The Te Ara online New Zealand Encyclopedia will be reducing its staff from 17 to four later this year.
The Culture and Heritage Ministry says the website started in 2002 and work allocated for the first part of the site will be completed by October this year.
The ministry plans to create four positions later in the year that will involve maintaining all of its websites.
Spokesperson Janine Faulknor says the website, which received more than five million visits in 2013, will start a new phase.
Ms Faulknor says the ministry is committed to keeping the site maintained, which will involve revising and updating content, but won't be as big a job as the initial build.
All of Te Ara staff's contracts were fixed-term.