Award Application Criteria
NOTE: We will not review adult sites or sites that
contain inappropriate or profane language, subject matter, links or graphics.
In order for a site to win one of our
awards it must be evident that you are either [1] providing a useful site
that benefits others by providing helpful information, content, or free materials that you
have created (links only do not count) OR [2] your site must be an
Information Technology related site that provides tutorials, free graphics, freeware
programs, how to's or other helpware items relating to computer technology. Of course,
your site should still follow all the criteria below, and be attractive to look at.
Award Criteria: Actual
[Site
Completion] [Spelling Errors] [Content] [HTML] [Browser Dependence] [Design] [Navigation] [Language]
Site
Completion
No under construction signs please.
Unfinished sites will be disqualified.
[Top]
Spelling
Errors
Please proofread your pages. Spelling
errors can downgrade the type of award you qualify for, or it may disqualify you
completely if it occurs frequently on your site.
[Top]
Content
Your site should have content! If your site is simply a page of links you will
not qualify for an award. What do I mean by content? Information or items that
YOU have created - that exist on your site (not simply links to another site unless that
site is yours also). The content should be such that it makes your visitors feel
that they spent their time wisely. If your page is selling something, you also must
be giving something useful away - or providing very useful information about a particular
subject (or subjects).
[Top]
HTML
Usage
Are you using height and width tags on your images? How about alt tags? Is your
JavaScript going to crash my browser? Are you using HTML to your advantage? Do you have a
script message box that pops every time they come back to that page? - this can be very
annoying. Do you have dead links, script errors, and hyperlink borders around images that
can be seen?
You cannot have any HTML errors
(listed above or otherwise) to win a design award.
Any design related issue that causes my
browser to crash will disqualify the site.
Dead links (except for on linked awards or
other such images that are not yours) may cause site disqualification at the reviewer's
discretion.
If the font color chosen is hard to read with
the background color you have chosen you will probably not win an award.
[Top]
Browser Dependence
While it's perfectly acceptable to enhance your site for a particular browser, if it
is completely illegible by either of the top two (Netscape Navigator and Microsoft
Internet Explorer) then you may not qualify.
[Top]
Other Design Issues
Is your design consistent? Do your pages each have some elements in common -
that allow users to know that they are still on the same site? Are you overdoing it with
colors, or images that just don't cut it? When it comes to animated images.. a
little goes a LONG way. Are you using too many fonts that take away from your site's
appearance? Will your page download to my browser in a reasonable amount of time? If
your site only looks good at a certain resolution, please inform the visitor of that.
[Top]
Navigation
Is your site easy to navigate? Can I quickly jump back to your main page from any
page within your site? If I want to send you email will I have to wade through pages
looking for a way to contact you? If you make use of image maps have you provided
alternate navigation for browsers that don't support them? Do you bookmark long pages so
that users will not have to scroll down to find what they are looking for AND do you
provide them a quick way to go back to the top?
[Top]
Language
I am afraid that I can only review sites that
are in English for one simple reason... If I cannot understand what you are
saying on your site, it is impossible for me to review it and to be sure that it is
family friendly. A site that has both English AND another language are exempt from
this as long as the information appears equal. Any profanity or inappropriate
language will immediately disqualify a site.
[Top]
After all that...
So, do you still think you deserve an
award? If you do, your site just may be the next site to be awarded! As I
mentioned in a previous page, I no longer have time to accept
applications. Instead I will look through my guest book periodically and
award any sites that I feel are deserving.
I will visit your site and contact you via email
if your site is chosen to win the award. You will be given instructions on how to collect
your award and how to link back to this site if you are among the winners! Click
here to visit the Winner's circle for 1999,
or the Winner's Circle for 2000 .
|