gold mouse

Building and managing a successful congressional website can be difficult. Check back often for information, tips, and guidance on how to make the process easier.

Previous posts:

1. Our office is going for the gold! ...where do we start?

2. What Makes an Award Winning Web Site

3. 111th Congress Gold Mouse Project Training

4. Taking Transparency a Step Further

5. Turning Websites into Online Offices

6. Ask Us: How Do We Drive Constituents To Our Website

7. Coming soon: 112th Congress Gold Mouse evaluations

8. Winning a Gold Mouse Is Like Moving a Grand Piano

9. Use Web Stats, and Other Tips for Improving Your Website

10. Advanced Studies: Innovative Ways to Engage Citizens

11. Back to Basics: The Foundations of a Good Website

12. How to Win a Congressional Website Award: Solid Issue Information

13. The Quick Fix: Improve Your Website Easily

This is the first post in our series on "building a better website."

After the initial excitement of the Mouse Award announcement wears off, congressional offices (even the award winners!) have one question: How do we make our website better?

Website Grades Were Sent to Offices Today

This afternoon, we sent e-mails to Chiefs of Staff and Staff Directors notifying them of their office's website grade in the 111th Congress evaluations. Don't worry — these grades are confidential and are not provided to anyone but the office itself.

Naturally, we've been fielding numerous calls and e-mails from staff all over the Hill. Some are pleasantly surprised by their performance — others not so much.

But no matter where you fall on the grade spectrum, we have some good news for everyone:

1. There is plenty of time to improve your site before the 112th Congress evaluations.
2. Anyone, and we mean ANYONE, can win a Mouse Award by following the lead of the best sites.
3. And, for those offices wanting to know more than their overall score, you can purchase detailed Website Report Cards that provide grades for each of the major categories that sites were evaluated on.

We hope that you receive this information in the spirit it's given. Our mission is to help you communicate more effectively online. Just don't shoot the messenger.

Last Wednesday, we brought together Members and staff for the 111th Congress Gold Mouse Awards to celebrate online innovation on Capitol Hill. For the first time, we gave Platinum Mouse Awards to the #1 website in each category: House Members, Senate Members, committees, and leadership offices.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Steve Israel, three of our Platinum Mouse Award winners, took the stage to accept their awards and talk about the importance of using the Web to communicate with constituents.

Every time we release the results of our Web site evaluations, the first thing most people ask is: 'Who had the worst sites?'

After much eager anticipation and nervous worry from congressional offices, CMF — through its Partnership For A More Perfect Union — today announced the best Web sites on Capitol Hill.