Quality Criteria for Website Excellence

Quality Criteria for Website Excellence

World Best Website Awards

Judging Criteria - Level 1

Websites are evaluated using a 100 factor scoring system. Stars are allocated according to the total score received. Each star is made up of 5 categories of evaluation & each contributes 20% to the total score.


Gold
Silver
Bronze
Merit - 5 stars = 91 - 100%
- 4 stars = 80 - 90%
- 3 stars = 60 - 79%
- 2 stars = < 60%


STAR 1 - Functionality (20%)

Accessibility

001. breadth of browser compatibility
002. minimum & maximum monitor resolutions
003. plain text/HTML alternate entry paths
004. appeal to universal audience - multilingual translations, cultural sensitivity, disability access & services

Speed & Bandwidth Sensitivity

005. overall page sizes & complexity
006. average download times
007. download order & image redraws
008. wait to first reaction/interaction times



HTML Quality

009. clean HTML with no faulty code
010. workability of active x, rollovers, applets, etc.
011. page titles, descriptions, keywords & tags
012. Java & Javascript dependency, image dependency

Navigation & Links

013. navigation functionality & clarity
014. link integrity
015. quality & depth of links provided
016. external Vs internal link ratios for access to core information

Legality

017. original artwork, music, intellectual property etc.
018. international copyright laws are correctly observed
019. quotations, images & intellectual property from 3rd parties are appropriately cited
020. legal site content & legal site activities

STAR 2 - Design (20%)

Graphic Design

021. exceptional artistry
022. elegance & sophistication of core design concepts
023. typography & font styles
024. clever synergies of visual elements

User Friendliness

025. ease of use
026. aids, tools & help resources
027. interface functionality
028. clarity & simplicity



Aesthetics & Beauty

029. visual appeal
030. professional appearance
031. artistic integration
032. color harmonies

Alignment & Layout

033. general layout & use of space
034. complexity & quality of tables
035. effective use of layers
036. use of borders, dividers, rules

How to put counter on ur website?????????

View full page here: http://www.sightline.org/research/energy/res_pubs/get-energy-counter
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Put the 2008 Energy Counter on Your Website!Download a state version of Sightline's energy counter, or the whole thing, for your website or blog! The energy counter is a real-time tally of money sent out of the region to pay for oil and gas.
Download Sightline's 2008 energy counter in a banner or a button to place on your website. And please link back to Sightline's energy counter.

Sightline's energy counter buttonsYou can download the full counter from Widgetbox.com by clicking Get Widget below or click here.

How to make Your site effective

How to make your web site more effective
You know that a high ranking is very important to get high quality targeted traffic to your Web site. The more targeted your visitors are, the more you'll sell on your site.

However, a high ranking alone is not enough. Many webmasters have the problem that their visitors don't buy something on their site even if the way the visitors reached the site indicates that they're interested in the products.

For that reason, we're going to tell you in this article what you can do to improve the effectiveness of your Web site .

PART 1: The first 3 critical points - Make a good first impression, or your visitors will leave immediately

When Web surfers come to your site, it's very important that you make a good first impression. Before a Web surfer starts reading the copy text on your Web page, your page must pass these three critical points:

Your Web page must load quickly

Web surfers won't wait for slow loading Web pages. If your Web pages don't load as fast as is possible, a lot of Web surfers will go away before they have had a chance to take a look at your Web pages.

Don't forget that still the majority of Web surfers use a 28K/56K modem to surf the Internet. If your Web page is 120 KB big (including the images), then it takes 17 seconds to load the page. Would you wait so long?


Your Web site must look good

Make sure that your Web site has a professional layout. People don't want to purchase from a shady backyard business. It's very important that your Web pages look perfect. Hire a professional Web designer if necessary.

The same is valid for your link pages. If you want to exchange links with other sites, make sure that your link pages look attractive. A link on your link pages should be something other people want to have.

Make your link pages accessible from your other Web pages and use a great layout for your link pages.


Don't use automatically generated doorway pages

Automatically created doorway pages might bring some visitors to your site. However, they'll land on a Web page that was designed with search engines spiders in mind.

