Questions About Our Upcoming Best WordPress Website Design of 2009 Contest!

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Best WordPress Design 2009 Contest launches Saturday, August 1st! Click here to learn more…

If you missed my post last month teasing my idea of a possible WordPress design contest, you can check it out here: My List of the Best WordPress Website Designs of 2009

This post got a big reaction from all of you, so I’ve decided to launch an official Best WordPress Website Design of 2009 Contest! I’m still working on the backend aspects, but I hope to begin accepting nominations on August 1st! Make sure you sign up for my newsletter (top of the page) so you don’t forget.

Contest Details So Far

Basic Idea of the Contest:

I’ve been thinking about how I could help out some of my fellow bloggers since I launched FresheVenture and realized a contest would be a great opportunity for each of YOU to get your blog featured! Need some traffic? Want some love from other bloggers? Here’s your chance!

I’m really hoping to feature a lot of newbie bloggers or bloggers struggling with traffic. If you need some love or think your blog deserves some attention, this contest is for you! Experienced bloggers are welcome as well!

Who Is This Contest For?

• New and Experienced BLOGGERS ONLY – NO Theme Designers
• Bloggers Who Need or Want Some Attention – Don’t be intimidated! This is NOT about highlighting the most well known bloggers. It’s about finding awesome blog designs. Who knows – yours could be voted #1!
• Bloggers Who Have Customized a WordPress Theme with Their Own Branding – I’m an example of this type of blogger (of course, I’m not eligible to enter). I used StudioPress’ Lifestyle Theme as the skeleton of my blog. I customized it to look like my original design. For more info on how I did this, check out my post, How I Designed My Blog – Summary of Platform, Theme and Plugins.

Prizes!!!

I am in the process of acquiring some fantastic sponsors for this event! There will be awesome prizes. Stay tuned for more details.

UPDATE: StudioPress is now an official sponsor! Learn about the prizes here.

Who Can Enter?

1. Any blog that is WordPress Powered is eligible for inclusion!
2. Even if your design is a customized free or premium WP theme, you are eligible!
3. Don’t have a blog? You can still submit your favorite design for inclusion!

Who May NOT Enter?

WordPress Theme Designers – This is a contest for bloggers, not designers. If you want your theme featured, nominate someone who uses your theme on their blog. Please note, they may be excluded if their theme hasn’t been customized in any way.

EXCEPTION: If you have a blog where you do NOT sell themes, but you happen to design WP themes and sell them on a different website, your blog IS eligible for this contest.

Should I Submit My Blog?

1. If you LOVE your design, then sure!
2. If you think you have something that makes your design stand out, go ahead and enter!
3. Want some FREE publicity? Need some extra traffic? Take advantage of this opportunity!

How Will People Vote?

Once submissions are closed, all of the blog nominees will be added to FresheVenture and people will be able to vote for their favorite. Each person gets only 1 vote.

How Will People Know to Vote for Me?

Once you submit your nomination, you will be provided with a badge that you can add to your blog. This badge will say something like “I’ve Been Nominated for the Best WordPress Website Design of 2009! Vote for Me Here…” The link will take them to the voting page on my blog.

How Do I Get Votes?

Talk about the contest on your blog, tweet it and do anything else you can to get the word out there! I will be spreading the word and I’m sure our sponsors will be as well, but if you don’t tell people to vote for you, they may vote for someone else…

I would like this to be a community effort – spread the word, just don’t spam!

I Have Some Questions for All of You

I’ve been struggling with the timeline of the contest. If I make it too long, people may lose interest. If I make it too short, people will miss their chance at nominating their blogs or voting for their favorite.

My Thoughts On the Timeline:

I thought I would accept blog submissions for inclusion into the contest from August 1st, 2009 until September 30, 2009. After that time, all blog designs will be put up for a vote.

I need your feedback, so below you will find some Q&A’s for you to use to communicate with me.

I appreciate your help! Let me know any other thoughts or questions you have by commenting below. This is going to be SO much fun!

Topic Tags:

best wordpress website design of 2009 contest, blog design, blogging, contests, studiopress, wordpress