The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the call for entries for its 22nd annual international WebAward competition. The WebAwards are the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a successful Web site. It recognizes the individual and team achievements of Web professionals all over the world who create and maintain outstanding Web sites. The deadline for entry for the 2018 WebAwards is May 31, 2018. A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.webaward.org.
Websites are judged on seven criteria, including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use and receive a numeric score. Each WebAward entry is judged against other entries in its industry category and then against an overall standard of excellence. Entrants also benefit from receiving valuable feedback from the WebAwards professional judging panel on their Web site development efforts.
This year’s top awards will include:
A “Best of Industry” WebAward will be given in each of the 96 industry categories, including financial services, medical, small business, travel, advertising, transportation and government.
The competition’s highest honor, the 2018 WebAward “Best of Show,” will be given to the one site that the judges believe represents the pinnacle of outstanding achievement in Web development. Last year’s Best of Show winner was [D³] Digital Design + Development, Hilton for their outstanding work on Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills – At The Center of Extraordinary. The site was also recognized as Best Hotel and Lodging Website.
The Web Marketing Association will also recognize the interactive agency winning the most awards in the competition with the “Top Interactive Agency” WebAward. Scorpion was named Top Agency at the 2017 WebAward Competition, taking home 38 WebAwards in 2016. The Top Agency Award is given to recognize the consistently outstanding development going on at interactive firms.
The WebAward Top Agency award recognizes consistency of effort and is given to the interactive agency that wins the most WebAwards in a given year. All locations and offices of a specific agency will be consolidated for the purpose of determining the winner of this award. Each entrant will be awarded points based on the level of award for each award received. A Best of Show will be worth 10 points, Best of Industry 5 points and each Outstanding award 3 points and a Standard of Excellence 1 point. The agency with the most points will be awarded the Top Agency Award for 2018.
Each year, many agencies and some corporations win multiple awards and deserve additional recognition. This year, we will recognize each organization that wins 6 or more WebAwards with an Outstanding Interactive Developer trophy. In 2017, there were 14 agencies recognized with this prestigious award.
Interactive and advertising agencies that win a 2018 WebAward will automatically be included in the Award Winning Agency Database with a free premium listing.
Judging for the 2018 WebAwards will take place in June through August and winners will be announced in September. Judges will consist of a select group of Internet professionals who have direct experience designing and managing Web sites,–including members of the media, interactive creative directors, site designers, content providers and webmasters – with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Web site development and technology. Past judges have included top executives from leading organizations such as Universal McCann, SapientNitro, T Rowe Price, Bridge Worldwide, Disney, Euro RSCG, Boeing, Huge, ING Direct, VML, Facebook, J. Walter Thompson, Gartner, Possible Worldwide, YUM!, Cuker Interactive, PayPal, Razorfish, Munich Re, Refinery, Ernst & Young, Magellan Health Service, Microsoft, R/GA, Family Cookbook Project, Saatchi & Saatchi, SAP, Starwood Hotel, and Website Magazine.
Check out our Web Marketing Association Facebook Page and be sure to like us as we will be providing hints and tips on how to improve your chances on winning a top award though out the award program entry period.
The 2018 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: EContent Magazine, iContact, PR.com, Webmaster Radio, and Website Magazine. The Web Marketing Association thanks these companies for their commitment to the entire online marketing community.
To enter the 22nd annual WebAward Competition for Website Development, please visit our website and create a nominator account.
On the survey last year we asked “When judging a site, what usually had the greatest positive impact on your score?” 35.6% of the judges responded that outstanding design was the thing that helped bring up a score. The criteria that had the second most responses was ease of use with 23.7%. Content was in third with 15.25% of the judges relying on this criteria the most.
At the other end of the scale, we also asked what had the most negative impact on your scores. Not surprising, 39% of the WebAward judges said that bad design was the top criteria when they scored a site poorly. Ease of use (18.6%) and Navigation (15.25%) also played a factor when the judges felt a website did not live up to its potential.