DC’s Web Site Competition Begins– Is Your Site Ready?
Editorial Staff
As of Nov. 1, 2006, Dynamic Chiropractic is accepting submissions for the ChiroMaster Award contest, which honors the best individual chiropractic sites on the Web. DC created the ChiroMaster competition in 1998 to recognize doctors of chiropractic who maintain well-organized, comprehensive, patient-friendly practice Web sites.
DC awarded the ChiroMaster annually until 2004; at which time we decided to make the competition a biannual one. Holding the contest every other year accomplishes several goals: It allows chiropractors who have been in practice for several years adequate time to redesign or improve their existing sites; while for new practitioners, it provides ample time to register a domain, acquire server space, purchase the necessary software and design their site.
As always, the overall goal of the contest is to help motivate DCs to design sites that are informative, comprehensive, aesthetically pleasing and consumer-friendly, all of which helps spread the chiropractic message.
There is no limit to the number of sites that can receive the ChiroMaster Award; however, bear in mind that our judging increasingly is stringent! In 1998, the first year of the competition, 20 of the nearly 130 sites submitted for consideration received awards; however, in 2004, approximately the same number of sites was submitted, but a mere three received the ChiroMaster Award.
All sites will be reviewed by DC's Web site committee, which will present the award to sites the committee considers, among other things, educational and easy to navigate. Sites also will be judged on chiropractic and technical value, including, but not limited to the following:
Chiropractic Criteria
Practice information. Does the site contain contact information about the practice, such as: phone/fax numbers, an e-mail address, office hours, a map, driving directions, insurance information? Does the doctor provide any personal or professional information about themselves or their practice? Are there any pictures of the office and staff online?
Patient information. Does the site include information about what chiropractic is and what chiropractors do, or the conditions chiropractors treat? Are there links to, or copies of, any important chiropractic studies? Does the site tell a patient what to expect on the first visit and subsequent ones? Can patients schedule an appointment online?
Telling the chiropractic story. What does the site say about chiropractic? Is the information objective and something about which the profession can be proud?
Technical Criteria
Download time. How fast does it take for your site to load? Graphics add flavor to a page, but too many of them can drive users and potential patients away.
Ease of use. Can users navigate the site and find what they're looking for? Are the links clear and concise?
Browser compatibility. Does the site look the same way in Netscape Navigator that it does in Internet Explorer? What about in the AOL or WebTV browsers? If your site doesn't display correctly in each browser, it might turn people away from the site.
Layout. Is the site visually appealing? Does it combine ample amounts of images and text? Is the text easy to read? The best sites blend both text and graphics in such a way that they draw users to all sections of the site, without being so plain as to lose a user's interest, yet without overloading the user on cutesy graphics or animations.
Miscellaneous. Is everything on the site spelled correctly? Does the site have a title? Do the links to other pages or sites all work? There's nothing more frustrating than being directed to a dead or incorrect link.
Eligible Web sites are limited to those sites designed and maintained by individual doctors of chiropractic, multiple doctor practices or chiropractic students. Sites maintained by chiropractic suppliers, or those that overtly promote seminars or products for sale, are not eligible for the ChiroMaster contest.
In 2004, the last time the ChiroMaster competition was held, we recognized the following Web sites for their excellence: Physiciansplus.net, Winchester Hospital Chiropractic Center, and the practice Web site of Dr. John Avard. Previous winners include the practice Web sites of Drs. Timothy Faulkner, Robert Smith, Brad Profitt, and James Edwards, whose site received a ChiroMaster for seven consecutive years (1998-2004) and was officially retired from competition in 2004.
To submit your Web site for consideration, send an e-mail to editorial@mpamedia.com with the words "ChiroMaster 2006" in the subject field. Please include the following information in your message:
your first and last name;
your Web site address;
a brief (30 words or fewer) description of the site;
a brief explanation of why your site deserves the ChiroMaster Award.
The submission deadline for this year's contest is Dec. 31, 2006. Winning sites will be announced in the Feb. 13, 2007 issue of DC.
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