Guidance

Checklist: Publishing a standard on GOV.UK

Published 30 September 2024

Standard managers should follow these conventions and tips when preparing and submitting their functional standard for online publication on GOV.UK:

1. Preparing for publication

• Ensure Conventions for standard naming, numbering, versioning, status has been followed for naming, numbering and versioning conventions.
• Functional standards carry the HMG brand and follow HMG brand guidelines and additional standard brand guidelines. Each function has a dedicated colour for highlights and headline text in their functional standard.

Note: standards brand guidelines on consistency, navigability and accessibility were developed for version 2.0 functional standards in summer 2021. For a copy of these brand guidelines, including each function’s dedicated function colour, please contact standards@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

• The approved version should be professionally type-set and made web accessible in line with the standard brand guidelines, using either in-house design expertise or a design company. Build sufficient time into planning for this process - it can take a number of weeks to iterate.

[Note: you can begin this process with design companies before final content is approved but do so at risk if substantial content changes are requested by the standard owner.]

2. Accessibility

• For each image in a standard, standard managers should provide short alternative descriptive text for their images so they can be interpreted by screen readers. This ALT text will be embedded in the standard as part of production. See the Publishing accessible documents guidance for more information.
• Get confirmation from your design/ typesetting company that the web-accessible PDF meets current accessibility requirements.
• Once approved and produced to meet brand guidelines, each functional standard should be published on GOV.UK. as a web accessible pdf, under the GOV.UK content type ‘standard’.

Note: Current GOV.UK navigability design restrictions mean HTML is not yet a suitable or user-friendly publication method for these standards. HTML navigability is being addressed by the GOV.UK team, so that future iterations of the standards can be published in both web-accessible PDF and HTML formats

3. Provide clarity for your OGV.UK publisher

• You should liaise with your local publishing teams who can provide you with a publication form to raise a ticket for publication on GOV.UK.

Note: for the functions based in Cabinet Office, this will be via cabinetoffice.publishing@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Allow up to five working days for this process.

• Use official titles for your standard on GOV.UK (e.g. Government Functional Standard GovS 002: Project Delivery), for the url of the document, and for the link to your standard on GOV.UK.
• The version and date used on GOV.UK should be exactly as on the document.
• Use exact wording from the ‘purpose’ of your functional standard for the online introduction to describe what the document is.

Note: refer to these documents as functional standards to distinguish from other types of standards.

• Reiterate with your publisher that your functional standard should be published using the new ‘standard’ content type (a standard is not a policy document or guidance) and linked to the functional standards collection page.

4. Grid slot/publicity

• It is up to functions on securing a grid slot for publication - discuss with your press team and grid organiser if you want a grid slot, but click N/A in the publishing form if a grid slot is not required. If you are re-publishing or updating previously published material, a grid slot is optional.
• For shared communication and messaging about the suite of functional standards, please always refer to the functional standards landing page and use section 6 of this handbook.

5. Dedicated landing page

• Make sure you have a dedicated functional landing page for your standard and its associated requirements and guidance (see Guide to governance and management frameworks for more information), including a function-specific contact email address for questions on your functional standard (e.g. govs.property@cabinetoffice.gov.uk).