Welcome to our brand-new website. It looks a little different and has some exciting new features. This updated website will help us make it easier for people to find, understand and access our services.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our engagement sessions when this work started in 2024. The ideas you shared have shaped what the new site looks like and how people will use it:

You said… We did...
The website needed a better search function.

To help you find things faster, the new search function uses predictive text, offering potential page matches as you type in your search. It also uses a ‘weighted algorithm’ to find the best match for the word or phrase you’ve searched for.  

 

The site's homepage also includes an interactive map, where people can click on each region to see the services in their area. 
A button to easily access crisis help would be useful. An ‘I need urgent help now’ button now appears on every single page of the website. The button takes you to a page with information about who to contact in different situations. 
The old website’s design was ‘dull’ and needed to be more inviting and visually appealing design.  People have told us that the new website’s design feels ‘fresh’ and ‘full of personality’. It is more modern, with soft lines, blended colours, and inclusive images that represent our diverse community.  
Information was sometimes hard to read, with too much jargon. 

We are working to make sure that everything on our new website is written in Plain English, and in line with the average ‘reading age’ in the UK (9 to 11). We are taking a 'health literacy' approach across our website. We have redrafted non-service pages line with these standards first. Going forward, we will be working with all service teams, so that their webpages meet these standards too. (If you would like to talk to us about this, please contact communications@cntw.nhs.uk. )
We needed to share clearer and better information about how we support carers.  There is now a dedicated webpage, included in the navigation menu, about how we support carers. 
It needed to be easier to find out how to get involved with the Trust. ‘Get Involved’ is now a heading in the main navigation bar. This section includes information about volunteering, service user and carer involvement, research, and more. 
The website needed to be more accessible for people using assistive technology.

Since our old website was built in 2016, web standards and best practice have moved on a lot. Our new site meets the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This ensures that people who use assistive technology can navigate and use our website more easily. 

We are also moving away from uploading information to the website as PDF documents unless absolutely necessary. In most cases, we can display information on a webpage instead, making it more user-friendly and accessible to a wider range of people. 

New online referral forms 

We’ve also introduced new online referral forms, replacing the Word document forms previously available on our website.  

As part of our wider commitment to improving accessibility and user experience, the new forms are easier to access and complete across desktop computers, tablets and mobile phones.  

Service users, carers and professionals can now submit referrals directly through the website, with information sent securely to the relevant service as soon as the form is completed.  

This makes the referral process simpler, quicker and more convenient for everyone. 

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