Maintenance

Why maintenance matters

A Studio Site isn't finished once it's published. Content goes out of date, links break, staff change roles, and small changes made without care can quietly break things elsewhere on the site. Search engines also rank sites lower when they detect broken links, duplicate content, or outdated pages. Regular, planned upkeep prevents most of this — and it's far less work than fixing a site that's been neglected for years.

Don't change page names or URLs without a plan

Renaming a page or moving it to a different parent in the Site Structure changes its web address. Anything already pointing to the old address — external links, bookmarks, printed materials, saved search engine listings — will break the moment the change goes live.

• Avoid renaming a live page's folder name unless it's genuinely necessary.
• If a rename or move is unavoidable, set up a redirect from the old address to the new one before you make the change, not after.
• The same rule applies to documents in the Media Library: replace a file in place rather than uploading it under a new name. See the Accessibility Guidelines for the full process.
• Keep a short log of any URL changes and their redirects, so the next person maintaining the site doesn't have to guess why an old link still shows up somewhere.

Review your site at least annually

Set a recurring reminder — at minimum once a year, more often for high-traffic or time-sensitive sites — to review the site for:

• Outdated information: old program dates, former staff, discontinued services or programs.
• Broken links, both internal (to other pages on your site) and external (to outside websites you don't control).
• Documents that are outdated, superseded by a newer version, or no longer accessible.
• Images that no longer reflect staff, facilities, or Mayo Clinic branding.
• Pages that no longer serve a purpose and could be archived, redirected, or removed.
• Pages that duplicate content found elsewhere on the site.

If your site gets meaningful traffic, a quick look at analytics before your review can help prioritize: pages with high traffic deserve the closest attention, and any pages returning errors (404s) need immediate fixing or a redirect.

Conducting a site audit at least once a year helps ensure your content stays accurate, relevant, accessible, and easy for users to navigate. Use this Site Audit Tip Sheet to guide you through the process.

Keep accessibility current

Accessibility isn't a one-time check at launch; it needs the same ongoing attention as any other content.

• Confirm alt text is still accurate if an image's context on the page has changed.
• Re-check any PDFs added since launch for accessibility tagging (headings, alt text, reading order).
• Confirm no unsupported embeds have been added since the last review.
• Spot-check that new pages built since the last review followed heading hierarchy and file-naming standards; it's common for these standards to slip once the person who built the original site moves on.

Making small updates efficiently

For quick text edits to a single already-published page, you don't always need to log in through the full T4 Site Structure. Studio Sites support Direct Edit: select the "C" in the copyright line at the very bottom of the live page's footer, and you'll be signed in directly to that page in edit mode, with editing tools available in the sidebar.

• Direct Edit is best for straightforward text changes to an existing live page.
• For anything structural — adding a new page, changing navigation, replacing a document, or editing layout — use the full Site Structure instead.

Removing or archiving a page

Don't just delete a page that's no longer needed — a rushed deletion is one of the most common ways a site develops broken links.

• Check whether anything else on the site links to the page before removing it.
• Set up a redirect or a placeholder page if the content has moved elsewhere, rather than leaving a dead link.
• Confirm the page no longer appears in the top navigation menu or any dropdown.
• If the page is being archived rather than deleted outright, note where it's archived to and why, in case someone needs to reference it later.

Assigning ownership

Maintenance tends to fall through the cracks when it isn't clearly someone's job. A few things that help:

• Name one person (or a small team) responsible for the annual review, even if multiple people contribute content day to day.
• Keep a simple changelog — even a shared spreadsheet — noting what was reviewed, what was fixed, and when. This gives the next review a clear starting point instead of starting from scratch.
• When staff change roles or leave, confirm whether they were the point of contact for any pages, and reassign that ownership.

Simple annual checklist

• Review every page for outdated content.
• Test links, both internal and external.
• Confirm metadata descriptions are still accurate and unique.
• Confirm images and alt text still match the page's content.
• Confirm documents are accurate, accessible, and free of duplicates.
• Confirm no unsupported embeds remain on any page.
• Archive or redirect anything no longer needed.
• Update the changelog with the review date and what was addressed.

Our Site Audit Tip Sheet has additional resources to help you.

T4 Direct Edit

Instructions

Note: Direct edit mode is more useful once the website is published.

For basic text edits on a single page, the easiest way to access and update that page is through direct edit mode. You can follow these steps to update pages on your page through direct edit mode (this only works for T4 users with access to update the page). 

1. Navigate to the bottom of the page on the live website and click the "C" on the copyright message at the very bottom of the page footer.
2. When you click, you will automatically be signed in to T4 in direct edit mode.
3. Once in direct edit mode, you will be on the same page, but will see editing tools and additional options along the left sidebar.
4. Each piece of content will be in boxes with options to move, save, edit, and delete the various pieces of content.
5. When choosing edit, the text editor box will appear and enable you to make all basic edits.
6. Then you can choose to save changes as a draft or save and publish.
   Note: It is recommended to save changes as a draft and then preview the page by clicking the "eye" icon on the left sidebar. If the updates are acceptable, then navigate back to the text editor to select save and publish to approve and publish the updates in direct edit mode.
7. To exit direct edit after making and approving updates, simply close the window.

Video tutorial

Additional resources

• Publishing Content

By following these steps and best practices, you’ll have a quick and efficient way to make simple content updates directly on your site.

Still have questions?

Submit a question to email-question@mayo.edu

Related Resources

Accessibility Guidelines
Publishing Content