The Napa Valley Register’s Web site, napavalleyregister.com, this week was named the best local news Web site for a paper its size by the Suburban Newspapers of America.

Napavalleyregister.com placed first overall in SNA’s annual Community Web Site Contest for newspapers with a circulation of 40,000 or less.

The judges emphasized the site’s focus on local news as one of its major strengths.

“The site is updated frequently with local video, community calendar events and more. The site is clean and easily navigated. The site covers news from the entire Napa Valley as well as the city of Napa. Interactive features enhance the users experience on the site,” noted the judges in their comments.

SNA is the only non-profit, professional trade association specifically serving the suburban and community newspaper industry. SNA’s membership is comprised of nearly 2,400 newspapers with a combined circulation of more than 22 million in the U.S. and Canada.

“To be recognized in this way puts us in fine company among the best in the industry,” said Register Publisher Brenda Speth.

The Web site went through a full redesign earlier this year, with the new look launch on March 1. A team of a dozen Register employees worked on the content and design elements of the redesigned site. Napavalleyregister.com now averages more than 1.5 million page views per month, offering readers a wide array of items on issues in the Napa Valley.

The Register’s quarterly magazine, Inside Napa Valley, also rolled out a new Web site, insidenapavalley.com, on March 1, focusing on the dining, wine, lodging and community happenings in the Napa Valley.

Napa Valley Publishing’s three weekly newspaper Web sites, sthelenastar.com, weeklycalistogan.com and americancanyoneagle.com, are scheduled for redesigns later in 2008.