Keeping a group website up to date without a volunteer who "does the computers"

Almost every committee has one: the person who "does the computers". They built the website, they know the password, and they update it when they remember. Then they move away, or get busy, and the site quietly goes out of date.

This is the most common way community websites fail. It is rarely the design. It is that nobody has a routine.

Why sites go stale

• One person holds everything. The logins, the know-how and the habit live in a single head.
• Updates are irregular. Changes only happen when someone is reminded, so they pile up or get missed.
• Nobody owns it. Everyone assumes someone else will change the date.

A simple routine that works

You do not need a complicated system. You need a rhythm. The routine I use with the groups I work with is a weekly round:

1. Through the week, someone on the committee jots down anything that needs changing: new dates, news, photos, a changed opening time.
2. By the end of Tuesday, they send it all in one message.
3. I make the changes and publish them between Wednesday and Friday.
4. Anything that arrives after Tuesday waits for the next round.

Batching changes like this is the whole trick. It turns "we should update the site" into a five-minute job every week, with a clear deadline.

Make it a committee habit

• Name a person, and a back-up, who sends the weekly batch.
• Keep a running note on a phone or in a shared document where anyone can add a change.
• Add it to the agenda. Two minutes at each meeting on "anything for the website?" catches a lot.
• Remove old things. Deleting past events matters as much as adding new ones.

What good weekly changes look like

• The next few events, with dates, times and places
• A line or two of news
• New photos, with permission
• Changes to prices, contact details or opening times

Handing over gracefully

When a volunteer leaves, the routine stays. The new person only needs to know who to send the weekly batch to. There is no login to hand over and no system to learn. You can see how the round works on how it works, or take a look at what groups get.