Website Governance


November 1, 2020

1.1 – Objective

This policy provides for collaborative, centralized governance of the ongoing development, deployment, delivery, and maintenance of RONESoft digital image. By outlining standard processes, roles, responsibilities and practices, this policy also sets a standard throughout the official website and web pages for consistency of presentation and representation of the RONESoft brand.

We will pursue this objective while keeping in mind the site’s underlying strategic priority: we endeavor to facilitate a user experience that will develop a lasting digital relationship with all visitors – particularly customers and potential customers – providing them with the information they need in an easy and accessible format. To that end, we must arrange our websites in such a way as to intuitively present information to users to facilitate a satisfactory, pleasant online experience.

Definition of Terms Used in this Document

Policy

A general, high level statement of the rule.

Standard

Lower-level controls that support the policy.

Guideline

Typically, recommendations that help support the standard.

Procedure

The specific means by which we execute the policy. May include step-by-step instructions.

1.2 – Compliance

The website, www.ronesoft.com is the sole property of RONESoft Limited. While certain faculty and staff will have access to edit certain portions of the site, create new content and remove old content, the site and all its subsites remain the property of the company.

The website provides a platform to showcase the company’s best qualities and project a positive image solely concerning all RONESoft business. It is a strategic asset that carries influence and provides global access to all aspects of the business. As we have personnel managing portions of the site, some essential guidelines will encourage clarity, accuracy, and consistency in protecting the companies’ online image.

Each department is responsible for content clarity, correctness, grammar, spelling, usage, accessibility, conformity with the Word Press Stylebook and conformity with naming conventions and branding, according to the Branding Standards Manual.

RONESoft reserves the right to revise or delete content that does not meet acceptable use guidelines, or the standards outlined in this policy.

1.3 – Corrective/Appeal Process

Web editing is the responsibility of the Client Care Manager who reviews requests submitted to the Client Care Portal before addressing them, and if there are questions about the request, those will be referred to this group.

Notification 

The Client Care Manager shall regularly review pages on company servers to ensure compliance with policies stated herein. If a page does not comply with guidelines as stated in this document or in other RONESoft policy documents, the manager or a designate will contact the responsible CMS user to request appropriate changes.

Corrective Action 

If the CMS user has not achieved compliance in the specified period, the Customer Care Manager will notify the direct supervisor and, if necessary, the responsible administrator (see below) and, with approval, take corrective action. Corrective action may include, but is not limited to, removal of links on pages in question and unpublishing of the site. The responsible administrator may take further action. Responsible administrators include:

  • Office of the President
  • Chief Operations Officer
  • Chief Technology Officer

 

In the event of multiple occurrences of non-compliance, the Customer Care Manager may remove that entity’s access to the content management system.

 

2.1 – Roles and Permissions

Policy

Only the Client Care Manager grants privileges in the RONESoft content management system (CMS). The department bases a user’s permissions and privileges on his or her role for a set of web pages. Following is a list of roles as they currently pertain to the Client Care Manager and CMS users RONESoft-wide.

Client Care Portal: This position reports to the Client Care Manager. It provides user support and training in the use of the CMS for RONESoft offices and support for branding of other RONESoft software systems.

Digital Communications Coordinator: This position reports to the director of Business Development. It provides support for web forms and RONESoft events.

Web Developer: This position is housed in Information Technology. It provides dedicated support to projects and initiatives devised by the Client Care Manager and Chief Technology Officer.

Contributor: This could be anyone within the company who has been trained in the content management system and have something to add or improve upon the internal or external webpages.  They edit web content but do not have publishing privileges in the CMS.

Site Owner: The head of a division or director of an area represented by a site or group of pages. The site owner may or may not be a CMS user but is ultimately responsible for the content of the site.

Standard

Every department in RONESoft shall designate a person as web page editor.  The Client Care Manager will not serve as editor for individual department web pages.

Procedure

The Client Care Manager will grant discretional HTML access on an as-needed basis.  If a user makes changes to a page that conflict with the approved template design, HTML access will be removed.  Training is required to receive access to the CMS.

2.2 -Types of Pages Allowed

Policy

Contents of all digital pages must comply with RONESoft policies and all local, provincial /state, and federal laws. This includes links or automatic refreshes to other pages or computers; therefore, a page is non-compliant if it contains links or automatically refreshes to another page in violation of the policy.

All personnel responsible for any portion of the RONESoft website should be familiar with RONESoft policies.

Standard

All pages shall:

  • Follow the Branding Standards included in the RONESoft’s Branding Standard. Use only images which accurately represent RONESoft. These should be images taken from Level Isites or images taken on the RONESoft sites or software.
  • Include date of last revision and contact information for the individual responsible for the content and maintenance of the page, including a name, physical location, and phone number or email.
  • Comply with all RONESoft policies and laws, including those governing copyright and accessibility.
  • Be reasonably attractive and quick to load.
  • Be accurate and timely in content. Sites must be updated – including checking link functionality – at least once each month.
  • Adhere to WC3 standardsand validators. (What is WC3?)
  • Contain display names and file names that are the same for optimal search engine performance.

All pages shall not:

  • Use derogatory or libelous materials or materials that infringe on the rights of others.
  • Use materials which violate policies or laws.
  • Use confidential materials including records protected by the Freedom of Information and Protection Act.
  • Use materials that are abusive, profane, threatening or sexually offensive.
  • Include advertisements for commercial products or enterprises outside of RONESoft’s business.
  • Use animations except where clearly linked to learning or intellectual content.
  • Misrepresent the content of RONESoft’s pages or misinform users about the origin or ownership of RONESoft’s web site.
  • Link to external web site graphics or tables.

Level I Official Pages

These are pages that represent the RONESoft as a whole and do not represent a particular unit, software. Most of the pages in www.ronesoft.com are Level I pages.

The Official RONESoft Home Page, www.ronesoft.com, supports the mission and purposes of the RONESoft by providing an online channel for distributing information about us to the world. The page contains a wide range of information of interest to the public and to members of the RONESoft community. The Client Care group designs and maintains this page, and all pages linked to it should serve as a means of advancing RONESoft’s Mission and Core Values.

Level II Official Pages

Subsites of the RONESoft website that represent individual software. Each business develops and maintains these pages, and each department is responsible for content, timeliness, and adherence to these policies.

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Level III Official Pages

Professional pages for individual employees with content related to the function of the department member’s official capacity at the RONESoft. Departments develop and maintain these pages individually with the support of the Client Care group and each employee is responsible for content, timeliness, and adherence to these policies.

Please note that advertisements for commercial products or enterprises are not appropriate if they are not sanctioned RONESoft products or services.

2.3 – Training and Education

Policy

Training in the content management system (CMS) is an essential step to create websites on the RONESoft.com domain that serve our objective. (See 1.1 Objective) The Client Care Manager will grant CMS access only to editors who have been formally trained.

Standard

The RONESoft Client Care Manager will provide training on how to use the CMS, how to write for the web and how to use best practices for search engine optimization strategies; it is the trainee’s responsibility to absorb the material, practice what they learn in these sessions and utilize the training and style documents that are provided.

Procedure

The training content will be managed by the Client Care Manager and tracked to verify those employees / contractors who have been trained.  The Client Care Manager will ensure that the tracking of this training and the updates required for this training are maintained in a database.

2.4 – Mobile Applications

Policy

Official and related RONESoft mobile apps are a component of RONESOFT’s digital environment; therefore, their creators must adhere to the entirety of our web governance policy, especially including those policies that relate to messaging, visual content, and accessibility.

Procedure

IT and the Client Care Manager work collaboratively on any mobile app projects.  Contact either department to request a meeting to discuss needs.

2.5 – Measurement

Policy

Through digital analytics, we will measure the performance of RONESoft’s web environment to continually improve the design and content of it for the benefit of visitors and, ultimately, to enhance customer demand for our products and services.

Standard

Utilization of Google’s digital marketing analytics (or equivalent):

  • analyze qualitative and quantitative data from our website and those of your competition,
  • drive a continual improvement of the online experience that our customers and potential customers have and
  • translate these into your desired outcomes (increased sales and Client Care) (online and offline).

Procedure

Google Analytics is embedded in the code for all RONESoft websites. The Customer Care Manager sends monthly reports to certain departments.  Other departments can request a monthly report to review data. The Client Care Manager will review data and offer suggestions and requirements for ongoing improvement.

2.6 – Content Management System

Policy

The Client Care Manager will hold and propagate to the site all content, as outlined in Section 2.3 Types of Pages Allowed, using the approved content management system (CMS) and its implemented version. No one may use any other software product within RONESoft’s approved CMS and its build architecture without approval from the Client Care Manager. Upon approval, you may link additional sites when appropriate. You must appropriately brand and maintain certain pages that must exist outside the CMS, and such pages must be approved by the Client Care Manager.

Only the Customer Care Group shall grant access to the CMS.

Standard

You must complete training to gain access.  Customer Care personnel may conduct training.

