ISMS Awards Tips

OK, so after a lot of hard work you think your site is now good enough for world wide recognition and you are applying for awards, and perhaps considering the ISMS on your list of targets. Here are some points to consider before you apply to us or continue visiting numerous other award sites, completing their application forms and awaiting their judgment on your handywork.

If you want more detailed help on aspects of web site design then the following links will take you to additional pages on this site that contain tips on specific topics. They may help you in your efforts to win an ISMS Award and many of our suggestions may also help you to win awards from other award schemes. We are providing you with this helpful information, which incidentally is the longest page of text on our web site, because we want you to win!

In addition to the advice on this page we have replicated the links to specific tips for better website design that were included on our Rating page:

content

layout & design

navigation

maintaining interest

The following paragraphs explore our general philosophy on developing a site good enough to win ISMS Awards, so consider the following:

If your site, or one you would like to nominate for an ISMS Award, does not deal with word play, puns, grammatical errors, the humour of the spoken or written word, or isms then by all mean continue reading our hints and tips to help you win awards from other schemes but don't send an application to the ISMS. Remember that ISMS Awards are for a specific genre and will remain so. At least 90% of our applicants fail to win an Award because they do not meet the first of our basic criteria.

Still reading and think you still fit the bill? OK, then why do you still want to win an ISMS Award?

If you just want cool-looking awards graphics to fill page after page of your website and make it look impressive to your friends and site visitors then you can easily get them. There are numerous awards on the Internet that are there for the asking. If you apply - you win! Some awards schemes won't even check to see if your web site exists or how you will display their award. The ISMS is not one of those sites - our Awards must be earned.

If you're genuinely interested in having an external assessment of your work and, through that process, improving your web site still further then you'll only want to apply for genuine awards that will recognise your hard work and talent. To win these awards requires time and effort on your part. The highest levels of award can be difficult to win because winning them actually means something! You can be justifiably proud if you do receive one of those top awards. For instance, we have yet to grant a Platinum Award - could you be the first to receive it?

When we ask you later, on the application form, why you want to win an ISMS Award if you've read our criteria in detail you'll know exactly what to write in that box.

Read our tips pages on content, layout & design, navigation and maintaining interest, then start with some of the less challenging awards. Going for one of the world's top web awards at your first attempt is, generally, a waste of time unless you have a brilliant web site or it's not really a top level award at all and just another giveaway like the ones we mentioned earlier. If it's really a top award then your chance of success is low and your chance of frustration is high.

Starting with some of the less demanding awards will get you involved in the awards process and could give you some early success. You can find a list of web award schemes at Website Awards (http://website-awards.net); there you will see a whole range of awards schemes that are currently available and, generally, specific criteria pertaining to some of those awards schemes. See also links from our Awards received page.

If it's an ISMS Award you're after then you must read our criteria or you'll probably be unsuccessful. If you fail any one of our criteria then, generally, your site will not even be considered for an Award, so don't waste your time, and ours, by applying.

All award schemes make this point about reading their criteria and that's probably why it's the section that is so often skipped; seen one seen them all, is probably how many potential applicants view the criteria section. However, award schemes are not all the same and they can vary widely in the criteria they are looking for. For some, graphics and layout are particularly important; for others, content is the most important aspect. Some awards schemes, including ours, have very specific criteria, some have simple or even vague criteria and some have no criteria at all. As we said earlier, the majority of requests for ISMS Awards are rejected immediately because they do not meet our basic criteria. Please take note and read ours before you apply!

We know that it's tempting to go straight to the application form, tick all the boxes and send it off. But that's not a good practice. First, you must make sure that your site is eligible for consideration. The award scheme may only apply to business sites or only to personal sites or topic-specific sites. Some award sites have ways to catch you out if you skip reading their criteria, rating system or other notes and just head straight to the application form. We will not spoil their fun by going into detail, but be warned, it could happen to you! More awards - less speed.

Just think for a moment, if you are asking us here at the ISMS, or reviewers frmo other award schemes, to spend an hour or more evaluating your site, surely you can take a few minutes to read the criteria just to make sure you won't fall at the first hurdle.

If you meet all our basic criteria then read also our rating system. Not all awards schemes explain how your site will be judged and what the scoring system is, but if there is an explanation of the scoring system available then make use of it - it's there to help you. As with the criteria, award schemes vary in the way they rate and score sites. Read about their rating system first and then act to ensure the best possible chance of success.

Make sure your site is ready for review. For the ISMS Awards, site content is key; 50% of your rating score relates to content. Also for us, your website must add value by containing something interesting, original, novel, useful, educational, artistic, humorous and it must be well written. The site content must be of such quality that visitors will want to come back again and again.

