The DigitalFilipino Web Awards aims to advocate the use of Internet and e-Commerce for business development, through the identification, promotion, and highlighting of best e-Commerce practices from various websites in the Philippines.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards 2009 News and Blog Coverage

Our sincerest thanks to everyone who covered this event. I'll be updating this post as we spot more write-ups, photos, and videos about it.

Video
Best news website

Photos
Blog post and write-ups

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Winners: Digital Filipino Web Awards 2009


We would like to extend our congratulations to the following winners of the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards 2009.
We are most grateful to SMILDS.com Philippines for supporting this project.
Here are the winners:
The winners recognition happened last November 13 during the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit held at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City.
Special thanks to the following:

Congratulations everyone!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Judging: : Association / Organization Category

Here are the finalists competing for the Association / Organization Category:
The winner in this category shall be contacted this week and be invited to join us in the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit & 3rd Web Awards.

Judging: Telecom / Value-Added Services Category

Here are the finalists competing for the Telecom / Value-Added Services Category:
The winner in this category shall be contacted this week and be invited to join us in the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit & 3rd Web Awards.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

SMILDS.com Philippines signed up as major sponsor


Our sincerest thanks to Platform2u.com, through its project sites SMILDS.com Philippines, for signing up as a major sponsor to the 3rd DigitalFilipino Web Awards.


About our major sponsor

Platform2u.com was formed with the vision to provide a complete end-to-end e-commerce platform to the Asian industry by easily setting up online businesses and trading in the global marketplace. In a short span of three months, the company has obtained the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status from the Malaysian Government (January 2009) in recognition of their innovative research and development efforts in the e-commerce era.

In April 2009, when Platform2u.com was just five months old, they launched, SMilDS.com, a fourth generation e-commerce solution to the public.

Platform2u.com’s mission is to become the pioneer and enabler, as well as a provider of a complete, brand new business-to-business-to-consumer-to-consumer (B2B2C2C) platform in the Asian Internet retailing industry. It is their vision to be the largest e-commerce platform company in the Asia Pacific Region.

SMilDS.com Product Overview

As more and more people enter the busy working life, the demand for acquiring a 1-stop service has indeed increased over time. E-commerce industry was one of those demands as well, however how many players in the current market succeed in doing so? SMilDS.com is designed and equipped with an end-to-end e-commerce trading platform to cater to such massive demand in the market today.

SMilDS.com is an innovative and easy solution for merchants to be part of the global trend by transforming traditional business concept into a borderless e-trading platform. They call this platform the E-Commerce 4.0, or the fourth generation e-commerce solution which features not only the complete e-commerce tools needed, but also a business intelligent trading engine.


SMilDS.com is also a platform with a low entry barrier for SMEs in Asia, designed and glocalized with simplicity. It is user-friendly to suit all group demands from non-IT, IT-savvy users to developers.

Eco-system

SMilDS.com is not just simply another e-commerce platform, adding on to dozens in the market today. SMilDS.com offers the entire E-Commerce eco-system, complete with the basic components of an E-Trading platform, payment gateway system, logistic management also focusing on portal and media which helps to generate traffic, providing education and training on online business, designing and E-Commerce business management.

Key Components

Advance e-commerce Web Store

SMilDS.com offers a ready-customized, trendy yet simple and user-friendly web-store, with a lot of designed and sophisticated templates to choose from. All merchants need to do is just to upload their products as well as their company logo into the Back Office and they are ready for business.

It has a cross-selling E-Trading engine through SMilDS.com. Cross-selling allows other merchants to sell different products in their web-store, where they can earn commissions set by the product owner. This helps not only to expand your product range, but also expanding customer base and market reach. Thus, through this function, products can be sold and bought in the global marketplace and create a healthy competition among the web-store owners.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
“Customer First” is the all-time favorite business quote…


Another important component in SMilDS.com system is a built-in CRM system, which enables merchants to track and organize customer contacts as well as to approach otential customers. It is an effective sales-network approach to know and understand customer’s needs and requirements, which eventually boosts company profit.

Its CRM consists of Front-office operation, Back-office operation, Business relationships, and an advanced phase of business intelligence analysis.

E-Payment Gateway System


Highly-secured and designed with fraud prevention and detection mechanism, its E-Payment system is able to accept more than 15 mainstream currencies in the world. Their payment gateway business partner is a Malaysian government authorized company which is highly trained and an expert in online payment services. Apart from accepting a variety of payments from credit cards to online banking facilities, Platform2u.com acts as a Facilitator in managing your transactions, lowering fraud cases with our built-in detection tools, as well as an imposed risk management system to protect data privacy. These ensure all payment transactions are processed efficiently and smoothly. .

E-Logistic System

SMilDS.com incorporates the E-Logistic system, whereby they integrate their tracking system and a built-in packing list printing feature with logistic partners such as LBC, Air21 and FedEx to simplify the shipping process for all merchants. Logistic partners are from reputable backgrounds, reliable and professional in ensuring the shipment is delivered timely and soundly.

Aside from that, they incorporate their online system whereby customers can track their respective shipments in real time. Platform2u.com will act as a facilitator to monitor the shipment, ensuring both our buyers and merchants are well informed on the shipment status as well as ensuring all damages and investigation is done accordingly.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Call for nomination: DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards 2009

The 3rd DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards aims to advocate the use of Internet and e-Commerce for business development, through the identification, promotion, and highlighting of best e-Commerce practices from various websites in the Philippines.

Websites in over forty categories will be reviewed and judged for their ability to create a noticeable presence on the Internet – their ability to be seen and heard among all the noise and clutter of the Net. Commercial websites will also be reviewed for their ability to conduct e-Commerce in simple yet professional manner.