Procedure

To request access to the CMS, please select a request within the Client Care Portal.

2.7 – Accessibility

Policy

All new or revised web pages and other web resources — published, hosted, or otherwise provided by the RONESoft — must comply with the World Wide Web standards defined in the Federal Rehabilitation Act Section 508 Subpart B §1194.22, paragraphs (a) through (p), excluding paragraphs (b) and (k).

Standard

All contributors must familiarize themselves with World Wide Web Consortium Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. Each department must review their pages monthly to correct issues with broken links, misspellings, and accessibility issues.

Departments are responsible for accessibility problems that arise in their content and must use the Client Care group to correct problems on web pages.

Procedure

The Client Care portal will be used to track issue for improvement or suggestions on web page improvement and content.  This will be reviewed and prioritized within the Client Care group to address any of these issues and tracked to closure within their system.

W3C resources for more information.

 

3.1- Quality Control and Workflow

Policy

The website should be free of spelling errors and broken links and factual errors.

If mistakes occur frequently without evidence of improvement, Client Care will suspend editing privileges until the user is able to show proficiency in correcting them.

Standard

Monthly, web personnel must use the RONESoft’s chosen quality assurance process to correct any additional mistakes.

Procedure

Department Managers shall determine their own internal workflows. Only Client Care may make changes that will go live instantly on the site.

Use spell-check and the link checker on all text before submitting it for publishing.

The CMS user for each department is responsible for correcting spelling mistakes, broken links and/or factual errors.

Workflows may be approved by RONESoft’s Client Care or by departmental Managers with publishing privileges.  Where appropriate, Client Care may grant other user’s publishing privileges once that office has established that the user is correctly implementing edits.

3.2 – Written Content/Messaging/Branding

Policy

Readability

All RONESOFT websites should embrace a writing style that engages our readers in a fluid conversation. Visitors must be able to find content easily, answer their own questions and find all pertinent information as intuitively and quickly as possible.

Standards

Web visitors are task-oriented; they skim and scan, getting just enough information to get to their next destination. Tools like subheadings and bulleted and numbered lists help achieve these goals.

Each department must ensure content clarity, correctness, grammar, spelling, usage, accessibility, style, and conformity with RONESoft’s naming conventions and branding. Links to external sites must open in a new window.

See the US federal government’s website on using plain language on the web.  CMS users should work to minimize text because long paragraphs and complicated language are ineffective in web writing. Write minimal text and write it at the 8th grade reading level.

Manual and Style

It is critical that all parts of the site use the RONESoft’s official visual identifiers (logos) and the RONESoft naming conventions and style outlined in the RONESoft Branding Standards Manual.

3.3 – Visual Content

Policy

Photography that meets a high professional standard plays a critical role in creating a positive image of RONESoft. The photographic images used on our websites should inspire prospective clients, connect with the people and activities depicted and cause existing clients to feel pride in their connection to RONESoft.

Standard

What to Post

When posting photos on the site, CMS users should use primarily documentary–style photography that captures the authentic and vibrant interactions among client and Ronesoft. Our graphics should showcase RONESoft’s diversity by including a range of genders, ethnic backgrounds, races, ages, etc. Avoid using artificial-looking images (e.g. posed stock images). Do not use clip art or low-end graphics.

CMS users should follow the guidelines set forth in the Branding Standards Manual and keep photos under 300KB to allow for quicker page load times. Upload images on RONESoft’s intranet to the CMS and post them to the webservers. Do not link to external images.

Accessibility

Because we are on public domains, RONESoft, visitors should be able to access all areas of our site. When adding photos, include “Alt Text” so that they are discoverable by individuals using text browsers. The World Wide Web Consortium accessibility guidelines suggest that web writers imagine reading the picture/illustration aloud over the telephone. What would you say about the image to help listeners understand it? Shorter is better: a good rule of thumb is to keep it between 5 and 15 words. See the World Wide Web Consortium tutorial on accessible images.

Procedure

Departmental managers are responsible for all images on their pages.

3.4 – Web Forms

Policy

This policy refers to web-based forms managed by RONESoft.

  • All web forms that require personal information from a client must post a link to the RONESoft privacy policy.
  • You must use the RONESoft’s chosen software solution to create and manage all web forms. (WordPress, currently.)
  • Web forms may not be used to collect sensitive data such as:
    • Personally identifiable information that does not comply with FOIP
    • Credit card information — this should only be collected via approved RONESoft procedures for collecting such data.
    • Social Insurance / Security numbers, birthdates and other private information is not to be collected as these could be used in an inappropriate manner by a third party.

