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Publishing content about your service

Publishing if you're employed by the Scottish Government

mygov.scot 

Information on how to access all Scottish Government services for the people and businesses of Scotland must be published on mygov.scot. 

The team that runs mygov.scot can also advise you on how to build more of your service journey on mygov.scot and how to deliver other service components such as forms. 

Email contentupdates@gov.scot with your request. 

gov.scot 

gov.scot is the official Scottish Government website for: 

  • policy and strategy 

  • ministerial announcements and speeches 

  • consultations and publications 

  • corporate information about government directorates 

  • specialist or technical guidance that is not considered mainstream 

  • research, statistics and reporting 

If your content is about government policy or official communications, you must publish it on gov.scot. 

To publish, work with your communications or policy team. If you’re not sure who to contact, email website@gov.scot. 

Campaign sites 

Most service and policy content must be published on mygov.scot or gov.scot.

A campaign site must be planned with your marketing colleagues and approved by the Marketing and Brand team in the Directorate of Communications and Ministerial Support.

It should relate to a clear, time-limited, goal such as a marketing push, public engagement, or behaviour change.

It must link to service information on mygov.scot or other Scottish Government information on gov.scot It must not repeat information that belongs on those sites. 

When to use a campaign site 

Marketing and Brand may approve a campaign site if: 

  • you are running a marketing campaign across social media, print, radio or television channels and need to connect messaging and imagery to official content

  • you have an approved budget for marketing activity to support a key policy outcome in line with one of the Scottish Government’s current priorities

  • the content has a specific, measurable and time-limited purpose 

  • the needs cannot be met on mygov.scot or gov.scot 

  • it meets standards for branding, governance, accessibility and security 

Scottish Government teams can get advice on campaign sites from Digital Communications. Email website@gov.scot.

You cannot use a campaign site for: 

  • core service journeys, such as applying for a benefit 

  • service or policy content that belongs on mygov.scot or gov.scot 

Persistent content should always be published on mygov.scot or gov.scot and linked from your campaign site. 

Governance and responsibilities if Marketing approve your site

The Scottish Government publishing platform may be able to support a campaign site for you. These use the design system, follow the content standards and are designed and managed in collaboration with a content designer. Responsibility for hosting, accessibility, security and privacy compliance is included.  

If you use a digital agency and host elsewhere, your team is responsible for everything. Digital Agencies must use the Scottish Government’s design system. 

Before launch, you must: 

  • agree roles and responsibilities, including content sign-off and performance metrics 

  • plan the site’s lifecycle, including when and how it will close 

  • make sure you have the right approvals 

A content designer should be involved from the start to make sure the content meets standards. The team should agree how updates will be made and when the site will be closed down. 

Email contentupdates@gov.scot for advice. 

Corporate sites 

A corporate site hosts organisation-specific content about an organisation, how it works, and what it plans to change. It can also hold specialist or technical guidance and business reports. 

The corporate site for the Scottish Government is gov.scot. All directorates and divisions should use gov.scot for their non-service content. 

Only other official Scottish public sector bodies can have a standalone corporate website. If you are part of the sponsor or programme team for an existing or new public sector body, you can email contentupdates@gov.scot for advice on improving, migrating, or setting up a site. 

Any other site type 

You should not create or commission any new brand identities, logos, or visual representations to brand a programme of work for either internal or external audiences.  

Exemptions can be granted by the Heads of Marketing and Brand in the Directorate of Communications and Ministerial Support.  

You cannot get support from the Digital Directorate for unofficial brands. 

We want to avoid creating new standalone websites whenever possible. This helps reduce costs, maintain clear routes to official information, and avoids confusing users. 

The only exceptions are when a new website would be: 

  • part of a time-limited marketing campaign 

  • a partnership where outside organisations supply content, functionality or interactions that the publishing platform cannot support 

  • an inquiry, commission, or similar project which needs to demonstrate independence from the Scottish Government

Separate information sites are only approved when the Scottish Government platform cannot meet a proven need.

To get advice or request an exemption, email website@gov.scot. 

Some digital services require a domain or sub-domain so that part of the service can work through a browser. These should not be used to host content that belongs on mygov.scot or gov.scot. If you are unsure about service domains, email domains@gov.scot for advice. 

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