Sites promoting video games are the best in Web development today, followed by music, automobile and sports-related sites, according to the Internet Standards Assessment Report released by the Web Marketing Association.

For the past decade, the WebAward competition has been reviewing Web site development in more than 80 industries and has released its finding based on nearly 10,000 Web site reviews. The results evaluate benchmarks in seven categories: design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use.

The consumer sites in industries leading the rankings feature vibrant content aimed at migrating the brand experience online and building online communities. In addition, they excel because of the need to meet high audience expectations.

* Gaming sites: Targeted to a younger audience, these sites feature experienced designers who understand the intricacies and the benefits of online communities, including message boards and chat features.

* Music sites: Users come to music sites for the content, but they stay for the experience. Music sites have demonstrated the ability to build a loyal following by effective uses of technology to stream rich media content without sacrificing usability.

* Automobile sites: Developers of automobile sites realized early on that customers were most likely to research an auto brand in the privacy of their homes or offices, rather than in showrooms with commission-driven salespeople.

* Sports sites: These sites benefit from a strong fan base. People count on their favorite sports Web sites for sporting news and events.

"As Internet bandwidth developed, so did the ability for Web sites to deliver a dynamic rich media experience that merges online entertainment with e-commerce to create a compelling interaction for users," said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. "While content is still king, it's a Web site's ability to interact with users in interesting ways that keeps an audience coming back for more."

Rick Young
www.2006webaward.com