Free website governance policy template: Give the site an owner.

Who owns the site, who can change what, who approves it, how often pages are checked, and what happens in an emergency or when someone leaves. Written down, so it doesn’t depend on whoever happens to remember.

Roles, by title. Who approves which changes. A review schedule. An emergency and after-hours procedure. An access and departures checklist. Accessibility and analytics duties. And a date to review the policy itself. The planner drafts each one for your kind of organization.

A table of who does each kind of change (Responsible), who approves it (Accountable), who’s asked first (Consulted) and who’s told after (Informed). The policy’s “Who approves what” table is one, in plain words.

Time-sensitive content on its own schedule: seasonal programs before each registration opens, meeting notices every meeting, events the week before and after. Everything else every three to twelve months. The planner lets you choose.

Yes, and so is the policy. A park district gets seasonal program pages, facility closures and board notices. A municipality gets public notices, emergency alerts and records. A nonprofit gets donation pages, events and grant reporting. Libraries and schools get their own too.

No. It’s a planning aid. Open meetings, public notice, records and privacy laws vary by state, so the policy flags where they apply and leaves the requirements to you and your attorney.

No. They’re saved in this browser only, so you can come back to them. If you ask for an emailed copy, we use them to build that email and send it, and don’t save them anywhere else. “Start over” clears them.