The OpenWater Blog

4 Tricks to Create the Right Awards Program Website

A good awards program website can make all the difference on whether your program is successful or not. A quality website is one that achieves whatever purpose it sets out to accomplish, in this case to create more buzz and submissions for your program. No matter what, your awards website needs to be useful, easy to navigate and find, and meet its purpose.

1. Add Valuable Information Regularly

The information on your awards website needs to be useful to visitors. Visitors come to your website to learn more information about your awards program, so give that information to them. Make sure the material is updated, well-edited, and interesting to the audience that will be reading it. If there is any big news regarding your awards program, post it on your website to inform your visitors.

2. Make it Accessible and Usable

Simplicity is the key with design. It does not matter if your website is loaded with the valuable information about your awards program visitors need if readers have trouble locating it. The most important part of a perfectly designed awards website is connecting the user with the information they came to find. Pages that are disorganized or have too many links can complicate the use of a website and turn the reader off. The design needs to be clean and simple.

3. Relevant Domain Name

People will be able to find your website easily and come back again if they can remember its name off the top of their head. A domain name that is complicated or one that clearly is hosted on a free server does not convey to the reader a sense of professionalism.

4. Purpose

Your awards website needs to meet its purpose of informing visitors about your awards. Focus your content on this. Your website should answer any concern someone may have regarding your program. Avoid a disorganized look, and inspire confidence in your readers about your awards program.

Timothy Spell

Timothy Spell co-founded OpenWater in 2007 with the goal of helping organizations tackle and better manage the oftentimes overlooked awards and contests industry. As an author and speaker in the awards industry, Timothy provides unique insight on how to use awards to boost membership, social media followers and search engine traffic.

How to Market An Awards Ceremony: 6 Successful Rules

Top 6 Social Networks For An Awards Program