Records Retention and the Web

How does records retention policy affect intranet/internet web pages for public, private and government websites?

This is a topic that is very difficult to find any information on. The only institutions that seem to have approached this topic at all, or at least that have published it online, are a few governmental agencies. As for those businesses that conduct e-commerce transactions, you would think that there would be some regulatory rules in place; however, so far I have not been able to find any.

In general, the purpose of any website, whether it is static or dynamic, is to publish information or to facilitate the provision/sale of goods and services. Often, the website becomes the sole source of this documentation, but is forgotten about when it comes to retention, and even to backups!

Perhaps the assumption is that the website is not the final or only place that the information is stored. However, particularly in the case of small businesses, where their entire product line is sold via the internet, it is entirely plausible that the database that serves the e-commerce website, also handles the inventory, shipping, and accounts receivables information, and is in fact the only source of pricing information and transaction history that the company has.

When the website is posting copies of already created materials or company publications, then those publications are copies and do not need to be handled as originals. However, when the website becomes the original source of documentation, where information, descriptions, images, newsletters, forms, bulletins, etc., become created on the fly for the sole purpose of the website and to create content for the website, these then become originals and must be treated as such.

The Ohio Electronic Records Committee posted the following definitions for records versus publications:

“Records include any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, created or received by or coming under the jurisdiction of any public office of the state or its political subdivisions, which serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office.” (ORC 149.43)

“Publications include, but are not limited to, reports (annual, technical, research, statistical), directories, pamphlets, brochures, fact sheets, laws, rules, handbooks……files that are intended for public use and distribution by any department, division, bureau, board or commission of the state government, regardless of format. Publications exclude information that is for strictly internal administrative or operational purposes, having no public interest, educational or historic value.”

Even of more importance is when the website is dynamic, or e-commerce enabled. Once products or services are sold via the website utilizing a database or other contact method to conduct transactions, these dynamically created transactions become the record. The database itself combined with how the website looked and collected the information at that point in time, is now the original record and must be held for retention purposes as such. To continue on this track, keep in mind that if the site programming is changed affecting the fields in the database, then the old data has now been affected as well. Basically, the data will need to be able to be re-created in its original form in order to maintain a record electronically.

When maintaining an e-commerce or dynamic website, with each change to the application, a change control process should be followed, where the impacts of the change will be documented and understood. These changes then become a part of the record and also raise the flags from a retention standpoint. If the changes affect the data records, then a backup of all files and data should be performed, keeping the entire site intact as a “snapshot” of the site at that point in time to fulfill retention requirements. This is called versioning.

At any time when maintaining any web content, a good backup system is a good idea. When any page or file is updated or changed, the previous file should first be backed up and renamed with the date of change. This not only maintains a record of the file, but also serves as a backup in case of something going wrong with the change and allows for an instant roll-back.

Because websites are not considered a specific record series or category, they are not scheduled for retention based entirely on themselves. Just like any other media, their content needs to be defined and then retention and disposition of the files determined based on that evaluation. Of course, because of the technical complexity inherent in the web, this can get a little hairy. Needless to say, static sites are much easier to handle than dynamic and will be the easiest ones to get started with. However, keep in mind that it is most likely the dynamic applications that may hold the most important records in terms of retention.

Sites will need to be evaluated on more than just their record types; they will also need to be evaluated on the type of content they have - whether static or dynamic, the complexity of the site, the frequency of change, the risk and visibility of the site and of course the availability of resources.

You might be asking what the purpose is of keeping records of the static content of a website. The dynamic transactions are understandable, they are after all, actual financial transactions, but what is so important about the static pages?

Often, even on a full e-commerce enabled website, the entire site is static right up until you click on the “add to cart” button. Anywhere that you post a price, a policy, a guarantee, something that a customer can come back to you and say, “Hey…I saw this on your site last week!” This week you did an update, changed some pages, made some pricing updates or changed some policy, but overwrote the old files. You know the customer is exaggerating the price increase, but you don’t have an actual record of what the old policy was, or the old price was? In this case, it would be a nice thing to refer back to. Yes, you have the price in the old database…you did keep that right? Old receipts? But, what about the page the customer is referring to that he printed out? Did he modify it? Possible, yes.

So, by following the same retention rules that you would follow for these types of records in a non-electronic world, be sure that you also follow them in the new virtual world. Don’t forget about your servers and your websites. These are often very visible and referred to places that the public visit, but are also often highly neglected by companies and are left to stagnate or are easily overwritten or forgotten.

Merlee Bos
Merlee Designs™
Your website IS your first impression™ ...
http://www.merleedesigns.com

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