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 Finalists Announced!
A
total of fifty five applications were received for the 2006 SANGONeT
NGO website Awards. Given that this was the first such competition, the
response was phenomenal and provided our panel of judges with an
interesting mix of both regional and sectoral examples of local NGO
websites. There was roughly a forty/sixty split between
applicants whose websites were predominantly focused on development or
human rights issues and those which were more oriented toward
welfare and charity-related activities.
In addition, the majority of applications were from NGOs whose
primary offices are located either in the Western Cape or Gauteng
provinces. By identifying these and other trends it will be possible to
develop specific criteria for future awards of this nature. Innovation vs Functionality
Whilst
the panel was impressed by the efforts made by all the entrants to
provide a platform by which to communicate to the broader public and
their specific stakeholders, it was necessary to select those
websites that were exemplary, based on various pre-defined
criteria. For example, although some of the websites
demonstrated substantial innovations in design, this often presented a
drawback in terms of accessibility, as it was not always possible to
view these websites using open source browsers, such as Mozilla
Firefox. Furthermore, there were websites that attempted to
engage their audience by using a wide range of animated objects. For
return users this can be very distracting and repetitive. When using
these types of attention-grabbing tools, it is often important to
consider their functionality and purpose from an end-user perspective. Communicating Online
Writing for the web is
also an important element for consideration. Tips include ensuring that
the most important information is effectively conveyed to the audience
on the "home" or start page. This includes, for example, a clear and
succinct outline of the aims or purpose of the organisation so that
visitors do not leave frustrated or confused, never to return. Other
stylistic issues include the use of informal, brief communication
techniques for content that is to be read off the screen. More lengthy,
academic or research papers are likely to be printed out and read
offline. Online content should also be broken up into smaller
paragraphs and the text should not cover the entire length of the
screen but rather be limited to the width of a line of text from a
standard book, for ease on the reader's eye.
Information Behaviour
Other
design elements that are worth exploring further include the layout and
navigation of a website. This is currently an area much explored by
behavioural scientists and information architects as it reveals a
number of quirky and intuitive responses that are common to most web
users. Some current findings from these studies include the fact that
the majority of users tend to notice the top right hand side of the
screen before looking elsewhere. Also, users dislike an
excessive amount of spare "white space" on their screen as this tends
to be irritating to the eye and affects readability. Other issues
raised were the use of consistent text formats and a need to limit the
use of coloured fonts. Hyperlinks to other content should also follow
some standard protocols - for example, blue is usually the preferred
colour and the one most internet users are familiar with.
Navigational Tools
Navigation
was also an area of concern for the panel, who observed that the use of
navigation protocols within a site should be consistent to avoid any
frustration for the end-user. Too much repetition of the navigation
links within a page is also confusing. Overall simplicity should be the
keyword in this regard. Speaking of keywords, the panel was also eager
to convey the importance of a search facility on websites that
contained extensive amounts of information, as this allows users to
retrieve information more readily.
Credit Where it's Due
Finally,
the panel commended those sites that demonstrated extensive effort in
terms of the depth and variety of content that they contained. Sadly,
it was clear that some lacked the necessary resources to apply
technical solutions to managing this content in a manner that made it
appealing to the reader's eye. A little more funding for these sites
might have made them winners. Other sites were obviously in their
infancy and, whilst carefully tended to and maintained, they had yet to
reach the full extent of their capabilities. We hope to see these sites
make a grand debut in forthcoming years! Here is this year's list of finalists, along with their websites:
Low Budget Options and Freebies
For NGOs
who lack the necessary funds and expertise for the development of their
NGOs website, SANGONeT suggests that you take a look at creating a
website or blog using some of the following free (non-technical) online
tools:
- Google's new Page Creator
- Blogger There's Always Next Year!
For those of you wanting to prepare for next year's round of SANGONeT web awards, why not also visit the ICT section of the NGO Management Toolkit for more tips and ideas on how to design and maintain your website? - Drafted by Diane Babak, SANGONeT Information Services Manager. |
