Maine has one of the best government websites in the country, this group claims

e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government on Thursday released its annual Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement awards, ranking the most user friendly government websites around the country.

While the state of Maine government site didn’t make it into the center’s coveted top 5 — Arkansas was awarded the honor of having the very best state government website — Maine did fall among six other finalists.

www.maine.gov

www.maine.gov

“These winners are recognized for responsive and mobile-first design, open government, open data, improved transparency and integration with social media,” said Todd Sander, executive director of the center, in a statement. “Congratulations to the awardees for their impressive work to make government more accessible and responsive to citizens.”

The center described common qualities of strong government websites this way:

“The best government websites tend to use simple, high-image, low-text designs; prioritize accessibility and mobility; prominently feature a search function; and start with a design philosophy that puts the user first.”

Finishing behind Arkansas among state government websites were Utah, Indiana, Mississippi and Texas. Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island were finalists alongside Maine.

Sacramento County, California, was named as having the best county government site, while the website for Independence, Missouri, was ranked the No. 1 municipal government site in the nation.