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

Municipalities often manage dozens of websites at once, resulting in a lack of overview and risks in management, security and accessibility. In this blog, you'll discover how to regain control of your online landscape in six steps.

Woman and man sitting behind a laptop

We regularly speak to online teams that have their main website in good order. But in addition, there are often dozens of other websites: subsites for projects, departments, forms or campaigns. These were once started with the best of intentions, but do not always get the same attention. The overview is lacking, and meanwhile risks arise that you don't always see coming.

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

We want oversight, but we lack time, capacity or mandate.

In this blog, we share six steps to help structure the online landscape so you can make targeted 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 all sorts of things: subsites for projects, departments, forms, campaigns, redirect pages and websites that no one can remember exactly where they came from.

In our study of over 600 municipal subsites, we saw 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, it becomes especially clear that central direction is lacking; 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 With loose ends, outdated technology and unclear responsibilities.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 had an update for years
  • Privacy statements that are missing
  • Interfaces that are not accessible to people with disabilities
  • Vendors who say it's secure and accessible but don't demonstrate that anywhere

The July 2025 National Web Policy Action Plan calls on municipalities to clean up their online landscape. That's a logical call. But cleaning up only succeeds when you know what all you have online.

Why grip is often lacking

Online teams desperately want more control. Yet they often lack the time, capacity or mandate. After all, you're busy enough with the main website, content management, coordination with departments, communication campaigns, monitoring, incidents and projects popping up in between.

On top of that, responsibility is often fragmented. The information security officer pays attention to security, the privacy officer to the AVG, communications to content, and the webmaster to management. Even the archivist plays a role.

Everyone is looking at their own piece, but it's hard to see the whole picture and make these parts come together.

In 6 steps to getting a grip on your online landscape

First of all: you don't have to solve it all at once. Start with an overview. It is precisely by having an overview that it becomes clear what really matters; this keeps the follow-up manageable.

1. Map all domains and subdomains.

Consider forwarding pages, project websites and inactive sites. Also stop by departments to find out what pages they manage that you don't yet have visibility into.

2. Bring management into focus

Under which team does the site fall? Who is ultimately responsible? Are external parties involved, or are you as an organization fully empowered to make decisions yourself? Does the site have a specific function such as parking or budgets?

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

3. Categorize livelihood

Use four categories

  • A. Legal requirement
  • B. Not required by law, but necessary for the primary objectives of the municipality
  • C. Nice to have
  • D. Phasing out. You realize in consultation with the owner (if there still is one) that the website does not fall under any of the other categories. That already cleans up nicely.

Why this is important? So you can tailor policies and management by category. Think about: A sites get more resources, or A sites you monitor quarterly and B sites every six months.

4. Test technology for accessibility, safety and usability

How does the technology score on accessibility? How many user errors does the website have? How high does your website score on basic security? There are several tools that can easily and quickly give you initial insight into the quality of the technology. Consider:

Why do this first? For themes, you depend on your vendor. You can work so hard on accessible content. But if the technical basis is not right, a website will remain unsafe or inaccessible. Therefore, let the technology be leading in your assessment, and engage in the conversation if it falters.

5. Check basic content requirements

If the technology is in order, look at the parts that you as an organization do have direct influence over: accessible content, a current accessibility survey, a proper statement, good privacy texts and, where necessary, a cookie notice.

6. Analyze and prioritize

If you have gone through the previous steps, you have come a long way! Then comes the analysis: what do you notice, what needs to be adjusted immediately and what can be done later? This is how you make choices that are well-founded.

Completely carefree

Not quite there yourself or want to spar about the approach? Then contact Sharina van Putten. She will be happy to help you on your way and, if desired, perform the entire investigation for you.

No time or resources to tackle everything yourself? We can take the entire process off your hands:

  • 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 not only gives you clear insight, but also support and mandate for your online team.

The investment for this complete course is €1,500 (excluding VAT). That amount is deliberately chosen low, because we are not doing this to earn from it. Indeed, it does not cover our time. We do it because we believe it can be done better. For residents and municipalities. We believe in collaboration with impact.

Just want to spar about your online landscape?

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

Sparring about your online landscape
 

Read how we helped Beverwijk map out their online landscape.

photo by Sharina van Putten

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