Mequoda Group Announces the 2006 Media Website Design Award Winners

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Press Release

Sudbury, MA, February 9, 2006

Mequoda Group Announces the 2006 Media Website Design Award Winners

Mequoda Group announced today that Atkins.com and Better Homes & Gardens (BHG.com) tied for the highest score in the 2006 Mequoda Media Website Design Awards, each earning a 3.86 grade "A" rating on the Mequoda Scorecard.

For the past 12 months, the Mequoda Research Team has been discussing, reviewing and rating media websites. Each website is nominated by one of seven Mequoda Website Reviewers (Robert W. Bly, Terri Edmonston, Larry Kerstein, Kim Mateus, Roxanne O'Connell, Roger C. Parker, and Peter A. Schaible), who make the case that the website is very good (or very bad) at demonstrating one or more of the 14 Mequoda Website Design Guidelines. At least one other member of the reviewing team must second the nomination, then the detailed 14 step website design and usability review process begins, culminating with a peer review and publication in the Website Design for Publishers & Authors volume of the Mequoda Library.

Fourteen of the 48 websites earned a grade "A" website design and usability rating on the Mequoda Website Design Scorecard with a total score of 3.50 or better on the 4.0 scale. The media websites under review includes both B2C and B2B websites and encompassed all seven of the Mequoda Website Archetypes.

To create the 14 Mequoda Website Design Guidelines, we've reviewed hundreds of media websites and interviewed dozens of website authors, publishers and designers. We've conducted expert usability reviews and actual user tests to determine what we believe to be the top 14 website design best practices for the seven Mequoda Website Archetypes.

While these 14 guidelines are by no means the complete list of website design practices, they are essential to sound, effective website design. We're sure that implementation of these practices will result in happier, more satisfied, users.

For a complete list of the 48 websites and their respective scores and reviewers, along with a list of the 14 website design guidelines, please visit http://daily.mequoda.com/i/website_design/2006_Mequoda_
Media_Website_Design_Award_Winners_88-1.html?show_comments=1#read\.

Mequoda Daily, a free website and newsletter about best practices for Internet marketers, publishers and designers, is the nexus of a larger website network owned and operated by Mequoda Group, LLC. Mequoda Group is dedicated to helping special interest publishers create, build and manage multi-million dollar niche media empires. Other sites in the Mequoda Network include the Mequoda Library, a five-volume digital reference set on Internet strategy, Internet marketing, website design, landing pages and membership websites, and the Mequoda Summit, the company's annual event held in Boston, MA in September.