Expert Answers - Question 17: Page 1

Success with awards requires knowledge!
Answers to the question in these pages offer you expert advice about awards,
directly from the leading authorities on this topic!

Richard Berends, Webmaster, Website Awards

Home || The Worksheet || Best Award Indexes
World's Top Awards || Superb! Awards

The purpose of Ask the Experts is to provide timely answers to common questions about awards and running award programs. The authors of the answers offer you expert advice based on many years of experience. They run some of the best programs in the world, and they are the leading authorities on the topic of awards. Armed with all the helpful advice in their answers, you will be better prepared to apply for website awards or run a successful award program!

Current Questions | Question 17 | Questions Archive

Page 1 | Page 2

The Question

What is the optimum size and weight for an award graphic?

by Wally Gross, Webmaster, Surfers Choice Internet Awards
15 February 2003

Wendy Sears, Webmistress
Assess Risk Web Award

As a general principal, award graphics should be small enough to limit the load time on the recipient's site, but the size and weight should be sufficient to maintain the quality of the graphic. The optimum size and weight of an award graphic, therefore, will vary from award site to award site, from graphic to graphic.

First, the words "size" and "weight" should be explained. When we talk about the size of the graphic, we are talking about its dimensions — its width and height in pixels. When we talk about the weight of an award graphic, we are talking about its byte-size.

To achieve the optimum size and weight, I would suggest that four questions should be asked:

1.	At what point does your award graphic become too small?

	For an award graphic to be reflective of its award program, it is often necessary for the graphic to contain certain distinct images or text. A significant reduction in the size of the graphic may result in an indistinct image and illegible text. Remember, the smaller the image the less information it can display, which may reduce your ability to add the names of winners. The optimum size is therefore the size that retains the legibility of text and the clarity of graphics.

2.	How far can the award graphic be optimised without distortion?

	The less weight an award graphic has, the quicker the page will load. However, it is important to maintain the right balance between the weight of the graphic and the quality of the image. Reduce the award graphic weight too much and a once beautiful graphic can become distorted, pixelated or grainy. An award graphic achieves the optimum weight when the perfect balance between weight and image quality is achieved.

3.	Are you meeting your own criteria relating to graphics?

	The optimum size and weight of an award graphic may be determined by the award program's own criteria. If the award program is prescriptive or lays down guidelines for applicants to meet with respect to graphics, then the program should meet its own criteria for graphics.

4.	Are you meeting the criteria of external organisations to which you belong?

	If an award manager is a member of an external body — such as an awards rating or listing system — then the optimum size of his award graphic may be influenced by that external body. Often such bodies will be prescriptive about the optimal size and weighting of an award graphic, and meeting these requirements will be a prerequisite to joining and staying joined.

In short, the optimum size is achieved by balancing image quality and loadtime, functionality and usability, and by taking into consideration not only the criteria you have established for others but the criteria of others with which you have agreed to comply.

Mariella Klaassen, Webmistress
Mariëlla's Web Award (This site has closed.)

Award graphics come in many sizes. My graphic is 100x100 pixels and 10 KB. In my opinion, the perfect size is between 100x100 and 120x120 pixels, and the optimum weight is between 10 and 15 KB.

We all want fast loading pages, and large award graphics are slower to load. The only way to make a large graphic load fast is to optimize it, but this will effect the quality of the image. I don't want my winners to alter the award, so I offer them one that is already fast loading and beautiful.

I don't think large award graphics look very elegant. Of course, this is just my opinion. There are lots of award programs that love big award graphics, so I guess we will continue to see them around.

Vitor Oliveira, Webmaster
BigEye Award Program

First, award givers must think about the weight when they are designing award graphics. Nobody wants to post a 30 Kb graphic on their site, and this includes award winners. If a site wins several awards, all with large graphics, it could create a problem with server space.

The next thing to think about is the size of the graphic. Nobody wants an award graphic that is as big as a postcard. It takes up too much space and does not look good on a web page, especially if you are displaying several of them.

Think about the needs of the applicants when you design your award graphic. They want a smaller graphic that loads fast and doesn't take up a lot of server space. In my opinion, no award graphic should be more than 130x180 pixels (vertical format) or 180x130 (horizontal format), and no more than 15 Kb in weight.

The optimum size will be about 100x130 (vertical format) and around 10 Kb in weight. This size loads fast and looks good. If you want to attract more applications for your award, then offer a graphic that award seekers will be happy to post on their sites.

Page 1 | Page 2

The Authors

We would like to thank the authors who took time out of their busy schedules to write the answers in these pages. They wrote them to share the knowledge they gained from years of reviewing websites and operating award programs. By so doing, they are making their expertise available to webmasters at large and helping to improve the quality of websites and awards on the Web. We applaud them for sharing their knowledge!

Please go to the Print Version if you want to print these answers!

<< Prior Question | Next Page >>

Current Questions | Question 17 | Questions Archive

The World Wide Web is dynamic and constantly changing. New websites are being added every day and existing sites sometimes move, or even close down. If you find a website in this page without a link, it has either closed or moved to an unknown address. If you find any broken links or discontinued awards, please email us now. It will be appreciated!

Home || The Worksheet || Best Award Indexes
World's Top Awards || Superb! Awards

Top of Page