Web Governance: Frequently Asked Questions

These FAQs about web governance are for people at UWM who are responsible for creating or managing content on the UWM.edu website.

Note: “Website” refers to all of UWM.edu, including all school/college, division, department, academic center and institute web content.

What is web governance?

Web governance is a framework to allow many people spread across an organization to work together to manage a single website in support of a common goal. At UWM, that means providing students an excellent visitor experience. 

Web governance includes guiding principles, standards, learning and support services, procedures, policies, roles and responsibilities used by an organization to manage its website. The purpose of web governance is to ensure the website effectively serves the organization’s strategic goals, provides a high-quality visitor experience and stays healthy over the long term.

How will web governance impact me?

If you manage content on the UWM.edu website, web governance will affect you. Part of web governance involves standardizing UWM.edu website content management and ensuring it is aligned with best practices. Key areas being standardized and aligned include:

• Guiding principles.
• Roles and responsibilities.
• Access management.
• Review cycles.
• Training and support.

Web governance may also impact you if you manage web-based platforms that are linked to from the UWM website and/or provide information and services to the audiences that UWM’s website serves.

Does web governance mean UWM will centralize the staff who manage content on the UWM website?

No. Web governance does not change UWM’s organizational structure or relocate staff members who are responsible for managing content.

When is web governance happening?

UWM’s web governance policy will be released in May 2025. Alignment will take place from May 2025 to January 2026. The alignment period exists to accommodate the vast size of UWM.edu and the large number of web content authors who do the vital work of maintaining website content.

How much will it cost me?

There is no direct financial cost to campus units. Web governance is funded as part of UWM’s Student-centric Web initiative.

Who was involved in creating the web governance policy?

UWM’s web governance policy was created by a campus working group in collaboration with Carnegie Dartlet in 2024. Stakeholders from IT, Procurement and Legal Affairs provided feedback. The policy was approved by Student-centric Web project sponsors in February 2025.

Who oversees web governance at UWM?

Marketing, Communications & University Relations owns and provides support for the policy, including alignment and compliance. A web governance committee advises on alignment, changes and support services for compliance.

Are other universities and organizations doing this?

Yes. Web governance is in use at other universities and organizations. A few examples from higher education are:

• Colorado State University
• Columbia University (Law School)
• Cornell University (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Purdue University Northwest
• Universities of Wisconsin (work in progress)
• University of Alabama
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Mississippi
• University of Rochester

Why do we need to do this?

Web governance is intended to improve and support:

• Website quality and brand consistency.
• Recruitment, retention and engagement.
• Compliance (e.g. digital accessibility).
• Website sustainability, long term.

Why are we doing this now?

• Recruitment and retention are a critical priority for UWM.
• Web governance supports digital accessibility, and UWM must meet an April 2026 digital accessibility compliance deadline.

I manage content on UWM’s website or oversee people who do. What happens if I do nothing?

It is the responsibility of all individuals and departments involved in website management and web content creation to adhere to these policies to ensure that the university’s website remains effective, secure and compliant with all relevant standards and regulations. Consequences of non-compliance include loss of publishing privileges and content removal or editing.

How will we know if web governance has been effective?

We will measure results during the initial rollout and alignment period and continue regular ongoing assessments through web content manager surveys, website quality audits, analytics and user testing.

Has user research been done?

Yes. User research conducted prior to and as part of UWM’s Student-centric Web initiative has confirmed the key issues affecting the UWM website.

Does web governance support digital accessibility?

Web governance supports digital accessibility at UWM.Training on digital accessibility will be part of training for staff managing content on UWM.edu.

Who will need to complete the training?

Those who manage web content on the UWM.edu website will need to complete role-based baseline training. Existing web content authors will complete their training during the alignment period. New web content authors will complete training during their onboarding period.

How will training be provided?

Training will be provided by on-demand videos, drop-in sessions and web guide content on the UWM.edu website.

What topics will be covered in the training?

• Web standards at UWM.
• Web governance at UWM.
• WordPress CMS orientation.
• Digital accessibility.
• Image optimization for the web.
• Search engine optimization (SEO) and writing for the web.
• Maintenance and quality assurance.
• Web forms.
• Access management.
• Web analytics.

Training is role-based. Not all topics apply to all roles.

What are the roles and what roles will I have?

Documentation on the roles and what training is required for each role will be released alongside the release of Web Governance at UWM by the end of May 2025. During summer 2025, we’ll be mapping existing web editors to their roles. Once mapped to roles, web editors will know what training is required.

I manage a cloud platform or web content for a research lab or center. How does this apply to me?

Cloud platforms and web content for research labs or centers must comply with UWM brand standards, copyright laws, and all relevant legal, regulatory and policy requirements outlined in the web governance policy.

What relevant laws, regulations and policies are included in the web governance policy?

• FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).
• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA.
• UW System Acceptable Use Policy of Information Technology Resources.
• UW System Information Security Policies.
• UWM WordPress Service Level Agreement.

I have questions or feedback about web governance that are not answered here.

Contact us!