German Award Programs: Worth A Try?

by Philipp T. Eirich, Webmaster
PhilDaPoohBear Productions
2 January 2000

Don asked me to write an article about European award programs and what award masters from Europe especially look for in winning sites. In this article I will try to give you some understanding about the old world's awards and how they differ from the North American ones. However, I would like to concentrate on the award programs in Switzerland, Austria and Germany for two reasons:

The purpose of award programs

During the last year I have seen a development in German speaking sites that concerns me and most of my colleagues, who have been in involved in site design and development for quite a while. Statistics and hits have become more and more important, even for personal homepages.

As we all know awards help to promote your site, but this should be considered as a nice side benefit, not as THE reason for awards. Unfortunately many award masters see it in a different way. Their awards are granted to every applicant, or even made available to everyone, just to place a free link on as many sites as possible. Most of these award sites do not even have the essentials of a good award program.

In the beginning my own award program was listed in many free indexes, but I quickly withdrew it when I found out about the true nature of most of the awards in these lists. It is very important to know which award programs are real and which exist only for promotional reasons.

Like the top programs in North America, the crème de la crème of the European programs always have a clearly defined purpose, good criteria and a winners' list.

What you have to look for when applying

Award Indexes: a reliable source for quality awards?

With a few exceptions, NO. The German language indexes don't have ratings. There are a few huge indexes which contain up to 5,000 mostly German, Swiss and Austrian awards, but none of them have a rating or scoring system. Smaller indexes are missing this function as well, which makes it extremely hard to find high quality award sites.

If you have lots of time to surf the web for interesting programs, you may find these award lists acceptable. Otherwise, it is just a waste of time. I don't have to mention that most of these indexes are in the German language only, which makes it even more difficult for people who do not read German.

Because I want to be encouraging — not discouraging — I would like to show you a few lists which indeed make a difference. YES, there are good indexes as well *g*.

I am a member of the "Weisse Liste" and "MetatroniC," and I really can say that everything possible is done to keep up the high and honorable standards of those indexes. I recommend the other two lists because some fellow webmasters, who are members, tell me about their experiences. If you want to apply for any German top awards, please use these indexes. I can guarantee that you will not have any worthless trophies in your hall of fame.

Other German Top Awards

There are some top awards that are not listed in any indexes. Most of them are granted by online magazines, search engines, or daily newspapers, which have an online or Internet column. Not all of them offer an award graphic, but you can become the "Tip of the Day," or something similar.

Most of the applicants for these awards are German language sites. However, if you offer something interesting to non-English surfers, like web design, free services, etc., you may want to submit your site for consideration to the following pages:

Do you have a winning site?

The criteria for German awards don't differ much from the ones you find in North America. One exception is that winning sites must often have excellent design, as well as content. I can tell you a few things European award masters DON'T like and DO like, which will make it easier in case you want to apply.

Generally, German award sites have the same criteria as the North Americans ones, although special rules and requirements may apply depending on the specific award program.

Between you and me

Are German, Swiss and Austrian awards worth applying for? YES. There are good, excellent and worthless programs over here, like anywhere else in the world. You just have to know where to find the good stuff.

I don't have to remind you that you will find great webmasters and designers everywhere. These three countries are no exception. When it comes to innovative and sometimes groundbreaking web design, these guys are often the real crème de la crème. The rules and requirements may sometimes look strange to you, or you may miss a puritanical point, but that's what makes the whole thing different and therefore interesting.

If you really want to have your site evaluated, use the indexes and URL's in this article. Many of the award masters tell you in detail what they liked about your page and what they didn't like, or even how you can improve your website, which I often miss in English award programs. Altogether, I must say it's really worth a try!

Things to remember

Please remember that most award masters evaluate sites for fun. It's not their profession. Awarding a site is a matter of liking it or not, and this is up to the reviewer. All judging is subjective. Some might like your site, while others don't. It shows character and netiquette to respect other points of view, especially if your site does not win a particular award. Since it is not a profession for most of us, please keep in mind that we award and evaluate sites as well as receive awards for no other reason than FUN. It seems to me that many among us forget that sometimes.

I hope I was able to help you. If you have any questions about German award programs, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. I will be happy to answer your questions.