HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 14th annual WebAward Competition for Web site development. More than 2,000 sites from 45 countries were adjudicated in 96 industry categories during this year's competition. Entries were judged on design, copy writing, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology.

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A complete list of the winning sites can be found at the WebAward Web site at www.webaward.org.

"The level of excellence in website development continues to increase, constantly making the Internet a very competitive place to do business," said William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. "Each year the WebAwards receives amazing entries from around the world that show impressive creativity and functionality.  As the Internet evolves, so does the state of website development and winning a WebAward is a great way to demonstrate the effectiveness of your Web development efforts."

Best of Show

The 2010 Best of Show WebAward is presented to Hitchcock Fleming & Associates Inc. for their exceptional work on "Glidden Website" website at URL http://www.Glidden.com.  The site was also recognized as Best Manufacturing Website.  

When Glidden decided to revamp their website, they turned to Hitchcock Fleming & Associates to help communicate feelings of fun, ease and design confidence. Through the creation of an inspiring color selector, the user-friendly new site allows consumers to visualize the room of their dreams before ever lifting a brush.

Top Agency

For the second year in a row, Extractable (www.extractable.com) was named Top Agency at the 2010 WebAward Competition, taking home 23 WebAwards. The Top Agency Award is given to recognize the consistently outstanding development going on at interactive firms.  The Bay Area interactive agency specializing in web strategy, web design, custom technology, was recognized with Best Computer Hardware Website, Best Credit Union Website, an Outstanding Website WebAward and 24 Standard of Excellence WebAwards.

Agencies or companies winning five or more WebAwards in 2010 include:

Competition format

The competition was judged by a team of independent Internet professionals representing a variety of relevant disciplines of Web site development. Judges included members of the media, advertising executives, site designers, creative directors, corporate marketing executives, content providers and webmasters.

The WebAward competition format allows Web sites to compete head to head with other sites within their industry to win the Best of Industry award.  Entries also compete against a standard of excellence to win Outstanding Website and Standard of Excellence WebAwards.  Each site is judged on seven different criteria and earns a score between 0 and 70 points.  The highest score in a given category wins Best of Industry for that category. If the remaining entries receive a score of 60 or greater, they receive the Outstanding Web site award. Entries that score higher than their industry average and below 59.9 receive the Standard of Excellence.  

The 2010 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: ExactTarget, Burst Media, PR Newswire, AllBusiness, BGT Partners, ad:tech conferences, NewsUSA, Internet World UK, Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster Radio and Website Magazine.

About the Web Marketing Association

The Web Marketing Association is working to create a high standard of excellence for Web site development and marketing on the Internet. Staffed by volunteers, it is made up of Internet marketing, advertising, PR and design professionals who share an interest in improving the quality of Website development and marketing on the Internet. Since 1997, the Web Marketing Association's annual WebAward Competition has been helping interactive professionals promote themselves, their companies, and their best work to the outside world. Now in its 14th year, the WebAward Competition has become the premier award event for Web developers and marketers worldwide.

SOURCE Web Marketing Association