Build a press page that stays current

A press page with a beautiful banner and an unanswered inbox is a poor reporting resource. Its core job is straightforward: give journalists reliable organisational information, relevant material and a working route for questions. Everything else should earn its place by helping that task.

Make the essentials available without a search

Provide a concise description of the organisation's activity, the correct name and a monitored media contact. If a dedicated media address does not exist, use a real contact route rather than inventing a department. Explain any limited availability honestly. Do not promise continuous response unless someone actually provides it.

Place current announcements in date order with descriptive titles. A headline should identify the development rather than saying only ‘Company news’. Each item needs its publication date and a clear relationship to any updated version. Where details have changed, link to the correction or current information instead of leaving an old announcement looking authoritative.

Keep downloads useful and understandable

A fact sheet, logo file or spokesperson photograph can save time when it is accurate and properly labelled. Explain what each file contains before the download. Include the necessary image identification, credit and usage information with the material. Do not describe all files as unrestricted simply because they are stored in a public folder.

Offer ordinary web text for essential information rather than forcing every visitor to open a large presentation. Check links from outside your organisation's signed-in environment. A shared-drive file that works for the communications team may still block a journalist or require an unexpected account.

Treat maintenance as editorial work

Review the page when roles, contact details, services or company descriptions change. Remove outdated material from the current section while preserving an appropriately labelled archive where it remains useful. A historic release should not be rewritten to make the past appear different; add context when later developments affect its interpretation.

A useful archive distinguishes a publication date from a later update date. If a release from two years ago remains available, preserve its original context and make any subsequent note recognisable as an addition. Readers should not have to infer whether a statement described the organisation then or describes it now. This is particularly important for names, roles and service availability.

Avoid putting essential media enquiries behind a form with no alternative or response expectation. If a form is used, test its delivery and error handling rather than relying on a visual success message. For a small organisation, a clearly presented, monitored email address may serve the task more honestly than an elaborate press portal with little operational support.

Test the page with a simple reporting task: find the current spokesperson, confirm a recent announcement date and obtain an image with its caption. Count the obstacles rather than the decorative features. If the task requires several menus or an unanswered form, simplify the route. A small maintained resource is more useful than an extensive press centre whose most important information is stale.