All entries are nominated by the public, as well as from industry, and will be judged openly by members of the DigitalFilipino.com Club.

It is hoped that through the promotion of outstanding websites and peer review process while judging that other businesses as well as the public get a better understanding of the benefits of the Internet as well as the various ways in which e-Commerce can play a vital part in business development.

You are encouraged to start nominating. Deadline is on October 19.
If there are categories we should add, just let us know.

Supporters of this project are encouraged to donate and help us sustain this project.






Sponsorship and marketing opportunities are still available.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Timeline

The following schedule shall be observed for the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards 2009:

  • September 19 to October 19: Nomination period
    Parties interested to nominate are requested to join the DigitalFilipino Social Network which shall be used as the nomination platform.
  • October 20 to 29: Judging workshop and online coordination
  • October 30 and 31: Winners notification
  • November 13: Winners Announcement at the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit
The schedule stated herein is final.

Judging criteria

Peer Review is a very important part of the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards.
At the minimum, entries subjected for review must meet the following criteria:
  • Each page in the site must have a unique title tag.
  • The site must have a search feature (either internally developed or 3rd party widget) that allows a visitor to explore the available contents further.

    - this is a new requirement defined for the 2009 awards.
On October 20 to 29, club members involved in the judging shall evaluate and submit reviews on entries (in categories that are assigned to them). For scoring purposes, entries are judged according to the following six criteria. Highest score is 10 per criteria.
  1. Search engine readiness
    - Title tags
    - Keywords strength
    - Page strength
  2. Content/Organization
    - Clear purpose
    - Target audience is clearly defined
    - Citation of sources, whenever used
    - Freshness
    - Originality
    - Accuracy of information
  3. Structure and navigation
    - Opening page
    - Content connection and transition
    - Writing and conventions
    - Ease of navigation
    - Link usefulness
  4. Design and functionality
    - Overall layout
    - Colors, background, text
  5. Technical performance
    - Page loading
    - Browser flexibility
    - Live links
  6. Interactivity
    - Audience involvement
    - Overall experience
Note that this juding criteria may be improved for further clarity and guidance of club members.
Additional info:
This video has an explanation of the judging criteria as well presented during the DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2008 recognition ceremony.

Find more videos like this on DigitalFilipino.com Social Network

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Free webinar: DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards 2009

In celebration of DigitalFilipino.com's 10th anniversary, we have a free webinar happening this September 17, 2009 from 2 pm to 3 pm orienting interested nominators and nominees about the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards 2009.

To participate in this webinar, please note the following:
  1. You need to register in order to receive a unique link for the free webinar.
  2. Please logon 10 minutes prior to the actual schedule.
  3. You will need a headset to listen to the presentation and discussion.
  4. To participate in the discussion, you can also use your microphone or type in your questions.

I hope you can join. Thank you for being part of our community!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Lessons Learned: Making a Great Website


The staging of the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards allowed us to have a point of reference on observations and suggestions that website owners could consider in building their site. This includes:
  • Need for management to participate in building the website. They should care about their online reputation and ensure that it will reflect what the company stands for and how its service can be used online.

    Most chief executive officers today obviously do not understand or appreciate their websites, as they hardly visit them. This creates a situation of ignorance. Although they may know how their physical store works, how it looks, how business is done, these can’t be said about their online counterparts. Website reviews should also be considered as a topic in boardroom meetings, with professional web designers providing advice as necessary.

  • Sites that use open source codes should be customized and fit to the look and feel of the company. This way, uniqueness and identity creation are achieved.

  • If the site has numerous products or contents, having a search feature will help the users a lot in finding the products they need. The terms of sale must also be fully disclosed to avoid surprises with buyers later on.

  • Content matters a lot. It should be up-to-date, informative, responsible and attuned to the purpose or theme of the site. It is inviting for the visitor to stay and learn more. The site should not be content overloaded, as it will make the user tire easily.

  • Websites are encouraged to have a strong emphasis on providing further service and support to clients. This is where cross-media customer communication should be harnessed or explored.

  • Visuals must be used wisely. A site does not have to be extravagantly designed but attractive enough to indulge its readers. The site must also guide the user on where to go or how to navigate within. This is where usability testing matters a lot.

  • The marketing aspect should be well thought of and consistent with one’s offline marketing strategies. It is disappointing to see when the website is not aligned or reflective of the company in its offline world. This cannot be done unless it is clear that it is serving a different purpose. Most sites were built without search engine marketing in mind therefore not taking advantage of social networks, social media, and the likes to drive traffic that may also lead to desired conversion.

  • Websites must provide a means for contact using more than just one method. But due to spam mails, a lot of companies are reluctant in posting e-mail address and fax numbers on their sites. Careful thought must be given on missed opportunities that may result to this.

  • No matter how beautiful a website is, if it is not search engine friendly, it misses the opportunity to be found online. Proper attention must be given to titles, description, keywords, assets, among others found in the site to maximize search engine exposure.

  • Proper care must be given on the back-end and coding of the site to ensure that it is fast loading.
Related notes:

Organized by

Organized by
The DigitalFilipino.com Club is a community of e-commerce professionals and enthusiasts.

DigitalFilipino.com Club

My photo
Janette Toral is the site owner of DigitalFilipino.com She is the lead trainer of the Certified E-Commerce Specialist, Entrepreneur, Professional Program. More info at https://ecommerceuniversity.asia She is an Executive Director, Certified Coach, Speaker, Behavioral Analysis Consultant, Youth Facilitator, and Trainer with The John Maxwell Team She is a Certified Executive Coach and Certified TEAM Coach with Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching.