Categories

Judges will assess entries based on how well the site or on-line service delivers financial related products, services, advice or information. Key factors that will be evaluated include clarity of communication though user-focused design, content and functionality. The judges will also reward transparency, useful interactive features and innovation.

Judging will assess how a travel or tourism focused website or on-line service delivers products, services, advice or information. The judges are seeking to reward innovative use of digital channels to promote and facilitate tourism. All areas of travel, tourism and hospitality will be considered including sites that promote travel, tourism destinations, travel activities, promotional and informational tourism websites, city, country or regional sites, tourist attractions, chamber of commerce sites, airlines, bed and breakfasts and travel guides.

We wish to reward not-for-profit Community & Charity websites for either charity projects, community projects or fundraising initiatives. The judges will be looking for effective communication of key messages through compelling content, design and related functionality. Community engagement will be a key success metric. Facilities for visitors to contribute to, assist with, collaborate on or otherwise engage with the initiative will be recognised and assessed.

This category is open to online retailers, or anyone offering a website or online service relating to retailing or home shopping. Judges will be looking for businesses or individuals who are offering a compelling online retail service. Judges will be looking for successful, well-produced retailer websites or services which follow best practice in online retailing design, functionality and customer service.

This category is open to entrepreneurs or organizations which have established an exclusive web business. This wide category is designed to encompass the full breadth of business which is being conducted through digital channels. Judges will reward successful web businesses which offer unique, compelling or market-leading products or services.

The best new indigenous website is open to new websites in their first year of operation. The judges will be looking for evidence of customer acquisition while examining other performance related means of determining the viability of a website of interest to, but not limited to, people living in Ireland.

The Best Interactive Marketing Campaign judging will be based on a detailed examination of auditable performance metrics as well as an assessment of how effectively the campaign used innovative online marketing techniques, in conjunction with a high standard of visual design and creativity, resulting in an enjoyable overall experience.

The Best Media Website award is open to websites delivering Irish and international news in a varied and dynamic range of formats to its online audience. Judges will be looking for a satisfying blend of analysis, opinion and reportage of breaking and ongoing news items alongside a clear determination to deliver this content in a wide and growing variety of avenues.

The Best Professional Services Website award is open to websites providing high quality delivery of professional services by embracing effective and appropriate technology which provides clients with increased efficiency on their projects. There will be evidence of ongoing development of a user-friendly and quality information resource relating to the particular service to its audience.

The Best Education, Research & Training category is open to websites which provide valuable information resources and educational, research or training services to an audience seeking to expand or explore educational horizons.

This category is open to companies which have made the best use of film, animation or motion graphics on a variety of formats, from CD Rom development, to websites, online adverts or viral ideas. Judges will be looking for entrants to show how Film / Animation/ Motion Graphics made a difference in terms of visual impact or response.

The Best Web design & development agency will be assessed by looking at the quality of service delivered to clients in the areas of innovation, response times, meeting requirements, content update mechanisms & training, ROI and client and end-user satisfaction.

This category is open to sites that truly meet the needs of an audience seeking to absorb, as well as contribute to, content relating to as wide a variety of entertainment forms and gaming experiences as possible. The winning site should be well designed, making the best use of latest technologies and user generated trends to offer a highly interactive, functional and content rich user experience.

This category is open to sites which provide visitors with a truly impressive range of multimedia delivery of content related to Sports and Leisure. Site visitors will be able to access up to the minute content on these areas, alongside interactive facilities and user-generated features.

The 2009 eircom Golden Spider Awards will acknowledge online classified websites that provide users with a user-friendly and content-rich experience for finding jobs, property, motors and/or other products & services. Sites can be either vertically focused or horizontally focused. The judges will be looking for freshness and quality of content.

The best blog category is open to well written, well designed blogs which give a strong sense of the writer’s opinions and personality. Judges will be assessing your blog in terms of its usefulness within a given sector as well as the level of interaction with your audience.

The 2009 eircom Golden Spider Awards encourages you, the public, to vote for one outstanding Social Networking and community website which has maintained your interest, enhanced your knowledge, opened up new communication avenues and had the biggest impact on your life. Email your choice to info@goldenspiders.ie 18th November. Only one vote per email address. A site cannot win two years in a row.

Are you a young web designer, web developer or animator that’s still waiting to be discovered? By entering the young designer category you are promoting yourself to the Irish Internet Industry. If you’re under 23, get nominating, and another great thing; its free to enter!

The eircom Golden Spider Internet Hero award honours an outstanding individual who has contributed to the development of the internet. Last year’s winner Aodhan Cullen established StatCounter which is now one of the most visited websites in the US. To be announced on the night

The Grand Prix award will be selected from the overall winners of the individual Golden Spider categories in 2009. Judges will be looking for outstanding levels of achievement in the areas of technology, innovation, functionality & interactivity coupled with a world class user experience. To be announced on the night