April 11, 2007 — For Immediate Release
DOL received “Official Honoree” distinction for 11th Annual Webby Award
OLYMPIA — The Webby Awards, the leading international honor for the Web, has recognized the Washington State Department of Licensing’s (DOL) website as an Official Honoree, a distinction that recognizes work exhibiting remarkable achievement. The agency’s website is produced in-house by a team that built and manages the site.
Last fall, DOL redesigned its website to make it easy for customers and employees to use. The new site was designed from the ground up using real-world usability testing to ensure that it is easy to navigate and includes all of the information citizens really need. In addition to an entirely new design, much of the content on the site has been rewritten using Plain Talk concepts to make the information easy to understand. Staff continue to make improvements to the site based on user feedback and testing.
“A significant amount of ‘usability testing’ was done with actual customers to ensure that the site would work for them,” said DOL Communications Director Gigi Zenk. “Our Internet Team was instrumental in organizing and redesigning the agency’s new website.”
With more than 780,000 site visits per month, the DOL website is one of the most visited websites in state government.
“The Webby Awards honors the outstanding work that is setting the standards for the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “DOL’s Official Honoree selection is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.”
The 11th Annual Webby Awards received a record 8,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states. Out of more than 8,000 entries submitted, fewer than 15% received this honor and were deemed Official Honorees.
In addition to the Webby Award, DOL’s website won the 2007 Customer Service Excellence Award for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) agency category and won the 2006-2007 Puget Sound Society of Technical Communications Merit Award.
About DOL
From highway safety, vehicle and driver fraud, to the licensing and regulation of over 30 professions and businesses, public safety and consumer protection are the cornerstones of DOL’s responsibilities. In addition, staff ensure the fair and efficient collection of state revenue. The Department has approximately 1,200 employees working hard every day to serve customers at more than 60 License Services offices located throughout Washington.
