Questions on Validation, Categories and Judging
Every year there are a series of common questions that we get during the nomination process, here are a selection from this year so far:
Validation?
Q: Hey we have the cool site, but the boss insists we use this lame third party plugin that makes causes our otherwise perfect code to not validate.
Now if it is just a single third party plugin, like for instance - an ecommerce gateway, then you should be fine; as long as you don’t enter into the ecommerce category.
However you have to tell us, up front so we can look a the issue. I would even put comments in the code around the invalid code, so we know that “bad” segment is not your doing.
Then again if your entire CMS code is full of validation errors and you are using tables for layout with inline javascript, I wouldn’t bother entering. Sorry but the Australian Web Awards is about promoting best practice. The reality is you may need to go have a look at the right way to code your sites.
Q: I have a major concern over these awards, sites are winning that don't validate when I check them after they are announced. Clearly something is fishy here!
Let me explain what we believed has been happening with this issue.
The validation process begins soone after nominations close in July. Now remember not every page on every site is validated. Yes, we use automated tools to do the validation and a standardised method to select the random pages that are validated. However you have to understand we have 100's of sites to validate, validating all the page is just not possible.
If there are ZERO ERRORS and less than 3 WARNINGS in total on the pages tested for both HTML and CSS combined - then the site has passed validation.
Exceptions are made for third party code blocks such as Google Ads, javascript widgets and client inserted code. We can very clearly see the bad client code verses the professional front end development code.
Also remember we don't validate the Blogging category, and we expect things to break in the innovation category as well.
By the end of July all the validation is done. Now no one looks at the validation again during the judging process.
The award winners are announced in November, this is good number of months later. These sites will not have remained static during that time, they will have changed, they will have new content, maybe even the validation will have slipped a little.
But the fact is at the time of judging they were, within a few warnings in the worse case, the best of the best.
Q: I have a blog and it doesn't validate at all, its full of third party plugins that I don’t understand. Can I still enter. I have heard if it fails validation it is out of the running.
Not so, blogs and sites that are based on content only are not validated and are judged on content only. So go ahead and enter.
Q: All our sites validate, and we think they are awesome, leading edge in fact. So much so, that we are using elements of CSS3, HTML5 and proposed vendor specific CSS3 rules. Does this mean our sites will not validate?
Fantastic. It’s great to see you are pushing things.
All we ask is that you tell us in your submission.
We know that the validators for CSS3 and HTML5 are still in early alpha so we don’t expect you to have used them.
However please ensure the code for the HTML5 or CSS3 you use is valid and correct in syntax. We will check, we are anal like that.
Now if you have a really amazing site, I would be entering it into the “Innovation” category at the very least.
Q: We have a site that is based entirely in Flash/Silverlight can we enter too.
Sure, no problem.
Please ensure it validates, and that it’s accessible and very usable as these have been the weak spots of RIA sites in the past.
You will note on the judging panel there are good number of usability and accessibility experts.
Which State?
Q: We have the client that is based in Brisbane, but we are in Melbourne. So which state do we put the entry into?
This is simple; the state you select is the state of registered business office of your business.
For example if you have three offices and the head office is in Sydney then the state will be NSW.
The location of the client doesn’t matter; it is the location of the design team or the respective business that is the key factor.
If you are an international firm, then it's the Australian head office.
Giving Judges Access
Q: We have this new site, we think is kick-arse good! However it’s still currently under wraps by the client behind their firewall. Can we still submit it?
The site needs to be launched by the 30 June 2010. If by the 1 July it is still behind the firewall and has not been signed off by the client, then sadly it’s not eligible for this year’s Australian Web Awards.
However it will be eligible for next years.
If the site has aspects that are locked away from the public view, and these are critical to your submission. In order to evaluate the site the judges are going to need to have access to these areas. The best idea is to supply passwords and logins with you submission.
Which Category?
Q: We have a great mobile phone application we want to submit. Can we, I assume it goes in the mobile category.
Yes, correct, it would go in the mobile category.
However consider the judges, they have to access your application to review it. If your application is on the open web and non-platform specific, then this will not be an issue.
But if it is platform specific then you need to supply a method in which the judges can access your app say via an emulator or the like. You cannot assume the judges will personally have the specific platform for you app.
If you can’t provide a means in which the judges can easily evaluate your site or application, then we will not be able to judge it. Still talk to us, we are open to suggestions, we don't like to exclude anyone.
Q: We have a really cool site, however we purchased the design exclusively and applied it to a standard CMS install or a CMS hosted solution. Which category do we put it in?
In reality neither the code nor the design are yours or the product of a subcontractor you have managed. Effectively you have an off the shelf product.
In this case the only element that really is yours is the content. Hence this is the element on which we can judge the site, putting the design, functionality aside.
The best category for this type of site is the “Blogging” category, were it will be judged on content, and community engagement.