What is a Content Governance Plan?

Content governance refers to the processes and policies in place to manage and control the creation, publication, and maintenance of content on a website. If it’s that easy, why aren’t more organizations following a defined content governance plan?

Content governance involves establishing guidelines, standards, and workflows to ensure that your website content is accurate, up-to-date, consistent, and aligned with your organization’s objectives and brand image. It also encompasses various aspects, including content creation, editing, review, approval, publication, and archiving. Content governance defines roles and responsibilities within the content management team, outlines editorial processes, and implements tools and technologies to facilitate content management.

There are many reasons to consider content governance as it pertains to your website, but the key objectives are:

Brand Consistency
Ensuring that content across different webpages and sections of the website follows consistent style, tone, and branding guidelines. This helps in maintaining a cohesive user experience and reinforces the organization’s brand identity.

Accuracy
Verifying the accuracy and validity of information presented on the website. This involves fact-checking, referencing reliable sources, and updating content as needed to reflect the latest information.

Relevance
Ensuring that the content remains relevant and useful to the target audience. Regular content audits and analysis of user feedback help identify outdated or irrelevant content that needs to be updated or removed.

Compliance
Adhering to legal, regulatory, and industry standards governing website content. This includes considerations such as data privacy, accessibility, copyright, and disclosure requirements.

Quality Control
Implementing quality control measures to maintain high-quality content. This involves proofreading, editing, and ensuring that content meets predefined standards for grammar, spelling, readability, and overall quality.

Workflow Efficiency
Establishing efficient workflows for content creation, review, and approval processes. This helps streamline content management tasks, minimize bottlenecks, and ensure timely publication of content.

Governance Oversight
Assigning responsibility for content governance and establishing clear lines of authority and accountability. This ensures that content management processes are effectively managed, monitored, and improved over time.

It’s a common myth that only large sites benefit from a considered content governance strategy. By implementing smart and effective content governance practices, organizations of all sizes can enhance the user experience, build trust with their audience, improve search engine visibility, and maintain a well-maintained and valuable web presence.