Local company wins prestigious design award for Ring of Gullion Website

Local company, Wibble Web Design & Development has won a DANI award – Northern Ireland’s premier digital industry awards for its work on the revamp of the Ring of Gullion’s website. The website revamp was part of The Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership scheme funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). HLF’s Landscape Partnership grant programme is to conserve and enhance some of the UK’s most treasured landscapes. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council are managing the £1.4 million scheme. The scheme aims to engage people with the Ring of Gullion Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and surrounding landscape.

At the DANI Awards Black Tie dinner the website won highly commended in the ‘Not for profit’ category and went through a stringent shortlisting process to be chosen.

Paudie Fearon, owner of Wibble Web Design was delighted with the nomination. “For a new, local business to, firstly, win the tender for the project and then to be nominated for such a prominent award is amazing. We were up against some tough competition but are extremely pleased that the hard work put into the project has been recognised with the award”

Chairperson Councillor Naomi Bailie said, “The new Ring of Gullion website was launched earlier this year and it has been a resounding success. It’s absolutely great for the district to have such an asset, and to have a great website to raise awareness. This site, and the work carried out by the Ring of Gullion team ensure the area is protected and growth is sustainable.”

Visitors to the site have sky rocketed; currently the site is experiencing over 25,000 sessions a month, up from around 500! Early numbers suggest visitors to the area are up, attendance at events is up, and feedback from local business, community groups and other stakeholders is extremely positive.

Angelina Fusco, Member of the HLF NI Committee added their support “The Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership scheme has been doing some amazing work to protect the AONB, re-engage local communities, stimulate the local economy and draw new people into this stunning landscape. The website is a crucial window to the world to showcase all they are achieving. Getting a website right can be tricky so we are delighted their revamped website is such a success. We congratulate the team and Wibble on their DANI award.”

Des Murphy, Chairperson of the Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership Scheme said, “Wibble were a pleasure to work with.  All targets set out in the terms of reference have been met and many new features of the project have proven to be a success, the site hosts interactive maps, downloadable audio trails, beautiful photo galleries.”

Darren Rice, Manager of the Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership Scheme said, “We are delighted with the new website, the traffic it receives and the feedback we have received so far. However, we aren’t going to sit back just yet; we have a few new pages to develop including our online shop for a local arts collective, a Micheal J. Murphy page and a few surprises too.”