Comments & observations on judging the 2001 PSA CCC Website Contest

PSA Journal, Oct, 2001 by M. Jack Worthen

Hopefully, the PSA member groups entering this year's 2001 PSA CCC Website Contest and those groups planning to participate in the 2002 contest will benefit from the following comments by the judges that elaborate on how the scoring was handled. These comments should also provide some basic help to improve club websites and, in many cases, provide the necessary guidelines for groups to initiate new websites.

The judges: Paul Moertl, Wauwatosa, WI, Carole Kropscot, Plane, TX, and Mark Askoy, Glenolden, PA provide the following information both on their scoring philosophy and important tips for improving or creating new websites:

* Paul Moertl comments:

For content, I looked for things like: organization calendar, how to join (if applicable--some were organizations of camera clubs, not clubs themselves), where meetings were held, how often, competitions (if they had them) and their results, affiliation with PSA (a must), etc. The more the better. If they had items such as officers, special areas for members (as was the case with the Sydney website, for example), sunrise/ sunset (such as the Wasatch website), I gave extra points. I especially liked it if the site had the navigation information on all pages (see below, in ease section). Some only had a couple of pages, but if each had the content, I scored them higher.

For ease, if the site was easy to navigate, it scored higher. Some had non-working pages, so I deducted a point or two. If the navigation information was on all pages, I liked that too, and almost all sites had that. Some were a bit crowded, but that did not bother me, so I accepted it.

For links, it was simply the more the site had, the higher the score. A link to PSA was a must.

The same for photos--the more the website contained, the higher the score. Looking back, I think I was a little inconsistent in this category.

Paul Moertl--Wauwatosa, WI

* Carole Kropscot comments:

Thanks to my website judging experience, I now fully realize how wonderful it is that photographers from around the world have easy access to each other via their websites. Not only in the United States, but everywhere around the world. I found it amazing that the winners of the PSA website contest included a club from Canada and Australia, especially considering that most of the entries were from the U.S.A. These winners show the importance of websites. Now, everyone can easily see what other camera clubs, councils, and PSA Chapters are doing. We can get ideas to use in our own organizations. We can enjoy each other's photographs and see what kinds of images are winning. We are given links to other photographic information. So, be sure your organization's website includes plenty of information about itself and its activities, as well as links to other photographic websites. These websites bring the world closer together and make our PSA membership better and more personal.

Carole B. Kropscot--Plano, TX

* Mark Askoy comments:

The judging of the entries in the 2001 PSA CCC Website Contest involved visiting and examining in detail some 56 separate sites. Needless to say, this amount of web surfing was an education for all three judges on how to design a quality camera club, chapter, or council website. From our observations, come this summary of tips to follow in creating a "prize-winning" site, based on our four judging criteria: content, ease of use, links, and photos. For purposes of convenience, we use the term "club" in the following sections to refer to club, chapter or council.

1. Content--All club websites should have the following basic information, preferably on their front page, or else easily reachable by a clearly visible link:

Name; geographical location; short description of "purpose" or "mission;" info on meetings--times and place with directions and preferably a map; invitation to attend a meeting; a schedule of club activities for the current year; a link to PSA's website; a definition of PSA; and an e-mail address/telephone # for at least one contact person.

Beyond this, many other types of useful content can be added:

* competition rules.

* monthly reports on competition winners and point standings.

* club constitution and bylaws.

* a listing of club Board members.

* more detailed descriptions of upcoming programs and field trips.

* back issues of the club newsletter.

* membership application forms.

* a list or FAQs page on "why you should join."

And then we have the "icing on the cake" types of content which will make any club site worth a visit:

* History of the Club (this can be very entertaining--check out the Omaha Camera Club's history page: http://www.discoveromaha.com/ community/groups/cameraclub/ History.html).

* photographic information on film, equipment, techniques, etc.

* President's Corner page--where the head honcho gets to toot his horn.

* a photographer's guide to the area (city and/or state) where the club is located.

* an online version of the club newsletter with fancy layout and color photos that can be easily printed out as hard copy by site visitors.