CRITERIA

Judges will rate nominees based on four criteria: Content, Design, Usability, and Functionality. The Awards organizers, after close consultation with Web designers, developers, and Internet professionals, affirm that these four criteria are equally important in judging Web site excellence.

CONTENT A flashy site has no real value if it has no content to offer. Content is not just text; it can be images, multimedia elements, or even a collection of tools, data or links. In judging content, judges are asked to determine if the content matches the goals and nature of the Web site. These determine the tone of writing, the frequency of updates, and the depth of information. Content should be informative, engaging, persuasive, useful, or entertaining, depending on the nature of the site. It should be well-written, with careful attention given to checking grammar and spelling. DESIGN Design refers to appearance. It includes the use of graphical elements, such as images, color, white space, and typography. Visual design is important in grabbing visitors' attention but it should not be at the expense of overall user experience. A flashy site might take so long to load fully that it defeats its purpose. The design can be restrained and even minimalist and still be considered good design if the nature of the site calls for it. Like with other media, consistency and appropriateness play a part in determining what is good Web design. USABILITY Usability means proper organization, layout and navigation. As in building a house, a great site's blueprint sets the foundation. A well-thought out information architecture - how content is organized and linked - enhances user experience, making it easy for visitors to navigate the site and find the needed information quickly and easily. A well-designed, uncluttered page layout leads users to the information they need. FUNCTIONALITY Functionality enhances how a visitor uses the site. It includes optimized code, working scripts,and use of interactivity. It means fast loading of pages, live links, working forms, relevant search results, and browser-independence. It also means proper use of plug-ins and multimedia. Interactive features engage the user to participate, which can be in the form of forums, chatrooms, polls, games, and quizzes. Outstanding functionality is relevant and adds value; it is also as basic as making sure everything on the site works. JUDGING PROCESS The Awards organizers will follow this three-step process: 1. Nominations 2. Semi-finals 3. Finals NOMINATIONS Entries are submitted by the general public for nomination. At this point, the organizers and their partners are allowed to submit their own entries. To be eligible for nomination, the site must (a.) be designed/developed by an individual, a business, organization or "entity" situated in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, (b.) not contain what's generally considered illegal or offensive materials, i.e. plagiarized, pornographic, or hate sites, and (c.) be accessible to the general public. No screening or pre-judging is done during this stage. All nominations are automatically added to our list of entries. SEMI-FINALS A group of reviewers or pre-finals judges assigned by the organizers will evaluate all entries. Each reviewer is required to submit a list of sites that he or she is personally or professionally affiliated with, to avoid any conflict of interest. The reviewers will independently review - based on our criteria - and shortlist Web sites for each of their assigned categories. Before the list of semi-finalists is turned over to the finals judges however, the organizers may choose to practise their prerogative to make final changes to the initial set of categories. Some categories may have too few qualified candidates, and these categories may either be merged with a related category or removed altogether. Other categories may be split into additional categories. FINALS Judges will be chosen by the organizers to evaluate and determine the winners from the list of finalists. Each judge is required to submit a list of sites that he or she is personally or professionally affiliated with, to avoid any conflict of interest. Each judge is selected for his or her expertise in his or her field. Previous scores for the five finalists will be disregarded. All finalists will be on equal footing. The final judges will independently rate -- based on our criteria -- the finalists in their assigned categories. The scores of each set of judges assigned to a common category will be tallied and averaged by our auditors. In case of a tie for first place, the judges will be asked to arrive at a consensus. The finalist that garnered the highest average score in each category will be declared the winner.