Who owns the website?
For many organisations, the answer to the question ‘Who owns the website?’ seems straightforward.
Traditionally, websites have sat within marketing communications teams. After all, websites were originally designed to publish information, share news, communicate organisational priorities and support brand awareness.
But the role of websites has changed dramatically over the past decade.
Today, government and enterprise websites are no longer simply communication channels. They’re service delivery platforms, customer experience hubs and, increasingly, the primary interface between an organisation and the people it serves.
As the role of the website evolves, so too should the conversation about ownership and governance.
The evolution of the website
Stage 1: The website as a publishing platform
Historically, websites functioned much like a digital brochure.
Success was often measured by:
- Publishing content quickly
- Maintaining brand consistency
- Promoting campaigns and initiatives
- Supporting media and stakeholder engagement
In this environment, marketing communications teams were naturally positioned to lead website governance.
The website's primary purpose was to communicate.
Stage 2: The website as a customer experience platform
As digital expectations increased, websites began supporting more complex user journeys.
Users no longer arrived simply to read information. They came to:
- Research options
- Compare services
- Access resources
- Find answers quickly
- Engage with organisations digitally
This shift introduced new disciplines into the equation:
- User experience (UX)
- Information architecture
- Accessibility
- Search optimisation
- Analytics
- Content design
The website was no longer just publishing information. It was shaping customer experiences.
Stage 3: The website as a service delivery platform
Today, many institutional websites are the front door to public services.
People use websites to:
- Access services
- Understand obligations
- Make applications
- Find critical information
- Complete transactions
- Resolve problems independently
In many cases, the website is now the primary service channel.
Success is no longer measured solely by page views or campaign engagement. It’s measured by outcomes such as:
- Task completion rates
- Reduced support calls
- Service uptake
- Accessibility compliance
- Search success
- User satisfaction
- Trust
At this stage, the website has become a service delivery platform rather than a communications channel.
What the Australian Digital Service Standard tells us
Australia's Digital Service provides an important lens for considering website ownership.
The Standard asks organisations to:
- Have a clear - Governance arrangements should align with the website's primary purpose, ensuring ownership supports the delivery of user and organisational outcomes rather than simply content publication.
- Know your -Effective website ownership should prioritise user needs and behaviours, ensuring decisions are informed by research, analytics and evidence rather than internal organisational structures.
- Leave no one - Governance should establish accountability for accessibility, inclusive design and content standards so that all users can access services regardless of their circumstances or abilities.
- Connect - As websites become service delivery channels, ownership models should facilitate collaboration across business, digital, technology and service teams to provide seamless user experiences.
- Build trust in - Clear accountability for user experience, content accuracy, accessibility and service performance helps build confidence and trust in the digital service.
- Do no - Governance decisions should minimise the risk of users receiving incorrect, inaccessible or difficult-to-find information that may negatively impact their ability to access services.
- Innovate with - Ownership models should enable continuous improvement and adoption of new capabilities, such as AI and automation, where they demonstrably improve user outcomes.
- Monitor your - Effective governance requires clear responsibility for monitoring performance, user satisfaction, search effectiveness and service outcomes to drive ongoing improvement.
- Keep it - Shared accountability between content owners, service owners and digital teams helps ensure information remains accurate, current and aligned to evolving user needs.
These principles are fundamentally service-oriented.
They focus on outcomes for users rather than outputs from the organisation.
This does not diminish the role of marketing communications teams. Strong content governance, editorial standards, plain language and brand consistency remain essential.
However, delivering against the Digital Service increasingly requires collaboration between:
- Communications
- Digital and technology teams
- Service delivery teams
- Policy and program areas
- User research and design specialists
- Data and analytics teams
No single team can effectively deliver these outcomes alone.
The risk of viewing a website as ‘just communications’
When a website is governed solely as a communications channel, organisations can unintentionally create challenges such as:
- Navigation structures that reflect organisational silos rather than user needs
- Success measures focused on publication activity rather than service outcomes
- Content bottlenecks that slow updates and reduce accuracy
- Limited investment in accessibility, search and user experience improvements
- Disconnects between digital channels and operational service delivery
These are rarely the result of poor intentions.
Rather, they reflect a governance model designed for a different era of the web.
A more mature governance model
The most mature organisations recognise that websites serve multiple purposes simultaneously.
A practical governance model often separates responsibilities across three domains:
- Communications
- Digital or product teams
- Business and service owners
Communications
Responsible for:
- Brand and reputation
- Editorial standards
- Plain language guidance
- Campaigns and stakeholder communications
Digital or product teams
Responsible for:
- User experience
- Information architecture
- Accessibility
- Search and findability
- Analytics and optimisation
- Platform roadmap and investment
Business and service owners
Responsible for:
- Service delivery outcomes
- Content accuracy
- Policy interpretation
- Subject-matter expertise
- Operational requirements
- Content governance frameworks
This approach recognises that websites are no longer owned by a single department.
Instead, websites are organisational assets that require shared accountability.
The real question: What role does the website play?
The question is not who should own the website.
The question is:
What role does the website play in delivering value to the people we serve?
If the website primarily exists to publish news and corporate information, communications ownership may be entirely appropriate.
If the website is a critical service delivery channel, governance should reflect the broader responsibilities required to deliver a high-quality digital service.
As organisations continue to invest in digital transformation, AI-powered experiences, self-service, and customer-centric design, the distinction between communication and service delivery will continue to blur.
The organisations that succeed will be those that recognise this shift and adapt their governance models accordingly.
In today's digital environment, a website is no longer simply a place where information is published…
It’s increasingly where services are delivered.