Ministry Website Content Guide
How a ministry presence on gov.mv is structured, what your team manages through the CMS, and what the platform takes care of for you — every page, section by section.
The platform operates gov.mv and safeguards the brand; ministries own and publish their content within it.
Principles
You publish directly
Routine content never waits for approval — announcements, service updates, publications and contact changes go live the moment your team publishes them. Published content is reviewed periodically against the guidelines, which catches drift early; the review supports your team and never sits between you and the publish button.
Everything is bilingual
Every piece of content goes out in both Dhivehi and English. The platform provides language switching and right-to-left support; producing the content in both languages is your team's part. Whatever you prepare from this guide, prepare it twice.
Your content is in your hands
Accuracy and freshness belong to the ministry. When a phone number changes or an announcement goes out of date, anyone on your team can correct it straight away, no sign-off needed. Quick, small corrections are what keep a page trustworthy.
The look comes with the platform
gov.mv branding and the Veli design system supply the fonts, layouts, components and navigation — identical for every ministry. That consistency is what lets a citizen trust every page on gov.mv equally. Your ministry decides what its pages say; the platform takes care of how they look.
Rebuilt, not copied over
Your current website is restructured into the citizen-centric model in this guide, and the gov.mv team runs that migration with you — studying your existing site, restructuring the content, and handing your team a working presence plus the training to run it. Support stays available after go-live.
Your old domain redirects to the new gov.mv address, so bookmarks, search results and printed URLs keep landing people in the right place. The platform runs the redirects and the public awareness campaigns. Portals your ministry runs that haven't migrated yet stay yours to operate, listed on your presence so citizens always find the full picture from one place.
Content to prepare — everything below, in both languages
- Hero headline and supporting line
- Vision and mission statements
- Mandate, service charter, org structure as documents
- Leadership — photos, names, titles, minister first
- Institutions under the ministry, with links
- Organisation history — a few short paragraphs
- Main areas of work — title + one-line description
- Every service — name, description, access today, guideline content
- Every external platform — icon, name, short description
- Contacts — hotline, phone, emails, address, each section's contact
- Back catalogue — news, publications, downloads, photos, videos
- A clear label for every file, in each language
Home
The home page moves from what the ministry works toward, to what's happening right now, to what a visitor can actually do. The sections appear in this order, and the order itself is fixed.
Hero Editable in CMS
A headline stating what the ministry works toward, readable at a glance, with a supporting line adding the longer view. The hero comes first because it rarely changes.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | 40–100 chars | One sentence. If it wraps past three lines, it's too long. |
| Supporting line | 80–160 chars | One sentence adding the longer view. |
Featured update Editable in CMS
One featured item, directly under the hero — the "right now" slot for a service launch, a ministerial announcement, a major event. It should change often; a featured item from three months ago tells a visitor nobody is home.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Photo | Landscape | A real photograph of the event or subject, at good resolution. |
| Title | 40–90 chars | Say what happened, in plain words. |
| Description | 120–250 chars | Two or three sentences. Enough to decide whether to click. |
| Link | — | Any gov.mv page or published item. |
| Category, date | Automatic | Come from the linked item. |
Explore what we do Editable in CMS
Category cards covering the ministry's main areas of work. Write each description in the words a citizen would search for — "Find licensing requirements, application forms and guidance documents" works because it names the things people actually come looking for.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Card title | Up to 30 chars | Two to four words naming the area of work. |
| Card description | 60–120 chars | One sentence naming what a visitor finds inside. |
| Card link | — | The page the card opens, including custom pages your team creates. |
Automatic sections
Four home sections fill themselves and need nothing set. Stories shaping our work pulls the latest newsroom items — it stays fresh as long as the newsroom does. Services previews the Services page. Latest photos and videos pulls from the gallery, and Publications shows the three most recent, each with title, description, category and date.