Automatically created doorway pages usually look ugly to human Web surfers. Often, they consist of nothing more than a list of buzz-words. You won't get good results with this method because human Web surfers will quickly close such a Web page.
If your Web site fails under one of these categories, Web surfers will leave your site before you even have the chance to tell them your marketing message.



PART 2: How to keep Web surfers on your site

Last week, we told you which three critical points your Web site must pass before Web surfers even consider taking a look at your Web page. This week, we're telling you what you can do to keep these visitors on your site.

1. Come straight to the point

Your home page is the most important page on your site. It's the very first page of your site and the page that people see first when they come to your site. Therefore, it's important that your home page is interesting for your visitors.

Every visitor wants to get a prompt answer to the question "what's in it for me?". On the first paragraph of your home page, you should tell your visitors the following:

what you do
why people should stay on your site
what's in for your visitors
If you don't answer these questions quickly enough, people will go away.

Of course, every home page owner is convinced that they have the best product on earth and that everybody should buy it. Unfortunately, visitors don't know that.

If you don't tell them the major benefits of your product, no one will take the time to dig into your site. Web surfers are a very impatient group.

2. Don't annoy your visitors with animations they cannot see

Some people use Flash animations or big pictures with a meaningless text such as "Welcome to the world of tomorrow" as their index page that redirects to their actual first page. Don't do that if you don't want to lose a big part of your visitors.

Flash intros take minutes to load on a slow modem connection so most Web surfers will go away before they even had a chance to see your actual home page.

In addition, Web pages containing only a Flash animation cannot be indexed by most search engines. If you use a Flash intro as your index page, chances are that your site will never show up on search engines.

3. Respect people's time

Until high-speed Internet access becomes widespread, don't use large bandwidth-clogging graphics.

As a rule of thumb, no single graphic should be larger than 30 KB to 50 KB, and no single page should have more than 200 KB of graphics.

If you must include a large, detailed image, provide your visitors a smaller, thumbnail version so they know if seeing the larger image is worth their time.

4. Test with different Web browsers

Not all Web surfers use Microsoft's Internet Explorer in version 6. It's important to test your Web site with different Web browsers.

Try to test your Web site with Internet Explorer version 5.0, Mozilla/Netscape and Opera.

5. Be consistent

Professional Web sites always have their navigational bar at the same side. They use a consistent style for headlines, headers and text. Don't use more than three different fonts in different sizes.

Try to avoid colored or textured backgrounds. They make text difficult to read. Of course, dancing buttons and blinking text don't belong to a professional Web site, either.

Once Web surfers have decided not to go away on their first impulse, you have to keep them with a good sales copy.

tips

1. 
   
   [edit] Tips
   Don't limit yourself to what your teachers give you. If you already know everything on your grade level, don't stop studying. Try high school work, then college level — always challenge yourself.
   
2. Don't limit yourself to "smart subjects"; learn about whatever interests you, as this will usually lead to an interest in "smart" subjects. You don't have to start with nuclear physics to be smart.
   
3. Besides looking to learn, always look for new ways to learn. If you aren't big on reading, try watching people, or talking to people, and even the TV - there are many many educational channels available.
   
4. Don't learn simply to learn, it will not work. Find a way to be interested in it, make it fun and you will learn faster, and remember more.
   
5. Always remember that you can’t know everything. Why would you want to, anyway? Being good at one or two things can be more valuable than being considered brilliant.
   
6. Some psychologists now say there are multiple types of intelligence, such as interpersonal intelligence (how to interact and get along with people) and bodily intelligence (coordination, athleticism). Don’t neglect to nurture these aspects of yourself. Even if they don’t make you “smarter,” they can help you lead a happier, more well-rounded life.
   
7. Get enough sleep. Some researchers say, while you sleep, your brain makes new connections. For example if you don't understand how to perform a math equation completely and you 'sleep on it', there is a chance that your brain will have figured it out while you slept.
   
