WebAwards to Honor World's Best Web Sites

HARTFORD, Conn., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the call for entries for its 14th 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 who create and maintain outstanding Web sites.  The deadline for entry in the 2010 WebAwards is May 25, 2010.  A complete list of past winners and this year's entry form can be found at www.webaward.org.

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"The goal of the WebAwards is to not only recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today, but also provide valuable feedback to entrants on how their sites stack up against their peers and industry standards of excellence," said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association.  "The WebAwards is different from other Web site award programs because we're not just a beauty pageant focused on name recognition and design.  For that reason, we see ourselves more like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval than the Academy Awards."

Web sites 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 2010 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 Organic, Inc. for its outstanding work on "Bank of America - Morris on Campus" web site at http://www.bankofamerica.com/oncampus, which also won Best Bank Website.  

• The Web Marketing Association will also recognize the interactive agency winning the most awards in the competition with the "Top Interactive Agency" WebAward. The 2009 Top Agency award was Extractable (http://www.extractable.com/) taking home 25 WebAwards.  This Bay Area interactive agency specializing in web strategy, web design, custom technology, was recognized with five Outstanding Website WebAwards and 20 Standard of Excellence WebAwards.

Judging for the 2010 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 A&E Television Networks, Agency.com, BGT Partners, Blattner Brunner, Bridge Worldwide, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Comedy Central, Disney, Euro RSCG, Ion Global, J. Walter Thompson, John Deere Company, New York Post Interactive, Organic, Inc., Refinery, R/GA, Saatchi & Saatchi, SAP, Starwood Hotels, Sun Microsystems, Warner Bros. Online, Xerox and Zugara.

The 2010 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: BGT Partners, PR Newswire, Burst Media, AllBusiness.com, ExactTarget, ad:tech conferences, Internet World UK, Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster Radio, and Website Magazine. The Web Marketing Association thanks these companies for their commitment to the entire online marketing community.

About the WebAwards

The 14th annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development.  The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today.  Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an award-winning Web site.  For more information, visit www.webaward.org.

SOURCE Web Marketing Association

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