Some Important Facts About Evaluating Sites

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Those of us which evaluate sites for listings and Awards Programs understand like few others the many different obstacles web site owners face. Many times these obstacles don't even seem important to the web owner. I use my own site as an example in the points below for clarification.

Here are some facts to help everyone understand this process a bit better. These facts can help web owners and evaluators. I believe these are points which all who evaluate web sites should take into consideration. (As time goes on, this list of facts will probably grow.)

* Many things happen which are totally beyond a web owners control, and they may not even be aware of it. This is largely due to how a web hosting company handles various functions of a site.

Different web hosting companies handle things differently. When I evaluate a site for my Awards Program, I take certain factors into consideration. Although, I have a set standard to follow, there are many variables which often are only specific to a particular site. This is why I try to keep the criteria general. Experience has taught me too look beyond the obvious. It may seem tedious, but it is worth the effort and allows me to offer a greater degree fairness to my Award Program.

* Many times links may be running on the same domain, but may be actually external links. This happens often for people who run multiple sites.

I do this myself. I have three sites which operate on one domain. To keep things simple and organized for me to be able to add things to these sites, they all run on the main tlth.org domain now. The main links to these sites are external links.

My awards received are external links for all other sites but the main site because they run from that site. I do not apply for awards for my individual sites. I do this for TLTH as a whole.
My site operates a bit differently then many others, although I have many sites, they all are a part of TLTH. As stated on the About TLTH page of the Main Site, TLTH is more then a site, it is a whole lot more. It is a way of life and a fundamental concept of help and service to others.

* Not all sites are operated by groups of people. Many listings and awards sites are run by teams of people. Each has their own particular responsibility within the site.

I have an evaluator who double checks each site evaluated applying for an award from my Awards Program, but all other operations, creations, additions, and general maintenance of my site is done solely by me. My son helped in the re-designing of my site as far as putting me on the right track with the HTML coding, but once he gave me the push, the rest was up to me. I may seek advice from other sources, but the work is all done by me and me alone. Every word, graphic, page, line, etc. is put into place solely by me.

With a site this big, things are bound to be missed. Please, email me if you find mistakes at becky188@gmail.com.

* Just because I site did not qualify for an high award in rated award program, does not mean it is not a good site. The biggest misconception in the area of award programs is that to be good site you have to win the highest honors. All the higher honors may mean is that the site owner is probably well skilled in web design.

Look at your site and it's activity. If people frequent you site and are happy with it, then who cares how many gold and diamond awards you receive. The visitors are the most important people you have to please, and if they aren't complaining, then your site is doing a great service.

* If evaluators temper their evaluations with understanding, then everyone will be pleased with the outcome.

* Sites should to the best of their ability, be able to secure a top award in their own awards program. They should be held to the same standards they expect from others.

I spend anywhere from 6 to 12 hours a day on my site. I am always checking stuff and making sure things work. I realize not everyone can do this, but I always look to see how often sites are updated. This tells me how much effort a person is putting into their site. This applies to Award Sites I apply to, as well as all other sites I may evaluate.

* Web sites are a work in progress. They are never finished. We may have a site which is running, but a good one is always trying to offer something new and fresh. We can't have visitors getting bored.

Let's all work to help each other and to work together to make the Internet safe and productive.

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