Other digital platforms Editable in CMS
Standalone applications and websites the ministry runs outside gov.mv, listed until each one migrates. Your ministry keeps operating them; gov.mv's job is to make sure citizens can find them from one place. A visitor should know what they're opening before the new tab loads.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Icon | Square | The platform's own icon or logo mark. |
| Name | Up to 30 chars | The platform's actual name. |
| Description | Up to 40 chars | Three to six words on what it does: “Book an appointment.” |
| Link | — | Opens in a new tab; a separate sign-in may apply until it migrates. |
Footer Details editableLayout fixed
Standard across gov.mv. The ministry maintains its own details; the layout comes with the platform.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Office address | Up to 160 chars | The full postal address, as it appears on official letters. |
| Useful link label | Up to 40 chars | The linked organisation's actual name. |
| Social channels | — | Only accounts the ministry actively runs. |
About
The About page answers one question in increasing depth: who is this ministry? It opens with a short paragraph on the mission and main responsibilities, followed by Vision and Mission cards, then links to the mandate, service charter and organisation structure, each uploaded as a document.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Intro paragraph | 300–500 chars | The ministry's mission and main responsibilities, in plain language. |
| Vision | 60–140 chars | One sentence. The long-term goal. |
| Mission | 100–220 chars | One or two sentences on how the ministry pursues the vision. |
| Mandate, charter, structure | Documents | Uploaded files, clearly labelled, in both languages where they exist. |
Leadership, institutions and history
Leadership appears with a photo, name and title for each person, minister first — often the first place a citizen puts faces to the ministry, so photos should be recent and consistent in style. Institutions under the ministry are listed with links, showing the full shape of what it oversees. The page closes with the organisation's history: a few short paragraphs, written to be read, under half a page.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership photo | Portrait | Recent, consistent in style across the whole leadership. |
| Name / title | Up to 60 chars each | As officially styled; the official designation. |
| Institution name | Up to 80 chars | The institution's official name, with its link. |
| History | Up to 1,500 chars | Three or four short paragraphs. Under half a page. |
Media
One page with four tabs: Newsroom, Publications, Downloads and Gallery. Every item a ministry publishes lands in one of these, tagged with a category so visitors can filter. The tabs and category lists come with the platform; everything inside them is yours to publish, directly, as often as there is something to say.
Newsroom
News items with an image, title, category and date. Titles should say what happened — a citizen scanning the list should get the news from titles alone. An item without a suitable image falls back to a standard press-release card, so a missing photo never blocks publishing.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Up to 100 chars | What happened, stated plainly. |
| Category | Fixed list | Updates, Press Releases or Announcements. Pick one. |
| Image | Optional | Landscape photo of the event; the fallback card covers items without one. |
| Body | No limit | The full article, in both languages. |
News article page
Every newsroom item opens as its own article page, in two variations: with a lead image, or text only. Both carry the same structure. There is no length limit on the body — write as much as the story needs, in short paragraphs, in both languages. The breadcrumb and share buttons come with the platform.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Lead image | Optional | Landscape, good resolution. One per article. |
| Image caption | Up to 160 chars | What the photo shows, and when. |
| Body | No limit | Short paragraphs. Both languages. |
| Breadcrumb, share | Automatic | Come with the platform. |
Publications
Reports and documents. The description should say what the document contains and, where it helps, how often it comes out — "released every Tuesday" tells a returning visitor exactly when to come back.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Up to 120 chars | The document's actual title. |
| Description | Up to 300 chars | What it contains and how often it comes out. |
| Category | Fixed list | Statistical Releases, Reports and Analyses, Occasional Publications or Circulars. |
| File + label | Upload | Every file gets a label saying what it is and its language: “Fiscal Strategy Report Dhivehi.” |
Downloads
Forms, manuals and other files a citizen takes away. Files are grouped — one entry can hold the Dhivehi and English versions of the same manual, with a group title and short description. Every file needs its own label saying what it is, with its language. A language name alone isn't enough: the label is the name a citizen finds the file by later.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Group title | Up to 80 chars | Literal. The name a citizen would look for. |
| Group description | Up to 160 chars | One line on who the files are for. |
| File label | Up to 80 chars | What the file is, plus its language: “Road Guideline English.” |
| Size, date | Automatic | Display on their own. |
Gallery
Photos and videos of the ministry's work — events, campaigns, visits. This is the ministry's visual record; caption items with what actually happened rather than a generic label.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Up to 100 chars | What actually happened, as a caption. |
| Type | Fixed list | Photo or video. |
| Category, date | Per item | Set per item so the gallery stays filterable. |
Services
The Services page lists everything the ministry offers, searchable and filterable. Services that run on gov.mv appear automatically through the CMS; services that run anywhere else — on an external platform or through form submission — are added by your team.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Up to 60 chars | Named after the thing a citizen does: “NGO Registration.” |
| Description | 120–280 chars | What it's for, and anything a citizen must know before starting. |
| Category | — | The life event or area the service belongs to. |
| Access type | Fixed list | On gov.mv, external platform, or form submission. |
The service detail page
Every service opens into its own detail page, and every service — whichever way it runs — gets a written guideline there. This is where a citizen decides whether the service applies to them and gets ready to use it; the quality of what your team writes here directly shapes how many people arrive prepared.
