There are thousands of outstanding websites on the Internet. Offering an awards program on your website is a great way to recognize, reward and encourage websites done with excellence on the net. Web designers will gain credibility from the Internet community when they are celebrated for excellence of design, creativity, effort and talent.
Introduction:
The best place to start is your first impression. When visiting websites on the net there are certain sites that immediately grab your attention. Figuring out what it is you like about them will help you in defining your mission statement and purpose for offering awards. If you are giving awards just to get a reciprocal link remember; others will see your awards displayed on websites. If these sites are mediocre and not much effort was put into the making of them eventually onlookers will realize your motives. Keeping your purpose crystal clear will let your award applicants know whether they have a good chance of winning your prestigious award or not.
Criteria-Guidelines:
Every judging process is unique. The giver makes up the rules and we all see the world through our own eyes, which makes our awards program unique. The criteria for your awards program are developed out of your creative ideas. Most websites that offer awards have a few guidelines that are considered main staples on the net, no pornography, broken links, missing graphics, under-construction or satanic sites etc.
Multi-level award systems use a rating system for their gold, silver and bronze awards. This type of system takes more effort on your part because the rating system is made up of earning points. The higher the points the better chance of reaching for the gold or highest award offered. Some examples of a point system; [0-4 pt.] for design, creativity, navigation, content and so on. This can be made into a list with as many categories as you feel is necessary to give your best effort in grading a website for your award.
Application:
Using an application form is the best way to process an applicant that is wishing to receive your award or nominating another site they feel meets your criteria. Some servers do not accept the format [CGI] for forms and an email can be sent to you instead with their information attached. A form is more lucrative for you because of the questions that can be asked. A great question to ask is. How did you find this website? And for a link back to the site nominated, and also a text box on the form for a brief description of the site for your Winners page. Too many questions can lead to disinterest so keep it brief and to the point.
X-tras:
There are so many creative ideas, here are few extras that you can think about for your awards program.
- Make sure your award is desirable and something a web designer will want to proudly display on their website.
- For award winners a nice touch is to offer the option of receiving a personalized award certificate suitable for framing in the mail. There can be a minimal fee added for cost and postage. This is something I am planning on adding to my awards program very soon.
- Inclusion to your alphabetical winners list upon accepting the award.
- Each applicant is a possible candidate for your featured website of the month, year or week.
Considering an awards program can be very rewarding to you and the people who win your award. This is something that relies on how much effort you put into the program. Let your creativity flow and have fun awarding others for theirs!
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