Thursday, October 02, 2008 Toral: Organizing Web awards By Janette Toral Digital Filipino
I AM launching the 2nd DigitalFilipino Web Awards (http:digitalfilipinoweb awards.blogspot.com) today.
The award aims to advocate the use of the Internet and e-commerce for business development—through the identification, promotion and highlighting of best e-commerce practices in various websites in the Philippines.
Entries will be judged by members of the DigitalFilipino.com Club as part of its advocacy to promote learning and e-commerce as tools for business development.
Focus will on the ability to create a noticeable presence on the Internet—finding ways to be seen and heard among all the noise and clutter of the Internet. Commercial websites will also be reviewed for their ability to conduct e-commerce in simple yet professional manner.
There were observations from last year that I hope will be incorporated into this year’s event. These include:
Search engine visibility. The least we expect from all semi-final entries is that each website page has a unique title tag. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful a website is, they will be disqualified for not meeting this requirement.
Customization. Sites that use open source codes should be tailored to fit the look and feel of the company. This way, uniqueness and identity creation are achieved.
Searchable. Sites that have numerous products or content should help their users find the products they need by providing search capability.
Disclosure. The terms of sale must also be fully disclosed so there will be no surprises for buyers later on.
Updated content matters. It needs to be informative and attuned to the purpose or theme of the site. Relevant content encourages the visitor to stay and learn more.
Customer service. Availability of online chat support, phone call, e-mail and help forms with quick turn-around time. This is where cross-media customer communication should be offered or explored.
Visuals must be used in moderation. A site does not have to be extravagantly designed but attractive enough to indulge its readers and help to navigate in the site.
Judging will take place on the last week of this month. This will be done during the club workshops on search engine optimization, content writing, Internet marketing, website performance and website navigation.
