Website maintenance
When we launch a website, the Web Team and the sponsoring department or committee identify a single primary contact. This contact is responsible for keeping the content of the website up to date and accurate.
Depending on the needs of the website, the primary contact or the Web Team updates the content.
- The Web Team typically manages content for websites where oversight is critical to the college (e.g., core college services), for sites with complex formatting needs, or for sites not requiring frequent updates.
- Primary contacts may manage content that changes frequently, and are responsible for maintaining established web standards on their site.
Site updates
Contact-managed sites
The primary contact performs updates. The Web Team provides access after the contact attends training. Training covers writing for the web, meeting accessibility standards and copyright laws, fixing broken links and misspellings, and making content updates.
If the Web Team receives updates or corrections from other parties, the Web Team forwards the request to the contact. The “Send website corrections” form is another source of website correction requests.
The primary contact can request Web Team help for large changes, with website structure, or any other needs.
Maintaining standards
The Web Team continuously monitors PCC websites for errors, copyright violations, accessibility concerns, and usability issues. We may be in touch to remedy issues we become aware of. For small corrections – for example, typos, broken links, or accessibility issues – the Web Team may correct the issue. We will remind contacts of our standards if there are recurring issues.
Contacts are responsible for maintaining website standards by:
Accessibility checklist
- use headings to structure your content
- use alt-text with images (very important for images of text)
- do not use “click here” links
- do not use all-caps – NO YELLING!
See all of our accessibility standards.
- fixing misspellings
- fixing broken links
- addressing valid “corrections form” requests
- only uploading media that will not violate copyright laws
- meeting accessibility standards
If a contact is no longer able to meet PCC’s website standards, the Web Team may need to manage the site instead. We will inform contacts if they have not been meeting website standards.
Web Team-managed sites
The primary contact submits content updates to the Web Team using the “Send website corrections” link (found on the bottom of every page) or by emailing webteam@pcc.edu. The Web Team then works with the contact to make the updates. Most small updates happen within one business day.
Primary contacts are responsible for regularly reviewing content to ensure it is accurate.
For requests from other parties, the Web Team consults with the primary contact before any updates (unless it’s a simple issue, like a typo).
If there is an emergency and the primary contact is not available for approval, the Web Team may put an update in place and inform the primary contact.
For generic sections of the site, where the owner may not be obvious, the Web Team maintains a list of “content owners” we consult with when larger revisions come in.
Orphaned websites
Staffing changes sometimes find the Web Team supporting websites with no primary contact. The Web Team will seek out an appropriate contact to take ownership. We may archive an orphaned site if it is found to no longer add value.
Taking ownership of a website
A manager may contact the Web Team to coordinate taking ownership of a website. You will need to identify a primary contact. If the site requires significant updates, we may need to define a project.