The bubble could always burst, of course, but, for now, crowdsourcing is front and centre when innovative web start-ups are formulating their business models.
Alongside Freelancer, Avaaz, which was recognised in the activism category, is making great strides by harnessing the collective will of the public. There are still niches within the crowdsourcing category to be exploited, so if you’re going to do it, now is the time.
One of the cardinal sins when creating your website is to introduce as many flashing, colourful animated elements as possible. You may think your site looks lively, but it simply annoys users.
Animation, however, does have its place, as long as it’s not self-indulgent. Lego, for example, won the Webby for the best homepage thanks to some simple animations that wonderfully show off its range.
Ben the Bodyguard, meanwhile, has a nice feature that animates a man walking down the street, revealing text as he goes, as you scroll down the screen.
The 2011 Webbys has the beautiful, in Monet, and the functional, in Zappos. Both won awards, however, because they fulfil their respective, but very different, functions.
It all goes back to the core strategy of your website. What do you hope it to do? It you hope it to be a high-volume retail outlet, Zappos-style simplicity is ideal. If you are a high-end boutique that requires people to visit a store to view the clothing, a very different kind of proposition is needed.
Even if you have a very simple site, however, there’s no excuse for looking amateurish.
“I think if you look at the (Webby) start-ups, they haven’t shirked on design,” says online entrepreneur Fred Schebesta.
“They have put some serious effort and work into making great designs and great products. I think those two go hand in hand from these awards.”
“I think the Webbys are great for not just promoting the coolest gimmick or the site with the most traffic but also looking at best practices and best navigation and structure – something a lot of businesses see as a secondary consideration when developing their website,” says Ned Dwyer, head of digital marketing agency Native Digital.
Is your website easy to navigate? Does it provide a good user experience? Could you change some small elements of the site to lessen frustration that users may have?
Even you aren’t sure, check out the Webbys best navigation and structure winner Hidden Heroes and runner-up Zappos.
Alongside the more obscure reaches of the online world, there are some familiar names on the Webbys list – Skype, New York Times, Twitter and Pandora, to name a few.
Several of these established internet giants have made serious mistakes in their past, ranging from poor marketing to problems monetising content. All, to varying degrees, have managed to bounce back.
As Schebesta puts it: “A lot of the sites look like they have been through quite a few iterations to get to where they are.”
