A small working website designed and built by one entrant, viewed by a panel and rated on layout, usability, visual design, content and technical soundness.
Website Design is the one web-based class in the Multimedia division. A single entrant builds a small website, a handful of linked pages on a topic of their choosing, and hands it in for the panel to open and click through. It sits beside video, animation, photography, computer graphics and multimedia presentation as a way to reward young people whose strength is building things for the screen rather than performing on a stage.
Nothing is performed live. The site is finished beforehand and submitted as files or a web address, and the judges explore it on an ordinary computer, usually following the main menu from the home page to every other page. A good entry makes that journey easy: the purpose is clear in the first few seconds, the navigation is obvious and every link leads somewhere that works.
On eTalenter the item is carried by the international teen talent template, in the Multimedia category, as an individual item for ages 13 to 19, open to both genders, in English. The template sets no time limit, uses a rating out of 10 as the score label and records a maximum score of 5 for the group. Because there is no running time, the work is judged on what the site is and how well it works.
Organisers add the class because it needs only a computer and a screen at judging, and because entries can be reviewed in advance. It gives teens who code or design a fair place to compete and often produces the most practical work in the whole Multimedia division.
Where Website Design is run
On eTalenter this item is carried by one template, the international teen talent template, where it closes the Multimedia division after the three video lengths, the animated classes, photography, computer graphics and multimedia presentation. Web design classes also appear in school computing fairs and youth technology showcases, but this page records only the template that carries the item, so organisers should check their own notice for hosting, file format and judging headings.
- United States
- Worldwide
Key facts
- Individual item: one entrant designs and builds the whole site
- No time limit; the work is judged on the finished site rather than a running time
- Rating out of 10 score label; maximum score of 5 recorded for the group
- Ages 13 to 19, open to both genders, English language
- Submitted in advance as files or a web address and opened by the panel, not performed live
- The only web-based class in the Multimedia division, next to video, animation, photography and graphics
On eTalenter, Website Design is filed under Multimedia and typically scored with Rating out of 10. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Website Design is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 5.
How it is scored
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means.
- Best score is
- the highest
- Decimal places
- 1
- Used for
- Arts
Where it sits
The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed.
Others in this category: Animation, Video, Computer Graphics, Website Design, Digital Photography, Multimedia Presentation
Judging criteria installed for it
eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed.
- Aesthetic Innovation
- Creative Use of Space
- Innovative Soundscapes
- Innovative Use of Texture
- Interactive Engagement
- Minimalist Approach
- Visual Impact
- Visual Symbolism
What judges look at in Website Design
What a Website Design panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Purpose and content: a site that is clearly about something, with text and images that are accurate, readable and written for a real visitor
- Navigation: a menu that is easy to find, consistent on every page and leads to pages that exist, with no dead ends
- Layout and visual design: tidy spacing, a limited set of colours and fonts and a clear order of importance on each page
- Usability and readability: text that contrasts well with its background, sensible sizes and pages that work on a laptop and a phone-width screen
- Technical soundness: no broken links or missing images, pages that load quickly and code that behaves the same in more than one browser
- Originality: a design the entrant clearly made themselves rather than an unedited template
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Website Design under Scoring Setup, or start from the judging and scoring software guide.
How to prepare for Website Design
How entrants and their teachers usually get Website Design right on the day:
- Choose a small, real topic first, such as a club, a local place or a hobby, and write down who the site is for before opening any tools
- Sketch the page list and the menu on paper, then build the home page and one inner page before adding the rest
- Pick two fonts and a short colour palette and use them on every page so the site looks like one piece
- Compress images and give each one a short text description so pages load fast and still make sense without the picture
- Click every link and button on every page before submitting, and fix anything that leads nowhere
- Open the site in a second browser and at a narrow window width to see what breaks
- Ask someone who has not seen it to find a given piece of information and note where they hesitate
- Keep a backup copy of the finished files and submit in the format and size the notice asks for
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Website Design judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Does the website have to be online?
That depends on the organiser. The teen template sets no hosting rule, so follow your own notice about whether to send files or a web address.
Is there a page limit or time limit?
The template sets no time limit. Check your notice for a page count; a small, finished site usually beats a large unfinished one.
Can I use a website builder or template?
The template does not say. Where it is allowed, change enough of the layout, wording and images that the site is clearly your own work, and read your notice first.
Is Website Design a team item?
No. In the teen template it is an individual item, so one entrant is rated for the whole site.
Similar competitions
Items whose names share a word with this one — usually the same discipline in another form.
Want the full judging picture? Read the judging and scoring software guide, or browse every multimedia competition item.
Try Website Design in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Website Design, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