Double-check your speling, grammar and punctuation on every page and then ask someone else to check it again. Are there any graphics missing? Do all of the internal and external links work? Have you tried looking at your site in more than one browser and at more than one resolution? Don't just say, "Oh, it's fine. My site has a couple of problems but nobody will notice." Believe us, they will and so will the award reviewers.

For an ISMS Award your site must be family friendly. It's a key point in our criteria and we award additional points if your site has already received an official Family Friendly Site accreditation. On the other hand, we will disqualify your site immediately for improper content. We have in the past withdrawn an ISMS Gold Award from a site that was becoming quite unfriendly in its content - some awards schemes are not so choosey, but there are others like ours that care about maintaining high standards.

We at the ISMS also want to see a Privacy Statement on your site, showing what your policy is towards the people who will visit your site and who might, on occasions, disclose personal information to you or, through your site, to third parties.

Does your site contain copyright text or graphics that you are using illegally? Most good award schemes check for these - I know we do - and will not be happy if they find them on your site.

Do not include virtually blank pages containing "Under Construction" signs. Good web sites are always under construction and development, so the sign is unnecessary. If your new page isn't ready for viewing then don't display it on your site until it is!

Be careful with animated graphics. Too many flashing graphics are annoying, often take a long time to download and almost always distract from your site content. Don't just use standard free-for-all clipart pictures either; design and draw your own if you can, it's rewarding and they're generally better than the off-the-shelf ones.

Do you really need background music on your site? Like flashing graphics, it can really irritate some people, especially if there is no way to turn it off, and it can significantly increase the download time for your pages. ISMS reviewers will deduct points for long download times and annoying music that can't be turned off! We even abandoned our review of one applicant's site because we lost interest after the site was still loading after a two minute wait.

Stealing bandwidth is also bad practice. For example, suppose we have a graphic of our emblem on our web site and you want it to appear on your web site. Firstly you should ask our permission but if then, instead of going to the trouble of downloading the graphic and storing it on your own system, you just put a line of code on your site to call up the picture directly from our site using our resources and server rather than your own, then that's stealing bandwidth. Most genuine webmasters consider this practice to be unethical. However, some award sites use this practice to ensure only authorised displaying of their award and logo graphics.

Thank the Awarding scheme's webmaster or award reviewer for your Award. It's not always mandatory to acknowledge receipt of the award but it is good practice and recognises the Award scheme's time and effort spent on reviewing your site. And, as well as being a courteous thing to do it will tell the awarding body that you have received notification of your award.

Follow the award scheme's rules for displaying their award. Some award schemes have specific rules for posting their award graphic: must be on home page, certain size, linked back to award site and so on. Respect their wishes. We happen to think that reciprocal linking is a nice courtesy but we always give Award winners the option of removing the link to our site. However, we do regularly check sites that have received ISMS Awards to ensure that they are displayed appropriately and broadly in accordance with our wishes.

Don't blame the reviewers at the ISMS if you don't win an Award. It's our Award scheme and we have standards to maintain; the same applies to other reputable award schemes. We, and other sites that run legitimate Award schemes, do so because we enjoy it and because we want to be a positive influence on the Internet. We at the ISMS have full-time jobs outside of this organisation and we run the Award scheme in our own time. We do not get paid for it and we do not receive any payments from third parties for making Awards or providing Awards with links to third party or advertising sites. Remember, we are not obliged to give you an Award if you don't deserve it.

Also be aware that reviewers will evaluate sites in different ways. One scheme's Gold Award winner may be another scheme's Bronze Award winner. We have recently introduced a Merit Award to try and encourage sites that show promise but are not quite good enough to receive our Bronze Award. We may introduce other such modifications at a later date.

If you fail to win an Award remember that some schemes have a defined period in which you may not re-apply for an Award. Please respect that waiting period and use the time to review and improve your site. The ISMS does not have such a policy but applying again without making any significant changes to your site, or still failing to meet the basic criteria, will result in failure once again.

If after reading these notes and following our tips (and those provided by many other award schemes) you're still not winning awards and you can't figure out why then there are a number of options:

We at the ISMS will gladly offer advice - but only if you ask, the impetus must come from you and your desire to develop and improve your website.

Speaking for the ISMS, please don't get discouraged if you do not win any of our Awards at your first attempt. Consider the experience to be part of your learning curve as a webmaster. It doesn't mean you've failed, it just means you have some more work to do on your site to bring it up to the standards we set. Stick with it and try again at a later date. Unlike some sites, we don't have rules about 'must not reapply within x weeks or months or years'.

We trust that you have found this guidance and tips to be of some help. If you have, tell others about them: if you haven't, then tell us because we also want to improve.

email the ISMS