Website accolades

Logo for the Good Communications Awards

Good Communications Awards 2008

This website won the 'Website Accessibility Award' at the 2008 Good Communications Awards held in London on 26 June 2008. The accolade is given to the local authority website that "has made outstanding progress in using technologies to extend the delivery of information and services to include traditionally hard-to-reach groups such as users who are disabled or who have particular access needs".

The Good Communication Awards aim to promote and encourage the public sector’s efforts towards effective communication with its citizens and its workforce.

Find out more about the Good Communications Awards.

Socitm Insight Better Connected 2008

This website was rated 'Excellent' by Socitm Insight's independent survey of 468 local authority sites - Better Connected 2008.

Our website is one of only five in the country receiving this accolade, the others being East Sussex CC, Gloucestershire CC, Kirklees Council, and Tameside MBC. Of the five, Salford's site was the only one to pass a wide range of accessibility tests.

The reviewer who surveyed the city council's website commented in the report that Salford's website was "... not only fun to use but very illuminating. Dispelled all my previous preconceptions about this area!"

Further information about Better Connected 2008 see the Socitm website.

Accessibility in focus winner - Charitable organisation Accessibility in Focus Awards 2007

This website was named Accessibility in Focus winner - Charitable Organisation

Accessibility In Focus is a joint venture between three students at Brunel University, West London and Reading Room - a leading web design agency based in the United Kingdom.

The purpose of the awards is to get people thinking that accessible design doesn’t have to be dull. They plan to achieve this by awarding websites that amongst other criteria look both beautiful and are accessible to their target audiences.

The citation for www.salford.gov.uk was:

"Selecting a winner for the Not-For-Profit category was a particularly hard job. There were a lot of very high-standard entries, all of which showed a good grasp of design alongside excellent accessibility. However, as a Mancunian myself I am proud to say that I really felt that the best of these was Salford City Council.

"The site utilised a fresh and clean design, with an immediately obvious, and clearly user-focused, navigation. On top of this, they have created a multitude of accessibility features, including the innovative Browse aloud system, to help blind users navigate the site.

"Design-wise, the sensible use of colour was impressive, and small touches, such as the changing background in the header, drew users into the site. The site is incredibly information-rich, but it seems sensibly structured and easy to find the required information."

Find out more about the Accessibilty in Focus Awards.

Good Communications Awards 2007

This website was named 'local authority website of the year' at the 2007 Good Communications Awards held in London on 30 May 2007. The accolade is given to the local authority website that "has made outstanding progress in delivering legible and accessible information and online services to its citizens".

The citation for www.salford.gov.uk was:

"An excellent all-rounder with clear, consistent navigation and proactive approach to both usability and accessibility.

"There is evidence of take-up with increases in the site statistics, online payments and exit surveys. Innovation is demonstrated with their use of multiple languages, cross-selling of services, interactive maps and searches, and all services are online with payment enabled.

"A strong 'duty of care' approach is demonstrated with accessibility efforts. There is evidence that they have carefully considered the user and designed the site well, armed with this knowledge; their use of cross-selling of relevant pages in strategic places is impressive; the site is clear, consistent and has all the relevant information available online.

"Cost effectiveness is demonstrated through the volume of services online and the high volume of payments that they receive online."

This page was last updated on 22 July 2008

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Salford City Council, Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, Salford M27 5AW

0161-794 4711