If You're Not Going to Maintain Your Municipality's Website, Don't Build One

I cannot tell you how many municipal websites I have visited that appear to have been abandoned years ago. The supervisor listed on the homepage retired two election cycles ago and board meeting agendas are from 2022. The "Upcoming Events" page advertises a festival that happened three summers ago. Contact information no longer works, and some of the links lead nowhere.

Unfortunately, the same thing often happens with social media. A town or village enthusiastically launches a Facebook page, posts regularly for a few months, and then it simply... stops. The last update is from eighteen months ago, and residents continue posting questions that never receive a response. Neither situation reflects well on the municipality.

Your Website Represents Your Government

For many residents, your website is their first interaction with local government. Before they ever walk into town hall or call the highway department, they visit your website looking for information. If what they find is outdated, incomplete, or obviously neglected, they naturally begin wondering what else isn't being maintained. Is this phone number still correct? Are these meeting dates accurate? Is this the current board? Who actually works here? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

If residents cannot trust the information on your website, they lose confidence in everything else they find there.

Outdated Information Creates Real Problems

An old website isn't just embarrassing. It can actively create confusion. Residents may call former officials who no longer serve the community. They may show up for meetings on the wrong dates. They may download outdated forms or rely on incorrect policies that have since changed. Every piece of outdated information generates unnecessary phone calls, frustrated residents, and additional work for municipal staff. Ironically, the very website that was supposed to reduce questions ends up creating more of them.

Social Media Requires an Ongoing Commitment

Creating a Facebook page is easy (and likely a huge mistake). Maintaining one is not. Many municipalities launch social media accounts with the best of intentions. They want to communicate with residents, announce road closures, advertise community events, or share emergency information. Those are all worthwhile goals. The problem begins when no one is actually responsible for maintaining the page. Weeks go by without updates. Residents ask questions in the comments that never receive answers. Eventually the page becomes another forgotten corner of the internet that quietly suggests nobody is paying attention.

That is not the message any municipality wants to send.

Think Carefully Before Allowing Comments

Personally, I think municipalities should think very carefully before enabling comments on social media posts. In theory, comments encourage public engagement. In reality, they often become a magnet for complaints, political arguments, misinformation, personal attacks, and criticism that has little to do with the original post. One resident's simple announcement about paving schedules can quickly devolve into arguments about taxes, politics, or entirely unrelated grievances.

If comments are enabled, someone needs to monitor them regularly. Questions deserve answers. Offensive or inappropriate content may need moderation. Misinformation may need correction before it spreads. If no one has the time to actively manage comments, disabling them may actually be the better option. An unmanaged comment section can make a municipality appear absent, even when employees are busy serving the community in countless other ways.

Assign Ownership

One of the biggest reasons municipal websites become outdated is simple. Nobody owns them. Everyone assumes someone else is updating the website. The clerk thinks the administrator is handling it. The administrator thinks the IT consultant is responsible. The IT consultant only updates the site when someone specifically asks. Meanwhile, months turn into years.

Every municipality should designate one person, or a small team, who is responsible for keeping online information current. That doesn't mean they have to create all of the content themselves, but they should make sure someone is reviewing the site regularly and updating it when necessary. Responsibility should never be vague.

Small Updates Make a Big Difference

Maintaining a website doesn't require a complete redesign every year. It usually means making small, consistent updates. Replace officials after elections, update meeting schedules, post new agendas and minutes, remove expired notices, and (pretty please) verify phone numbers and email addresses.

Review the homepage every few months with fresh eyes. These are relatively small tasks that prevent a website from looking abandoned.

An Accurate Website Builds Trust

Residents understand that municipalities have limited budgets and small staffs. They do not expect a flashy website with animated graphics and expensive features. They do expect the information to be accurate. An organized, current website tells residents that their local government pays attention to details. It demonstrates professionalism and respect for the public.

The same is true for social media. Regular, meaningful updates reassure residents that their municipality is engaged with the community and communicating openly.

Your Online Presence Is Part of Customer Service

Whether we like it or not, municipal websites and social media pages have become part of public service. Residents expect to find information online before they make a phone call. If you're going to establish that online presence, commit to maintaining it. If you don't have the staff or the time to keep a Facebook page active, it may be better not to have one at all. An abandoned page reflects poorly on the municipality and can create more frustration than it solves.

A clean, current website and an actively managed social media presence tell residents that their government is organized, attentive, and responsive. An outdated one tells them exactly the opposite. Your website may only take a few minutes to update each month, but those few minutes can significantly influence how your municipality is perceived by the people it serves.