Tom Asacker: The 2008 WebAward Competition is currently accepting entries

The 2008 WebAward Competition is currently accepting entries

For more than a decade, the Web Marketing Association has been evaluating Web sites as part of its annual WebAward (www.WebAward2008.org) competition. They have identified seven criteria necessary for a successful Web site and have effectively used these criteria as the basis of judging Website development in 96 industries, including marketing, for more than a decade.

Every industry has its own standards that sites need to meet and the marketing category has generally produced some outstanding sites, including Hanson Dodge Creative’s Trek Bicycle - Lime Product Launch, winner of the 2007 WebAward for Best Marketing Web site.

According to 400 plus WebAward judges, who have been judging award winning websites for more than a decade, the best marketing sites are using multimedia to create a dynamic user experience. Marketing Web sites understand the need to engage users and create a brand experience that matches offline efforts to win customer loyalty.

Here are 7 characteristics to consider when creating and/or refining your Web site into an award winning site, according to Bill Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association:

Design - Most of us judge the book by its cover and the same goes for Web sites. If a site looks old and unsophisticated, the site loses much of its credibility. If the design is current and up to date, then the user will be more likely to continue and dig deeper into the content. Digging deeper into the content means they stay on the site longer and will be more likely to have a positive feeling for the brand or convert to a sale.
Content - "Content is king" has been the mantra of most award winning Web sites. Visitors go to Web sites for the content and if the content is missing then they will leave disappointed. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) now means that content can be easily syndicated and seamlessly integrated into a page design.
Innovation - Sometimes called the "wow" factor, innovation is probably the most difficult to achieve. As soon as everyone realizes what is on your site and copies it, you have lost the innovative edge, leaving you with the need to create something new again. Widgets, or tiny applications that sit on a desktop or added to a social media site, are the new “cool” thing. Remember to develop something that your visitors will actually want to use.
Technology - Use of technology can significantly impact a Web site's usefulness and ability to deliver its content. If a site uses too much technology, users may have to work harder to find the information they crave. On the other hand, effective use of emerging technology can enhance the user experience by adding to the sense of innovation and "coolness". Flash and AJAX are wonderful technologies that can dramatically enhance a user experience or make it a nightmare.
Interactivity - Some marketing Web sites are designed only to supply information. The best marketing websites use calculators, tools and/or video. For example, video allows a user to see the people involved in the operations or demo new products. A more interactive site means a more engaged visitor and an increased likelihood of a positive user experience.
Copywriting - Thousands of dollars are spent designing and programming a marketing Web site and all too often the content is confusing or inadequate to convey the proper meaning. Think of the effects of a typo in computer programming. One wrong character and you can spend hours debugging. On the other hand, the best marketing sites are well written and proofread to eliminate typos.
Ease of use - In the early days, some of the "coolest" sites were impossible to navigate. Today Web sites are much better at letting the user know where they are in the site, via breadcrumb navigations and how to find the information they desire by leveraging call out buttons and additional information in side navs. Keep in mind that the best Web sites deliver content in three "clicks" or less. It is also critical to make the Web site easy to use for the search engines spidering the site, so make sure to include a text site map to make sure the search engines can index each page.