From fragmentation to overview: how to get a grip on your online landscape

Municipalities often manage dozens of websites at the same time, which leads to a lack of overview and creates risks in terms of management, security, and accessibility. In this blog, you will discover how to regain control of your online landscape in six steps.

We regularly speak to online teams that have their main website well organized. But in addition to that, there are often dozens of other websites: subsites for projects, departments, forms, or campaigns. These were started with the best of intentions, but they don't always receive the same attention. There is a lack of overview, and in the meantime, risks arise that you don't always see coming.

When we talk to webmasters and communications advisors, we often hear the same thing:

We want an overview, but we lack the time, capacity, or mandate.

In this blog, we share six steps that help bring structure to the online landscape, enabling you to make informed choices about management, security, and accessibility.

10 to 85 websites per municipality

Sometimes a municipality has 10. Sometimes as many as 80. And in between, you'll find everything: subsites for projects, departments, forms, campaigns, redirect pages, and websites that no one knows exactly where they came from.

In our research of more than 600 municipal subsites, we saw just how great that variation really is. The 1,800 domains Arjen Lubach once talked about? That number is now far behind us.

And precisely because there are so many of them, it becomes extra clear that there is a lack of central control; it is difficult to maintain a complete overview and there are few clear agreements with suppliers. This creates an online landscape that is increasingly difficult to manage, with loose ends, outdated technology, and unclear responsibilities.

What you discover when you map the landscape

Websites without a clear owner
Certificates that have expired and software that has not been updated for years
Privacy statements that are missing
Interfaces that are not accessible to people with disabilities
Suppliers who say it is safe and accessible, but do not demonstrate this anywhere

The National Web Policy Action Plan of July 2025 calls on municipalities to clean up their online landscape. That is a logical call. But cleaning up is only possible if you know what you have online.

Why grip is often lacking

Online teams want more control. However, they often lack the time, capacity, or mandate to do so. After all, you are already busy enough with the main website, content management, coordination with departments, communication campaigns, monitoring, incidents, and projects that pop up in between.

On top of that, responsibility is often fragmented. The information security officer focuses on security, the privacy officer on the GDPR, communications on content, and the webmaster on management. Even the archivist plays a role.

Everyone looks at their own piece, but it is difficult to see the whole picture and bring these parts together.

6 steps to gaining control of your online landscape

First of all: you don't have to solve everything at once. Start by getting an overview. Having an overview will help you see what really matters, making it easier to follow up on things.

1. Map all domains and subdomains

Consider redirect pages, project websites, and inactive sites. Also, visit departments to find out which pages they manage and which ones you don't yet have an overview of.

2. Visualize management

Which team is responsible for the site? Who has final responsibility? Are external parties involved, or does your organization have full decision-making authority? Does the site have a specific function, such as parking or budgets?

Websites without complex or unique features are usually easier to make completely secure, accessible, and user-friendly. This is often a good starting point.

3. Categorize the raison d'être

Use four categories

A. Legally required
B. Not legally required, but necessary for the primary objectives of the municipality
C. Nice to have
D. Phasing out. In consultation with the owner (if they are still around), you realize that the website does not fall under any of the other categories. That clears things up nicely.

Why is this important? It allows you to tailor your policy and management to each category. For example, A websites receive more resources, or you monitor A websites every quarter and B websites every six months.

4. Test the technology for accessibility, safety, and user-friendliness.

How does the technology score in terms of accessibility? How many user errors does the website have? How high does your website score in terms of security? There are various tools that give you a quick and easy initial insight into the quality of the technology. These include:

Accessible technology: Inspect Lighthouse (by right-clicking)
User-friendliness: https://validator.w3.org (enter the website and click on "Message filtering" for the number of errors)
Basic security: https://internet.nl

Why do this first? When it comes to themes, you are dependent on your supplier. You can work as hard as you like on accessible content, but if the technical basis is not right, a website will remain unsafe or inaccessible. So let the technology guide your assessment, and engage in dialogue if there are any issues.

5. Check the basic conditions regarding content

Once the technology is in place, look at the areas that your organization can directly influence: accessible content, an up-to-date accessibility audit, a proper statement, good privacy texts, and, where necessary, a cookie notification.

6. Analyze and prioritize

If you have completed the previous steps, you are already well on your way! Next comes the analysis: what stands out to you, what needs to be adjusted immediately, and what can be done later? This allows you to make informed choices.

Fully managed process

Are you unable to figure it out yourself or would you like to discuss the approach? Please contact Sharina van Putten. She will be happy to help you get started and, if desired, conduct the entire investigation for you.

Don't have the time or resources to handle everything yourself? We can take care of the entire process for you:

Overview of your online landscape
Analysis of technology, management, and content
Report with concrete priorities and next steps
Presentation of findings to the MT

This will not only give you clear insight, but also support and a mandate for your online team.

The investment for this complete process is €1,500 (excluding VAT). This amount has been deliberately kept low, because we are not doing this to make money. In fact, it does not even cover our time. We are doing it because we believe things can be better. For residents and municipalities. We believe in collaboration with impact.

Want to discuss your online landscape?

Sharina is happy to help you. Whether we tackle it together or you're just looking for direction, you're welcome.

Discuss your online landscape

Read how we helped Beverwijk map out their online landscape.

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