CHELMSFORD City Council’s new website, was named as “best local authority website in the UK” at the ‘SOCITIM Better Connected’ Awards on June 28.

SOCITM Better Connected carry out independent reviews of all local authority websites from a customer’s point of view.

These reviews consist of two elements. The first is task-based, focusing on completing transactions from applying for a Council Tax single person discount to finding out about Temporary Event Notices.

The second is tests applied to the website as a whole, involving how the site performs on a mobile device, its general usability as well as accessibility.

The scores from these tests are then combined to give a star rating, which reflects how good the website is for the customers using it. Following the 2017 reviews, the Council’s website received the highest rating of four stars.

Chelmsford City Council launched its new website in February this year, making it easier for you to access online services at a time that suits you.

Most people now use smartphones and tablets to access the Internet, so the new website was designed to work well on these devices.

The Council also made its website much clearer and easier to understand, so residents should be able to find exactly what they’re looking for.

As well as being named as the Best Local Authority website out of the 416 local authority sites SOCITM Better Connected reviewed this year, the Council’s website was also recognised for its success in the review tasks.

Chelmsford City Council was named as Best for Council Tax, Best for Accessibility, as well as Best Shire District.

To view Chelmsford City Council’s website, visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk. To find out more about SOCITIM, visit www.socitm.net/