The Web Marketing Association is looking for the best education Websites in the world as part of their 20th annual international WebAward Competition for Web site development at www.webaward.org. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets benchmarks for 96 industries, including education, schools and university websites, based on the seven criteria of a successful web site. The deadline for education websites to enter to be judged is May 31, 2016.
“The education industry is very competitive when it comes to Web development and need to be because of the expectations of their young consumers,” said William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. “Education web sites tend target youth and their parents. Students today have grown up with the Internet and expect a lot to be impressed from an educational institution.”
Education Websites are judged on seven criteria including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use. Each WebAward entry in the Education category is judged against other education entries and then against an overall standard of excellence.
All education entrants benefit from receiving valuable feedback in terms of their specific criteria scores compared against the average scores for their industry. They also may receive specific comments from the WebAward’s professional judging panel on their Web site development efforts.
Winners of a WebAward in the education categories will also receive:
- Handsome statue or certificate of achievement
- Increased visibility for their company
- Marketing opportunity to promote the company website to the media
- Links to your site from the highly ranked WebAward site to help SEO
- A highlight for your resume.
- Admiration of peers, friends and co-workers
Each year, the Web Marketing Association names the Best of Industry for the various education categories based on the score they receive from the WebAward judges.
Recent winners of the Best Education Web Site include:
- 2015 – C&G Partners LLC for Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
- 2014 – Risdall Advertising Agency for Minneapolis School Finder
- 2013 – RED Interactive Agency for Walking with Dinosaurs
- 2012 – Jude Children’s Research Hospital for Cure4Kids for Kids
- 2011 – Florida Institute of Technology for Florida Tech Decision Dashboard
- 2010 – Risdall Marketing Group for Mounds View Public Schools
- 2009 – American University for American University Web Site
- 2008 – TribalDDB for START A CHAIN REACTION
- 2007 – Creative Channel Services, LLC for Virgin Mobile – Train on Your Terms
- 2006 – National Geographic for Discover Antarctica
- 2005 – Disney Online for Hot Shot Business
- 2004 – General Motors for GMability Education
- 2003 – Disney Online for Hot Shot Business
- 2002 – Freddie Mac for Your Route to Homeownership
Recent winners of the Best Schools Web Site include:
- 2015 – Blackboard Schoolwires Design Team for Barrington 220 Community Unit School District
- 2014 – Bradley Chee Web Design for Granite Bay High School Website
- 2013 – Brightlabs for Mentone Girls’ Grammar School
- 2012 – Bluetube Interactive for UGA Performing Arts Center
- 2011 – WhippleHill Communications for Glenelg Country School
- 2010 – Designkitchen for Wheaton College 150th Anniversary Web Site
- 2009 – WhippleHill Communications for Latin School of Chicago
- 2008 – WhippleHill Communications for Vail Mountain School
- 2007 – Tellus for Bethany School
- 2006 – WhippleHill Communications for St. George’s School
- 2005 – Tellus for West Clermont School District
- 2004 – eSiteful Corporation for Plano Independent School District
Recent winners of the Best University Web Site include:
- 2015 – Westwerk for FOCUS.BoiseState.edu
- 2014 – Systems Alliance, Inc. for Stevenson University
- 2013 – Behavior Design for The Cooper Union Website Redesign
- 2012 – University Marketing and Communications for 30 Days of EnTERPreneurship
- 2011 – Denison University & Fahlgren Mortine for TheDEN
- 2010 – Corey McPherson Nash for University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business
- 2009 – BrowserMedia for University of Maryland Women’s Basketball
- 2008 – Market United for Murdoch University Switching
- 2007 – The Art Institute of Pittsburgh for The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
- 2006 – Xavier University for The Road to Xavier
- 2005 – Geary Interactive for Sand Diego State University Timeline
2004 – School of Visual Arts for School of Visual Arts web site
2003 – 160over90 for Chestnut Hill College Admissions site
2002 – University of Houston for University of Houston – Division of University Advancement
The 2016 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: PR.com, EContent Magazine, VerticalResponse, ad:tech conferences, Webmaster Radio, and Website Magazine. The Web Marketing Association thanks these companies for their commitment to the entire online marketing community.
Educational Websites can be entered into consideration for the 2016 Best Educational Website and other related WebAwards at the WebAward Website.