Electric Citizen

05/28/2026

Before you fix governance, reduce what you're managing.

A content audit shows what exists, what's working, and what shouldn't be there anymore. Less content means fewer decisions, fewer risks, and a clearer path forward.

Look for duplicate pages, content with no owner, internal info in public navigation, and accessibility gaps that could turn into real compliance issues.

Skip this step and everything after it gets harder.

05/27/2026

If your website relies too many PDFs, start by understanding what’s actually blocking your team from publishing content as web pages. Is it limited training? A clunky CMS? Not enough flexible layout options?

With a CMS like Drupal, it’s possible to build rich, structured pages with multi-column layouts, media, and callouts without needing to code. Tools like Layout Builder, Paragraphs, and Layout Paragraphs give editors flexibility that often gets defaulted to PDFs.

The difference is impact.

PDFs are static, harder to search, harder to update, and less accessible. Web pages are structured, flexible, and built for discovery. 🌐

Yes, building a proper page can take more time upfront than uploading a file. But it creates a better experience for users and a more sustainable system for your team. 🚀

Visit us online for more: https://electriccitizen.com

05/26/2026

Who owns your website content? This is where governance gets real.

Leadership wants control. Teams need flexibility. Without structure, you end up with too many cooks or last-minute decisions that bypass the system entirely.

The fix is clarity. A small core team owns the site. Subject matter experts contribute. Comms keeps everything consistent and approved.

When roles are defined, decisions get easier and content gets better.

Governance isn’t about control. It’s about alignment.

05/22/2026

Governance often breaks down after launch because **training** is treated as a one-time event instead of an ongoing process.

A strong start means training a small group of editors on both the tools and the standards, not just how the CMS works, but how content should be created and maintained. Keep guidance available inside the CMS so it’s easy to reference later.

For larger organizations, a train-the-trainer model helps spread knowledge across departments without centralizing everything.

But none of it lasts without real ownership. Someone needs dedicated responsibility for the website as part of their role, not an extra task.

05/20/2026

Content doesn’t fall apart overnight. It breaks down when there’s no clear process behind it.

Teams work in silos, standards drift, and pages pile up. What starts as good intent turns into outdated info, inconsistent experiences, and frustrated users.

Most organizations don’t lack effort. They lack structure. Without governance, the same issues keep coming back, even after a redesign.

Fix the foundation, not just the symptoms.

Get help: https://electriccitizen.com/

05/14/2026

Is your website buried under outdated pages, orphaned PDFs, and navigation built for internal teams instead of users?

Content sprawl is one of the biggest barriers to a better digital experience for government and higher ed websites.

Our free guide, Taming Content Sprawl, walks through practical steps to audit, organize, and govern your content for a more user-centered site.

Download the free guide to learn how to regain control of your content and build a website that actually serves your mission.

📥 Download the guide today: https://electriccitizen.com/resources/content-sprawl-guide-government-higher-ed-websites

Learn how to identify, audit, and eliminate content sprawl. A practical guide for state agencies and academic institutions planning website redesigns.

05/08/2026

If you think an automated scan will fix your usability issues, it’s time to zoom out. 🔍

Automated tools catch surface errors, but they miss the human experience. They cannot tell you if a keyboard-only user can navigate smoothly, if a screen reader makes sense of your content, or if your site truly reflects the spirit of accessibility. ♿️

Most accessibility gaps are systems problems, not plugin problems. If your content process is unclear, undocumented, or inconsistent, issues will keep resurfacing. Accessibility has to be built into how content is created, reviewed, and maintained, not patched on at the end. 🧭

05/06/2026

Meta descriptions and web page summaries are not the same—but they can work together. 📝

Meta descriptions live in your page’s HTML and aim to attract clicks from search results. Search engines may rewrite or ignore them, so they aren’t always reliable.

Web page summaries, on the other hand, are visible to the reader, and can help visitors quickly understand what the content is about. They guide users to decide if the page is relevant and how to navigate it.

Used together, meta descriptions bring users in, and page summaries help them move forward with confidence. ✅