8. Learn a new language because that can open doors to other sources of knowledge. If you can speak to a Chinese Scientist, who does not speak English, you may learn something easier.
   

How to become more intilligent than you are now

steps:

1. Improve your memory. Much of what is generally considered intelligence is simply the ability to remember things well. You can improve your ability to retain and recall memories in a variety of ways, including by using mnemonics and by paying more attention to details.
2. 
   Study more effectively. If you find yourself at a loss when your teacher puts you on the spot, or if you perform poorly on exams, you may not be studying enough. Even if you study a lot, improving your study skills can make a big difference. A variety of wikiHows offer tips to help you.
3. 
   Read a lot. Just about everything that humans know can be found in print, whether in books and magazines or on the internet. Become a voracious reader, and you’ll expose yourself to more ideas and information. If you’re a slow reader, consider learning speed reading. Consider jotting down notes, and perhaps looking up a word or two in the dictionary.
4. 
   Visit the library frequently and pick up anything which looks interesting to you. The subject matter is not quite as important as is the act of reading. Always have at hand something good to read.
5. 
   Research. Curiosity without initiative is like having a car that’s out of gas — it won’t take you anywhere. Fortunately, when it comes to knowledge you’re never far from a gas station. If you read a word that you don’t know, look it up in the dictionary. If you wonder how airplanes fly, read a book. If you want to know more about politics, pick up a newspaper. With internet access now widespread, there’s less excuse for not finding something out that you want to know.
6. 
   Learn how to look things up. If you know how to use references, from an internet search engine to an encyclopedia, you’ll be able to find the information you want more quickly and effectively. Effective researching skills will nourish your curiosity because you’ll become more confident in your ability to access knowledge. If your research skills leave something to be desired, take a class or workshop on how to research, ask a librarian or teacher, or simply practice researching. Or just press the "help" tabs on the internet and computer programs and read.
7. 
   Figure things out on your own. There’s a lot more to intelligence than “book smarts.” We can all learn to perform everyday tasks at work, home, and school better and more intelligently. If you don’t know how to do something, resist the urge to ask somebody else to do it for you or show you how. In most cases, you’ll be able to figure it out on your own, either by trial-and-error or by researching. While it usually takes longer to figure something out than it does to ask about it, you’ll learn more about the overall process, and you’ll remember it better. Most importantly, you’ll exercise your problem-solving skills instead of your “do as you’re told” skills.
8. 
   Be more curious. How do some people get to know so much? Good memory skills are only part of the answer: you also have to be curious. If you’re satisfied going through life with little or no understanding of things you’re unfamiliar with, you won’t learn much. Make a conscious effort to be more curious by reminding yourself that developing your curiosity will broaden your horizons and help to make you more intelligent.
9. 
   Ask for help. It’s great to figure things out on your own, but sometimes you don’t have enough time to do so, despite your best efforts. Don’t give up; ask somebody to show you how. Make sure to pay close attention and ask any questions that you have, so that you’ll never have to ask the same thing again.
10. 
    Exercise your mind in different ways. Most of us are good at the things we excel in naturally or the activities we do everyday. Challenge yourself to learn a new skill or to think in a different way, however, and you’ll actually become more intelligent. Choose something you’d like to learn to do (play the accordion, for example) or a subject you don’t do well in (maybe math) and focus on that thing. Initially, you may be uncomfortable and feel even less intelligent than you did before, but if you study or practice diligently, you’ll become more confident, and you’ll make new connections in your mind.
11. 
    Teach others. In order to teach something to somebody else, you’ve got to know it pretty well. When you try to explain an idea or skill to somebody else, you’ll not only remember it better yourself, you’ll also find that the other person’s questions will help you find out how well you really know what you’re talking about.
    
12. Learn a new word each day. Go through the dictionary and find a word that you don't know already, then practice using it throughout the day.
    
13. If you're in school, do your homework! Don't procrastinate, finish it last minute, or copy someone's paper. The homework is there for practice, and when you do it, you'll become more confident in that subject. But remember, homework time is not the same as study time, so you can't count homework as studying.