Reference Guide

Websites often become difficult to manage or change over time. When that happens, the reasons aren’t always obvious and are frequently described as sudden or isolated problems. In practice, these situations usually reflect a combination of ownership structure, aging systems, accumulated decisions, and unclear expectations around maintenance.

This short set of documents was created to describe those patterns clearly and without prescribing solutions. Each document focuses on explaining why certain website problems tend to surface the way they do. The documents can be read individually. Together, they provide broader context for understanding how website challenges develop over time.

• Introduction (PDF)
• Who Owns Your Website & Why Turnover Creates Risk (PDF)
• When Websites Break for Small Organizations After 3-7 Years (PDF)
• Common Website Decisions That Reduce Future Options (PDF)
• Understanding Website Maintenance (Software vs Content) (PDF)
• Website Reference Guide (ZIP containing all of the above PDF files)

These materials are intended as reference information, not instructions.

They may be useful for internal discussion, shared understanding, or orientation when evaluating website-related challenges.