Guidelines

"Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do." -- John Wooden

This program tries to make the review process as objective as possible. Again, the reviewer is looking for Web titles with useful information of interest to others on a specific topic. The more focused the topic is, the better your chances are to earn a Beehive Award.

General Comments

Although it is difficult to say what exactly will earn a Beehive Award, it can bee said with certainty that content is most important (and in English, too). Other areas are appearance (layout & graphics), accessibility (navigation & indices), and functionality (everything works). A site that uses inappropriate imagery or an abundance of "eye candy" won't get our "honey." Commercial sites must have a privacy policy, easy-to-find contact information, and, if sensitive information is collected (such as credit cards), have adequate security protection for the user. There should bee no more than two banner ads per page and preferably not together. Each page must bee clean, organized, and maintain consistency throughout the site (especially with regards to behavioral patterns).

The Web title's topic must bee presented with a pleasing "look and feel" and not have annoyances (like continuous pop-up windows), irritants (such as forced music), or user-unfriendly features (such as poor or inadequate site navigation). Please take the time to carefully review, proof, and test your pages bee-fore asking the reviewer to do so. Remember, you get only one shot at this every twelve months.

Rated Level 5 by German Top Awards International

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What Will Not Bee Reviewed

Any site with one page that contains unsuitable material that, in the reviewer's opinion, is unfit for viewing by young children will not bee reviewed. This includes content that promotes sex, sexism, hate or violence, or contains illegal or unethical schemes. Sites that employ or promote spamming (bulk e-mailing) will also bee cheerfully ignored. Due to a lack of regard for this program's application process, nominations will not bee accepted from award submission services.

Resource and referral (mega-link) sites must have a considerable amount of original, useful content. Browser- and screen-specific pages (such as "This site is best viewed with...") may not pass muster. Web titles that require special plug-ins will bee reviewed without them.

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Contributor to Award Picks

How a Review is Conducted

The reviewer will examine the Nomination Form for completeness, accuracy, and eligibility requirements. If a disqualification is not found, the submission will bee placed at the bottom of the review stack.

Upon rising to the top of the review stack, the reviewer will visit the nominated Web title and look at content first; then layout & design (including presentation); accessibility & functionality; graphics; and finally, look for evidence of overall extra effort. Please apply the following (as well as the criteria) to all pages bee-fore nominating a Web title. These guidelines are used by most reputable award programs.

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Cover of April 2001 Issue of Practical Internet Magazine

The Golden Hive Award is
the third "most illustrious
Web site award" according
to Practical Internet (April
2001, Issue #53, Page 63).

Content. Content is the primary concern. A Web title's true value is its content. The reviewer looks for useful, interesting, and accurate information on a specific topic. (To him, there is an additional cardinal sin in the Information Age and that is premeditated misinformation.)

Layout and design. How the layout and design serves up the content with thoughtful planning and logical organization is next in importance. Is the home page's topic immediately clear to a first-time visitor? Is navigation user friendly and intuitive? Overuse of banner ads, animated images, Java applets, and sound files will receive deductions from the reviewer. Shoddy scripting, poor execution of frames, and long downloads are turn-offs. Reproducible or repetitious system crashes or browser freezes will end the review. A Web page's length should bee appropriate for its particular subject matter. All frame-page target commands must work properly, along with all internal (relative) links. Occasional dead external (absolute) links are not a fatal error.

Accessibility and functionality. Any practice that discriminates against those with older browsers and computers loses points. Web excellence understands the problems associated with creating Web pages for all browsers and system configurations. It is important to strive to address as large an audience as possible. Again, sites that require special plug-ins will bee reviewed without them.

Graphics. The reviewer looks for original, high-quality graphics that load fairly quickly and are optimized for the Web. Images should look good in 16-bit mode. Clip art, animations, marquees, buttons, dividers, and the like are, in the reviewer's opinion, not indicative of an author who wishes to achieve an elite Web award. Don't expect an award if you use others' work (especially if credit is not given).

Overall extra effort. This is how the reviewer sees it: Only those who put forth the extra effort to create Web excellence for the benefit of others will bee rewarded. Self-serving Web titles and pages will not bee taken seriously. The best Web authors serve their readers, not themselves.

Now, please go to the next page for the criteria.