Removing content
Overview
This information is for content authors and website owners at NYC government organizations.
NYC government has a problem with digital clutter. As of this writing, there are over 500 city websites containing a total of around 2.5 million pages. All of this clutter makes important content hard to find. Users tell us they go to Reddit or other sources for official information because it’s too difficult to find it on nyc.gov.
In most situations, we recommend taking down website content that is irrelevant, inaccurate, or inappropriate. The result will be an easier and more trustworthy navigation experience.
Aren’t we required to keep old content online?
There’s no citywide policy that requires agencies to keep old or inaccurate content publicly accessible via their website. You can take content down and maintain a copy offline in an archive.
In rare cases, specific laws or court orders require agencies to keep certain information online. In all other cases it’s best to take down old content to improve the experience of using your website.
When should we remove content?
We recommend taking content down if it meets any of the following criteria:
- It’s been more than five years since the content was last updated
- The page was visited by fewer than 100 users in the last 365 days
- The content is redundant with content on other pages
- The content is incorrect, and a correct version can be found somewhere else
- The page isn’t functional (such as a form that no longer accepts responses)
- The content isn’t specifically about New York City, and a better source can be found on another site (such as general information about a disease)
- The content is outdated, such as:
- Information about an initiative that is no longer active
- Information about a service that is no longer available
- A policy that has been superseded by a new policy
- The content is prohibited by CISA’s requirements for .gov domains (it contains content used for commercial, political, illegal, or malicious purposes)