Standard

  • Use of web forms should never conflict with the primary business purpose for which the form has been provided.
  • Web form creators must consider RONESoft’s ethical responsibilities, business interests and applicable laws and regulations.
  • Excessive personal use of the system is not permitted; the system is intended and provided for RONESoft business purposes, including client delivery and educational value.
  • RONESoft may monitor or review web form software data and communications at any time.
  • All data in RONESoft’s computer and communications systems (including documents, other electronic files, and chat messages) are the property of RONESoft.
  • Software may not be used to create or transmit material that is derogatory, defamatory, obscene, or offensive. Such material includes, but is not limited to, slurs, epithets or anything that might be construed as harassment or disparagement based on race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or religious or political beliefs.
  • The software may not be used to solicit or proselytize others for commercial purposes, causes, outside organizations, chain messages or other non-job-related purposes.
  • The Client Care Manager builds and manages forms and grants certain users access based upon their level of competency.
  • Client Care will provide technical assistance and software training upon request.
  • You may use certain themes and departmental official logos upon approval.
  • You must create submission confirmation (thank you) pages in the CMS for each form.
  • If a department needs to require payment at any point on a web form, the department must use RONESoft’s Marketplace to collect data and reports. If a department does not intend to require payment at any point on the form, it should use Formstack.

Guideline

  • Avoid overly long forms.  Separate the form into pages if it contains many questions/items/fields.

Procedure

Client Care requests will include the following information:

  • Indicate which fields are required (user must provide an answer before form can be submitted).
  • Indicate the options for each field with pre–set choices.
  • Indicate whether the user may select more than one answer for questions that offer choices.
  • Identify any logic required (e.g. field appears or remains hidden based on user’s answer to a previous question).
  • List the email addresses to receive the form submission data.
  • Craft the confirmation message that will appear after the user submits the form.
  • Identify the URL of the page in the CMS of where the form is to appear. Log in to the CMS and locate the page, then copy/paste the URL into your document.

 

3.5 – Videos

Policy

High-quality videos help to tell the RONESoft story, and like other materials — brochures, handbooks, web pages, etc. — they must adhere to RONESoft brand standards and be consistent in style, tone, and message.

Guideline

For information on graphics, font use and creating suitable videos to be posted on the RONESoft site or via social media, refer to the Client Care Manager

Procedure

Do not post video directly on RONESoft application servers.  Use the intranet porthole to host and then embed or link to the video from the web page.

3.6 – Social Media, Blogs and New Technologies

Policy

See the Social Media Policy

Guideline

If you participate in or maintain a social media site on behalf of the RONESoft, clearly state your role and goals. Before you jump into a discussion thread or respond to a posting, think about the implications. Will your response stimulate positive discussion and provide new information or insight, or will it ignite conflict?

If you have any questions about whether it is appropriate to enter into a social media discussion or write about certain kinds of material in your role as a RONESoft employee, seek the guidance of the Client Care manager.

Uphold the RONESoft’s mission and values in your activities. Do not include political or personal comments. Nothing erodes credibility more quickly than factual inaccuracies and poor grammar, spelling, and attention to detail. Always double check your facts. Have someone else read your postings before going live.

Procedure

If you need help using social media, contact the Client Care Manager.

3.7 – Navigation

Policy

RONESoft will use consistent, meaningful, task-based navigation across its websites. Consistent navigation makes it easier for visitors to get to the information they need.

Standard

General Requirements

  • Limit the number of navigation items to no more than seven. Visitors only keep up to seven items in short-term memory and will generally ignore items beyond that number.
  • The main navigation does not have to include a link to every single page on the site. In fact, for a large site (50+ pages), it certainly should not. It is appropriate to have submenus on inside pages with links to deeper child pages or links within the text.
  • A “Contact Us” link must be last linkin the left navigation or the far-right link in the horizontal nav.
  • A “Home” link is optional and typically discouraged.
  • The first item in the navigation should be the most popular page on your site, excluding the homepage.

3.8 – Stale Content

Procedure: Refreshing Stale Content

It is imperative that you eliminate stale content from your web site for several reasons. First and foremost, the presence of fresh content enhances Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and, in turn, increases site traffic, or page views. Second, the procedures for eliminating stale content help refresh your memory about the entirety of the information you have out on the Internet. Third, web content is never perfect or complete, so working through this process helps you to catch and correct problems as basic as spelling and broken links or as complex as adding metadata for improved accessibility. Following is the procedure for locating and eliminating stale content