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Spotlight on the Oscars Pt. I: Designing Your Awards Website

Awards programs are everywhere today, from small firms running recognition programs for their employees, to giants like the Academy running the Oscars.

Regardless of the size or scope of your program, all awards programs experience success due to the same underlying factors, among them a well-designed and thought out website. This means that the same underlying qualities of the Oscars that have made it successful for what will be 87 years come February 22 are the same factors that will contribute to the success of your program.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at what makes the Oscars’ awards website so great in order to demonstrate practices you can implement to boost the success of your own. Let’s get started!

The Structure and Organization of Your Awards Website Matters

Your awards website is an essential component of what makes your program successful (and if you’ve been around us here at OpenWater long enough, you already know this!). And when it comes to the Oscars, they’ve really grasped this idea and have created a website that encapsulates everything awards program sites should.

So, what makes the Oscars website so successful? There are quite a few factors in play to take note of.

The first thing that you’ll notice about the Oscars website is that it is distinct and separate from that of the Academy. Now, this isn’t to say that there isn’t information about the Oscars on the Academy’s website (in fact, the Oscars are featured front and center on the very clean, simple home page), but the separate website contains comprehensive information about everything individuals might want to know about the Oscars.

In fact, the homepage looks like the photo below where each sliding image relays additional information and links to learn more about the Oscars:

Of course, the structure of the Oscar nominations website is just as clean and easy-to-navigate as that of the Academy. In fact, this separate website is a great way to emphasize this particular awards program.

The best part about the Oscars nomination site is that the layout is not only appealing and uncluttered, but remains focused on what the program is about (hint hint, it’s the actors, actresses, directors, and other talented individuals responsible for each amazing film).

So, what can you learn from this website and apply to your own?

• Clean Layouts Produce Optimal ResultsClean, sleek layouts lay the perfect foundation to ignite viewer interest. Because there isn’t something going on on every inch of the page the visitor can focus on what’s most important: the information being provided and the accompanying visuals. This makes it not only easier to find the information desired, but also more pleasant for the visitor, which is key if you’re trying to get them interested.
• Organization Matters When There is a Lot of InformationIt’s easy for visitors to get overwhelmed by the amount of information contained on an awards website. However, taking the time to sort through all information and divide it into specific sections and pages will help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed. Coupling this with a clean structure and layout makes it simple for visitors to find what they want without having to first sort through endless pages of information.
• The Homepage is Extremely ImportantYour homepage is the first impression your site will make on a visitor, so it’s important to make it memorable. The Oscars homepage has rotating images linking to blog posts about the awards, as well as other strong images, dynamic calls-to-action, an easily navigable menu, and a section devoted to their twitter! By including all kinds of important information in an exciting and eye-catching way (while maintaining white space) they’re working to ensure that any visitor will stick around for a while and investigate more.

Even if your program isn’t as big as the Oscars and isn’t even in the same industry, there are still real lessons any organization can learn through its practices and countless others like it.

Of course, there’s always more to learn about getting your website up to snuff! To learn more be sure to download our guide: 10 Steps to Your Perfect Awards Website.

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Miriam Hancock

Miriam Hancock
Miriam is the Marketing Coordinator for OpenWater. When she isn't writing and designing content she paints and cooks for her own personal blog.

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