S 2.272 Setting up a web editorial team

Initiation responsibility: Top Management

Implementation responsibility: Specialists Responsible, Head of IT

A website requires regular maintenance. Especially where content or services that change relatively frequently are offered, the updating effort will grow relatively quickly.

In the concept for the website (see S 2.172 Developing a concept for using the web), persons responsible for various aspects of maintenance of the website are appointed. Once the scope of the offer and the associated maintenance effort exceeds a certain point, it may be reasonable to set up an independent web editorial team to improve coordination. This way, the responsibilities will be emphasised once again and will be visibly mapped in the organisational structure.

Setting up a web editorial team has the advantage that a single central contact is available for all questions concerning the website. Within such an editorial team, efficient processes for ensuring the up-to-dateness and correctness of the information in the website (for example, particular approval processes or a two-person rule) are usually easier to establish as compared to establishment across several organisational units.

As a minimum, the editorial team should include the people who are named in the web concept as holding positions of responsibility. Often it is useful to include other people in the editorial team. A web editorial team should include the following members:

• an editor-in-chief who assumes overall responsibility for the content and services in the website,
• one technical editor for each of the different content areas,
• one person responsible for the visual appearance of the website (web design), and
• a "technical web master" who is responsible for the technical aspects of the operation of the web server.

In addition to maintenance of contents of a web server, the tasks of the web editorial team also include preparation of news, newsletters, RSS feeds or input for video platforms. If more extensive web applications are used on the web server, then a contact person for these applications should also be on the web editorial team. The technical editors, the web design and the technical web master serve in each case as a point of contact (interface) for the relevant user departments.

Within the web editorial team, in addition to the normal editorial processes, procedures and responsibilities must also be defined for cases of problems, so that a fast and efficient response to security incidents can be ensured (see also S 2.173 Determining a web security strategy).

Review questions:

• Does the editorial team include all persons named as responsible persons in the concept for websites, i.e. editor-in-chief, technical editors, a person responsible for web design, and a technical web master?
• If comprehensive web applications are used: Does the web editorial team have a contact person for web applications?
• Are normal editorial processes as well as procedures and responsibilities defined in case of problems and security incidents?