting Contract
- Site Audit Walkthrough: Accessibility, Content, Performance and Security Findings
- Website Redesign and CMS Migration Plan: URL Mapping and Redirect Table
- Web Governance Framework and Site Audit Report Drafting
- Report Defence Before a Mock Web Steering Group
Skills You Will Gain:
- Website Content Inventory
- Web Governance Model Design
- CMS Workflow Administration
- Information Architecture Review
- Accessibility Page Checking
- Bilingual Website Quality Control
- Hosting and Backup Oversight
- Website Migration Planning
Why Attend This Course:
- Leave with a Web Governance Framework and Site Audit Report for a case organisation, tested before a mock web steering group
- Stop unreviewed pages, stale notices and broken links reaching the public by giving every section a named owner and review date
- Hold hosting and support suppliers to measurable uptime, backup and restore terms
- Compare website practice with web managers from companies, public bodies, universities and non-profit organisations
Conclusion:
A well-run website is the result of clear ownership, disciplined publishing and routine technical checks rather than a periodic redesign. The course moves from mapping the website estate and content inventory, through governance models, roles and editorial rules, to CMS workflows, information architecture, bilingual pages and accessibility checks, then to analytics, speed, uptime, hosting, patching and privacy controls. The final day brings these together in a site audit and a Web Governance Framework ready for steering group approval.