Decommissioning Websites
Contents
Checklist
Regularly evaluate websites
Identify and document your reasons for decommissioning a website
Develop a plan to decommission the website
Conduct a content audit
Migrate content to be retained
Identify and manage content no longer required
Ensure content to be disposed of is covered by a disposal authority
Save a record of your website with the National Library
Further information and acknowledgements
Public sector websites may include content and metadata which must be managed in accordance with section 17 of the Public Records Act 2005. This factsheet outlines some key factors to consider when decommissioning websites.
Checklist
| When decommissioning websites, check that: | |
| The website has been evaluated for currency, relevance, effectiveness and performance |
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| Reasons for decommissioning the website have been identified, agreed and documented |
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| A plan for decommissioning the website has been developed |
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| A content audit of the website has been conducted |
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| Content to be retained has been migrated to the appropriate system, and the migration process documented |
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| Content no longer required has been identified and managed to meet business and regulatory requirements |
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| Content to be destroyed is covered by a disposal authority issued by the Chief Archivist |
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| Your website has been saved by the National Library |
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Regularly evaluate websites
The lifecycle of agency websites includes a regular process of evaluation. This involves assessing the effectiveness of an agency’s online services and measuring performance. An agency must understand the website’s:
- relevance to the needs of users
- alignment to agency/government strategy
- security risks and issues
- currency and accuracy of content
- long-term value
- use of available technical infrastructure
- legislative requirements
Identify and document your reasons for decommissioning a website
The decision to decommission a website may be influenced by a range of factors. Central and local government agencies may find that some websites have become outdated, irrelevant or are no longer required. Factors may include:
- Integration of service delivery. Information and services may be integrated with information and services provided by other areas of the agency or by another area in government.
- Program completion. Some websites may be established to support a particular activity, and are not required when the activity is completed.
- User or business needs not met. An analysis of site usage, user feedback and website evaluation may find that user and business needs are no longer being met.
- Infrastructure and operational costs. Where separate websites are supported by different infrastructures and operational units, it might be more cost effective to consolidate and close one or more websites.
- Lack of support. If the website is no longer adequately supported, it may be appropriate to close it and move the useful content to another website that is supported.
- Machinery of Government changes. Administrative changes may involve the transfer of functions between agencies or the closure of some agencies.
Just as a business case should support the creation of a website, a business case should also support the decision to decommission a website. The business case will help inform the development of a decommissioning project plan.
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Develop a plan to decommission the website
Consider the following factors in your planning process:
- Who should provide input and/or be allocated key responsibilities? It is important that all relevant areas of your agency are involved in the planning and implementation process, including business, information and records management, information technology and communications groups.
- What should be included in your plan? Key activities include content audits, content migration, management of content as records and legal/statutory requirements.
- What other groups should be involved? If your website has been developed or managed cooperatively with other agencies, you may need to involve those agencies in your planning and implementation. Other groups may include stakeholders, sites which link to your website, etc.
Conduct a content audit
The website decommissioning process must be managed appropriately to minimise risks and meet business objectives. It is vital to establish the value of the website content, both in terms of business value/risk and long-term archival or informational value. A content audit enables you to identify content which needs to be:
- Migrated to a different website
- Captured into a recordkeeping system
- Transferred to Archives New Zealand
- Destroyed under a current disposal authority issued by the Chief Archivist.
Migrate content to be retained
Website content and metadata may need to be migrated to a new website and/or continue to be managed in accordance with the Public Records Act 2005.
Consider the following as part of your migration planning:
- Retain information which has an ongoing business need
- Ensure that the content resides in a recordkeeping system
- Capture the details of the migration process into a recordkeeping system
- Update your recordkeeping polices as needed
Identify and manage content no longer required
Agencies are accountable for managing information provided and services delivered via their websites, and need to be able to produce reliable and trustworthy evidence of that information for as long as needed. Content that is no longer required on your website should be managed in accordance with your agency’s information and records management policies and processes, including standards and disposal authorities issued by the Chief Archivist under the Public Records Act.
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Ensure content to be disposed of is covered by a disposal authority
No records may be disposed of unless a disposal authority is in place.
Some information on your website may be disposed of using a General Disposal Authority (GDA). General Disposal Authorities can be found here:
http://archives.govt.nz/advice/public-offices/records-appraisal-and-disp...
Your agency may have a specific disposal authority in place which covers all the records residing on the website to be decommissioned. You can find disposal authorities for your agency on Archway:
http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/
Or contact Archives New Zealand for assistance:
rkadvice@archives.govt.nz
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Save a record of your website with the National Library
The National Library regularly harvests content on public sector websites. Ensuring that the copy saved by the National Library fits with your recordkeeping requirements, prior to decommissioning the website, may fulfil some of your obligations under the Public Records Act 2005. In addition to the content harvested by NLNZ your agency may also need to manage the metadata and other documentation associated with the records.
To ensure that the record of your website has been saved:
- Check to see if your website has been harvested, and if so, how long ago.
- If it has been harvested, determine whether any of your website’s content has changed since the latest harvest (if so, it may need to be harvested again).
- If your site has not been harvested, or an out-of-date version is the most recent version saved, nominate your site to be harvested and the National Library will carry this out.
- Ensure that other contextual information (e.g. recordkeeping metadata and internal documentation) associated with the website is kept within your recordkeeping system.
To check if your website has been harvested, or to nominate a site for harvesting, please go to:
http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/a-z-of-all-collections/nz-web-archive
Or contact:
web.archive@natlib.govt.nz
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Further information and acknowledgements
Guide to Managing Web Records
http://archives.govt.nz/guide-20-guide-managing-web-records
National Library Web Harvesting
http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/a-z-of-all-collections/nz-web-archive
Better Practice Checklist 23: Decommissioning Websites, Australian Government Department of Finance and Administration
http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/better-practice-and-collaboration...
Archives New Zealand acknowledges the assistance provided by this publication.
Issued September 2010
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