German Award Programs: Worth A Try?
by Philipp T. Eirich, Webmaster
PhilDaPoohBear Productions
2 January 2000
Print Version
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:
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I am originally from Stuttgart, Germany, and my site was listed in the most common award indexes in these three countries. |
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Award programs in these countries make up almost 75% of all the awards granted in Europe. |
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
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Although many German award sites also have an English version, make sure that the criteria allows for submissions from sites in the English language. Often this is NOT the case. |
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Make sure that the award program you are submitting to meets the quality standards of a world's top program. If any of the essentials are missing (see above), do not waste your time — the award is worthless. |
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Check out previous winners to see if your site meets the standards for this particular award program. |
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Make sure the award master is experienced. |
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If the rules and requirements and other important criteria are in German only, please do NOT use a translation program. It is quite possible that English sites are also welcome to apply, but you have to make sure that you meet all the requirements. Translation software of any kind is not suitable for this purpose. There is no official translation service you can use, but I can offer help if you need it. |
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Even in good programs, replies to unsuccessful sites are often missing. As a general rule, your site was not chosen as a winner if you do not receive a reply within four weeks, for German award masters are pretty quick at reviewing sites. You can try again later, if the criteria allows it. |
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*.
| 1. | Weisse Liste (The White List) (site closed). This index only contains award programs that have the essentials, like a clearly defined purpose, good criteria and a winners' list. You must apply to become a member, which means that you are NOT automatically accepted, and you must have an attractive website and meet some other main criteria. All applicants are reviewed before they are accepted. With membership you receive the white seal and are obliged to keep up the high standards of this index. This list contains the top 15% of German award sites. |
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| This index also contains a so-called "Graue Liste" (Gray List) and a "Schwarze Liste" (Black List). The gray list consists of award programs that are missing some of the essentials (about 60% of German award sites). The black list exposes the fake programs (about 20% of German award sites). Due to the large number of entries in the black and gray lists, it is absolutely impossible to keep them 100% updated. There are approximately 100 new awards programs in the German language countries every day. | |
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| 2. | MetatroniC First Class Award Index (site closed) As an experienced award master and member of the white list, eventually you will be invited to join the First Class index. This is an exceptional list containing only the top 5% of German award masters. At this point, there are 20 members. |
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| You can't apply for a membership in this index. You are eligible to join only if you have received the golden seal. Members must have an exceptional award program and website, and they must present their winners and their own awards with citations. Members can present the winners of their awards with a screenshot and description in these pages. This index is considered to be THE resource for German top awards. It is also the host of the Golden Wingman Award, the German Web Oscar. | |
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| 3. | MetatroN First Choice Award Index (site closed). Although it may seem like it, this award index is not related to MetatroniC. The 26 members — some of whom you'll also find in MetatroniC — stand for highest standards and quality. This is indeed one of the top choices when it comes to award indexes. |
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| 4. | Shadow of Darkness Award Index (site closed). This index is also very selective in its listings. You have to apply to become a member and eventually may be chosen. The members must agree to certain terms and conditions and must maintain high standards, or they will be removed. |
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:
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Top.de (site closed) |
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Web.de (site closed) |
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Webtip.de (site closed) |
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Wohin heute? (site closed) |
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Giga TV |
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Frankfurter Rundschau |
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Berliner Morgenpost |
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Stuttgarter Zeitung, Webtip Editor |
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.
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Scrolling is out. Complex site structures are in. If all the content is on one page, don't bother to apply. |
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Although the use of new technology is in, your site should have a version that is quick loading and suitable for older browsers. |
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Like North Americans, the Europeans don't like pop-up Java warnings, all uppercase text, banner advertisements, and sounds they can't turn off. |
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With respect to content, the Europeans are often more open-minded than North Americans. Although pornography is usually not acceptable, almost no award program has anything against erotic art. |
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If you think you can trick an European award master with borrowed images — because you assume we don't have clipart CDs over here — think again! The same clipart is available even in Russia. This means your design must be original. |
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.
www.website-awards.net
www.website-awards.net/articles/article13.htm