The following are the Judging Criteria for the 2008 WA Web Awards.

Standards Compliance, Validation

Validation is done to ensure that appropriate standards are adhered to. All entries will go through a automated pre-selection process at the the beginning of the judging process, and any entry that does not meet validation criteria will not go further in the judging process. Please see the hints and tips page to ensure you have the best chance of passing the pre-selection phase. We consider a valid site to be one with no validation errors, and less than tree validation warnings.

Please note that sites that don’t automatically pass the automated validation will be manually checked as there are a number of exceptions that we understand are out of the control of you as a developer. We are judging your work, not your clients. Examples of such exception include:

* Sites controlled by Content Management Systems (CMS) controlled by the client; and
* Third party applications (such as JavaScript Widgets or Google Ads)
* Specification limitations based on current browser imlementation short comings

If in doubt, please ask one of the WAWA committee for advice.

Accessibility

Whilst tied closely to validation, accessibility is difficult to judge mechanically. As such, we will not be using automated accessibility validation int he pre-selection phase. We will however use automated and manual WAI validation tools to assess the website to assist the judges with their decisions.

General criteria

General criteria are used for all successfully validated entrants of the awards. Different Categories have the criteria weighted differently accordingly. As such, not all criteria are relevent to all categories, and will be omitted from those categories weighting. Again, if in doubt, speak to one of the WAWA commitee members for advice.

Fitness for Purpose

* Does the website suit its target market and deliver its message in an engaging and appropriate fashion?
* Is the website relevant whilst fulfilling or achieving its purpose?

Design Aesthetics

* Is the website aesthetically pleasing?
* Is it visually suitable?
* Is the website designed to appeal to the target market?
* Does the website make use of ‘white space’?
* Are the size and style of fonts appropriate?
* Are the colours used appropriately for contrast?
* Does the visual design represent the image of the business or agency?
* Is the branding of the business or agency consistent?
* Does the website use consistent elements and appropriate graphics and images?

Home Page

* Does the Home Page clearly identify the purpose of the website?
* Does the Home Page indicate which target market it is aiming to appeal to?
* Does the Home Page have links to all major internal pages?
* Does the Home Page download in an adequate time frame?

Content

* Is the content written in clear and simple terms?
* Is the amount of content on each page appropriate?
* Is the language and tone of the wording natural and familiar to the website’s target readers?
* Is the content informative?
* Are keywords and key phrases used in a balanced way throughout the content?
* Is there limited use of unnecessary jargon and acronyms?
* Are appropriate policies included eg Customer Satisfaction Guarantee, Returns, Security, easy to understand?
* Is the content mark-up appropriately? (This is not the code but headings, paragraphs etc)

Credibility and Validity

* Does the website include a Privacy Policy (where required by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000, www.privacy.gov.au)?
* Is security of customers personal and financial information assured?
* Does the website include a Customer Service Policy or information?
* Are ethical issues such as goods return or refunds addressed?
* Is the website free of inappropriate content?
* Does the website include contact names, addresses and phone numbers?

User Experience is a combination of the following criteria.

Information Architecture

* Is the content structured to help target market find information easily?
* Are headings obvious and descriptive?
* Does the website have clear, predictable navigation with uncomplicated structure?
* Are internal links managed well? Is there a site map or search facilities where appropriate?
* Are the menu groupings logical and easy to follow?

Development

Technologies include databases, shopping carts, forms, payment processes, calculators, search processes, news and mailing lists.

* Do the website technologies achieve the functionality requirements?
* Are the technologies simple, logical and easy to use?
* Do the various parts of the website download in an adequate time frame?
* Do the Title and Description meta-tags have adequate keywords?
* Is the website optimised appropriately for search engines?

Functionality and accuracy

* Do the website technologies function as expected?
* Does the website display consistently in various, widely-used web browsers?
* Is the website free of spelling or grammar errors, broken links, out-of-date or obviously inaccurate content?
* Does the website display in mobile or small screen devices?
* Are links to and from external sources managed well?
* Are contact details provided for customer enquiries?

Web Innovation criteria

Innovation

* How innovative is the system?
* Does the system use technique/s in new and exciting ways?
* Will the system have a big impact on the target audience

Uniqueness

* How unique is the system? This can be based on the the uniqueness of the idea, UI or implementation

Marketability

* How difficult will it be to sell the system to the target audience?

Retail criteria

Certificate type

* What is the level of certificate installed on the site

Customisation

* is the site a built from the ground up implementation?
* is the site an out of the box implementation?
* is the site a customisation of an existing online store environment?

Selling Functionality

* Is the shopping catalogue easy to browse or search?
* Are you able to register for product updates?

Shopping Cart Flow

* Is it easy to add another product to the cart?
* How easy is it to create an account for the website?
* Is the checkout process uncomplicated and easy to use?