Although it might seem like it, publishing content is not just a simple click of a button. There are many nuances involved.
So, what does publishing content consist of? And how can GovCMS help with the overall process?
What is Publishing?
Before we begin, let’s first take a look at what exactly is “publishing”.
In short, publishing is the process of preparing content to be shared with the public. Once content has been created and approved, it needs to be added onto a website and made ready for public consumption.
In general, the steps to publishing include:
1. Inputting the content onto the website
That is, adding all the required elements e.g. text, media etc.
2. Reviewing and/or Testing
Is your content presented and working as intended?
3. Approval
Giving the final okay for the content to be published.
4. Publishing
Making the content accessible to the public.
5. Feedback
How are users engaging with the content? Do any improvements or fixes need to be made?
Related Processes
Subsequent processes that you may also go through once content is published are:
- Amendments - Subsequent changes to already published content.
- Issues or Errors - When things don’t go as planned. For example, technical bugs, negative feedback, incorrect content being published etc.
Considerations
There are several considerations to be made prior to and when publishing content. The table below details some important topics to address and the relevant GovCMS features to be aware of during the publishing process.
These considerations do not fit within one particular step and are overarching items to think about when going through the publishing process in general.
| Topic | Considerations | Relevant GovCMS features |
|---|
| Functionality | - How easy is it to publish web content?
- Is your website equipped to publish the content you want?
- Do any extensions need to be added in?
- User experience – is the website user friendly? Are there any accessibility guidelines that need to be adhered to?
| - Publishing workflow so content can move through different statuses e.g. “Draft”, “Needs Review”, “Published”. GovCMS
- Content can be edited without HTML skills.
- Able to manage media such as photos and videos.
- WCAG compliance (to meet accessibility standards).
|
|---|
| Appearance | - What style and formatting guidelines need to be followed?
- Are there any elements from previous style guides that can be reused for your intended content?
- How does your content look on a variety of devices?
| - Can be viewed (and look good) on computers, phones and tablets.
|
|---|
| Roles and Responsibilities | - The Key roles to the publishing process. For example,
- Who inputs the content
- Reviewers
- Approvers
- What is each role able to do? Who can add, edit or remove content?
| - Allows for user access control. That is, users are assigned roles with certain access and permissions.
|
|---|
| Regulatory Obligations | - What regulatory or legal requirements need to be adhered to? For example,
- Copyright
- Privacy
- Archiving
- Australian Meta-standards
| - Compliant with Australian Government website requirements.
- Compliant with Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) metadata standards.
|
|---|
| Timing | - How long should the overall process from Input to Publishing be?
- How much time will be allocated to each publishing step?.
- How frequently should content be published?
- What is the publishing schedule?
- Are there any additional timeframes to action content updates and issues?
| |
|---|
| Security | - Is there anything that must be secured prior to publishing or content that cannot be made available before a certain date? For example, sensitive documents or media
- Does your content need to be limited to a certain audience?
| - Be aware that by default, files such as images and PDFs are publicly available as soon as they are uploaded to GovCMS. This may influence when or even if you should publish your intended content.
- GovCMS can be configured to work around media being instantly available once upload or to add restrictions to certain content.
|
|---|
| Documentation | - How is each publishing milestone being recorded?
- What data is recorded? I.e. Dates, times, who completed a certain action, feedback from users.
| - Webforms to collect and report user information and data.
|
|---|
| Feedback | - Who is tracking the response to the published content?
- What is being tracked in relation to user engagement? E.g. views?
- How is user engagement being tracked?
| - Website Analytics which give insight about users
- Metadata support for search engine optimization.
|
|---|
| Key Contacts | - Which teams must you liaise with in order to have your content published? For example, Creative or DevOps.
- How do you make requests?
| |
|---|
Publishing is a multi-step process where many decisions and considerations need to be made. GovCMS has many features which generally make the publishing process easier for the user. However, there are also certain characteristics to be aware of when deciding if it is the right platform to use for your content. For example, by default, media such as images or PDF documents are automatically available once uploaded. That said, from its easy-to-use tools to input content, to forms which collect data and provide insight for continuous improvement, GovCMS overall provides great support for your publishing needs.
