Web addresses are often chosen as a page is created. Department names, years and temporary campaign terms then quietly enter the URL structure. The next reorganisation makes those addresses illogical. Choose a few simple rules based on lasting content and visitor tasks. A good structure need not reflect every internal division.
Name the subject that will remain recognisable
An address should help explain the information behind it. Prefer a recognisable subject or service term. An internal project code may help staff but tells new visitors little. A department name may also be too temporary if responsibilities shift regularly.
In a fictional example, a maintenance service moves from the “Techniek Noord” department to a national team. An address based on the service remains meaningful. One containing the old department requires a change or explanation unrelated to the visitor's task. This does not mean place names are never useful; they belong in the content when location genuinely distinguishes it.
Separate navigation from the web address
A page can be reached from several menus or overviews without needing different addresses. Moving a link to another section need not automatically change its URL. Discuss with the builder how the chosen website setup supports this and which dependencies exist.
Agree the depth too. A long sequence of subfolders may precisely reflect today's organisational structure but complicate changes. A completely flat structure may instead create naming conflicts. Choose a level that distinguishes content without embedding every editorial category in the address.
For developing websites this is a content decision with technical consequences. Do not record the rules only in a development note. Editors must be able to determine the right address for a new page.
Record exceptions and changes
A practical agreement covers naming, spelling, use of years and an owner for changes. Years make sense for genuinely time-specific publications, less so for service pages that stay current annually. Campaigns can receive short, recognisable addresses with an advance decision about their destination afterwards.
- Check whether the subject already has an established main location.
- Choose words understandable in the visible content too.
- Avoid changing an address merely because a menu is reorganised.
- For a necessary change, record the old route and its successor.
- Update links within your website and relevant documents.
The guidelines for site moves with URL changes provide technical considerations for these transitions. The editorial decision remains which page actually answers the previous question.
Use a register as a memory aid
Retain an overview of important addresses, their content owners and previous changes. This need not be a large system. It mainly prevents an old campaign address being reused later for an unrelated subject without considering existing links.
Discuss uncertain cases with the people managing content and technology, for example in a website working session. Assess a proposed address for clarity and durability. The aim is not an eternally unchanging structure, but a website where content can grow and the organisation change without repeatedly reinventing every public route.