I think one problem is (still) the newness of the web. Businesses and community organisations know to employ someone in an ongoing role to handle finances, for example. That person usually knows about how to handle the financial data.

Often though, the web ‘designer’ or ‘developer’ is a one-off kind of position: make the website and we’re done.

Just as an organisation needs someone to look after the finances, so they need someone to look after their Internet activities — not just to add new pages to the website or fix email problems, but to keep everything ‘on track’.

Hmmm, I sense another article coming on…

I always stress to my clients that this information is every bit as important as their company incorporation documents or financial data. “I don’t understand this web stuff” is an unacceptable and ultimately very expensive excuse.