The access type your team picks sets the action panel a visitor sees. On gov.mv: apply right there, sign in with eFaas, track it under My Applications. On an external platform: the visitor is told plainly they'll continue on another official platform, where a separate sign-in may apply. By form submission: the panel shows the forms to download, the submission email, and the office address with directions.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Before you start | 3–5 items | What to have ready, one item per line. |
| Application time | Short | How long the application takes: “About 15 minutes.” |
| Fee | Short | The amount, or “No fee.” |
| Processing time | Short | How long a decision takes: “Up to 10 working days.” |
| Who can apply | Short | In a few words: “Authorised representatives.” |
| About this service | 200–500 chars | What the service does and what it gives the applicant. |
| Who can use this service | Bullets | One eligible group per line, up to 80 chars each. |
| Documents you will need | Bullets | One document per line. The actual documents, named plainly. |
| Forms | Upload | For form-submission services; each labelled with what it is and its language. |
| Submission email, address | — | The working inbox, and the office with directions. |
| Last updated | Automatic | Shows on its own whenever the guideline changes. |
Contact
The Contact page carries the head office details — hotline, phone, email and office address, with a map. A standard contact form lets a citizen write to the ministry directly; the ministry answers what comes through it. Below the form, Other Contacts lists the ministry's sections and their emails, so a citizen with a specific matter reaches the right desk first.
| Field | Limit | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Hotline, phone, email | — | The numbers and addresses that are actually answered. |
| Office address | Up to 160 chars | With the map pin set to the actual building. |
| Section name | Up to 60 chars | One entry per section under Other Contacts. |
| Section email | — | The section's working inbox. |
Custom pages
Ministries are not identical, and the model expects that. The answer to a unique requirement is almost never no — it is: here's how to do it consistently. The path starts with a conversation, not a build. Your team raises the need with the gov.mv team, and together you check whether an existing pattern already covers it (often one does), whether other ministries will eventually need the same thing (then it gets built once, into the platform, for everyone), and whether it fits the design system (almost everything does).
For genuinely ministry-specific needs, the CMS includes a page builder: custom pages composed from Veli components beyond the standard templates. For now the gov.mv team builds these with you; over time that work can shift to your team. Custom, in this model, means arranged for your need. It never means off-brand.
Content health
A ministry presence is judged by its freshest and its stalest item alike. The featured slot, the newsroom and the gallery should show recent activity; the contact list and service details should stay current. Small, regular updates matter more than occasional big ones, and the CMS is built to make them quick.
Published content is reviewed periodically against the guidelines, and drift gets flagged early — it keeps quality even across every ministry, and your team hears about problems before citizens do.
Who controls what
| Navigation bar, sign-in, notifications, app switcher | Platform |
| Branding, colours, fonts, layouts, section order (gov.mv brand + Veli) | Platform |
| Media tabs, category filters, search, contact form, breadcrumbs, share buttons | Platform |
| Hosting, uptime, security, redirects from the old domain | Platform |
| Hero, featured update, category cards, digital platforms, footer details | Ministry — CMS |
| About page: vision, mission, documents, leadership, institutions, history | Ministry — CMS |
| All Media items: news, articles, publications, downloads, gallery | Ministry — CMS |
| All non-gov.mv services, and every service's guideline content | Ministry — CMS |
| Custom pages, linked from the home page (built with the gov.mv team for now) | Ministry — CMS |
| Services running on gov.mv, listed on the Services page | Automatic |
| Home sections that preview newsroom, gallery, publications and services | Automatic |
| External platforms not yet migrated | Ministry operates |
Everything editable is published in both Dhivehi and English, directly, and its accuracy and freshness are in the ministry's hands.
The full wireframe
Every component from this guide, assembled. First the home page at full length, in its fixed section order — then the other four pages. The zone labels carry the ownership model: solid green is yours through the CMS, dashed teal fills itself, gray comes with the platform.