For large municipal websites, accessibility and usability are not just technical requirements they are essential services. When thousands of residents rely on your website for information, even small issues can quickly become major obstacles.
At the City of Hämeenlinna, Askem has become a critical tool for understanding user behavior, improving accessibility, and streamlining website development.
We spoke with Mari Ampuja-Valaja and Heidi Lampsijärvi about their experience.
A clear overall view of accessibility
“If we had to give up using Askem, monitoring the accessibility status of a large municipal website would be practically impossible,” says Mari Ampuja-Valaja, Communications Planner at the City of Hämeenlinna.
Before implementing Askem, maintaining a comprehensive overview of accessibility issues across a large municipal site was challenging. Now, the team has a clear, structured understanding of their website’s accessibility status at all times.
One concrete improvement has been the significant reduction in broken links.
“The number of broken links has decreased clearly. The reporting and the way the system supports daily work help us enormously in maintaining and improving the site.”
Understanding how residents actually search for information
For Heidi Lampsijärvi, Communication Specialist at the City of Hämeenlinna, one of the biggest benefits has been the insight into real user behavior.
“Askem has helped us understand how people actually search for information on our website. It has also helped us monitor the accessibility status of the site.”
Instead of making assumptions about what residents need, the team now has direct data and feedback that guide their development work.
Since adopting Askem, overall website satisfaction has improved noticeably.
“We’ve fixed links, made different types of information more visible, and saved a lot of time and money. Askem helps us understand what people are looking for and how we can provide that information in the right place.”
Turning feedback into concrete development
One of the most surprising discoveries was the volume of feedback coming through the platform.
“What surprised me the most was how much feedback we actually receive. People really do give feedback both positive and negative,” Heidi explains.
Much of the feedback highlights situations where users struggled to find specific information. Rather than seeing this as criticism, the team uses it as a roadmap for improvement.
“Often the feedback is negative and related to something users were searching for. But we’ve been able to develop our website significantly based on that.”
This continuous loop of insight → action → improvement has made website development more focused and impactful.
A recommendation for large organizations
Both Mari and Heidi emphasize that Askem is particularly valuable for large, complex websites.
“I would especially recommend Askem for large websites. It’s a very effective tool for that purpose,” Mari says.
They are realistic about the effort involved:
“Using it does require time and resources. But it also rewards you by providing very concrete and valuable insights for development.”
For the City of Hämeenlinna, Askem is no longer just a tool it is an essential part of ensuring that residents can access the information they need, when they need it.
