The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the call for entries for its 26th 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. This esteemed award program recognizes the individual and team achievements of Web professionals in 90 industries all over the world who create and maintain outstanding Web sites. The deadline for entry for the 2022 WebAwards is May 31, 2022. A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.webaward.org.
“Website development is constantly evolving to take advantage of new technology and better meet the needs of the online audiences,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. “Excellence deserves recognition and the WebAwards look into all aspects of website development, It’s not just a beauty contest for Websites. Our expert judges evaluate the entire interactive experience and reward those sites that are best in their industry. The goal of the WebAwards is to both recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today and also provide valuable feedback to entrants on how their sites stack up against their peers and their industry’s standards of excellence.”
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.
CHANGES FOR 2022
This year, the Web Marketing Association has updated its industry list and added new emerging industries while eliminating others. See the WebAwards website for a complete list of industry categories.
New industries added include: Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Health and Wellness and NFTs.
Several industries have been renamed to reflect changes in the marketplace, including: SAAS (formally Application Service Provider), Recreation (formally Toy & Hobby), Online Community (formally Social Network) and Television and Film (formally TV, Broadcast and movie).
Nine industries have been excluded from the competition staring this year: Portal, Newspaper, Magazine, Investor Relations, Internet Service Provider, Game Site, Email, Diversified Business and Airline.
TOP AWARDS
This year’s top awards will include:
A “Best of Industry” WebAward will be given in each of the 90 industry categories, including financial services, medical, small business, travel, advertising, transportation and government.
The competition’s highest honor, the 2022 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 presented to Appnovation for their outstanding work on Visit California – Full Website Redesign. The site was also recognized as Best Leisure Website and Best Regional Website.
The Web Marketing Association will also recognize the interactive agency winning the most awards in the competition with the “Top Interactive Agency” WebAward. Vital Design was named Top Agency at the 2021 WebAward Competition, taking home 10 WebAwards. 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 2022.
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 2021, there were 5 agencies/companies recognized with this prestigious award: Radancy, WSI, Forum One, MHP and Digital Operative.
Judging for the 26th annual 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, IBM, 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.
The 2022 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: iContact, PR.com, eTailConferences, and WMR.FM. The Web Marketing Association thanks these companies for their commitment to the entire online marketing community.
To enter the 26th annual WebAward Competition for Website Development, please visit our website and create a nominator account.