For the second year running, Hydro has been awarded the prestigious Farmand Prize in the category for best website among listed Norwegian companies. "This is a tremendous recognition of the work we do on our website," says Hydro's internet editor, Sissel Rinde.
The prize was awarded on Thursday by the Norwegian Minister of Government Administration and Reform, Heidi Grande Røys, during a ceremony in Oslo. The minister emphasized in her address that companies that wish to assert themselves at the top, must have a conscious attitude to developing their websites in line with the constantly increasing demands and expectations that users have to services on the net.
Good usability
The jury's grounds for awarding the first prize were that hydro.com is a website that is easy to navigate, in spite of the enormous quantity of information that is available. They also pointed out that a wide range of solutions were utilized to create a good website.
"We are constantly developing hydro.com, both in terms of content and when it comes to functionality for users. That's why it is very motivating for everyone who has worked editorially and with development of hydro.com to win this prize," says Rinde.
"This year we have changed the design, the start page, launched new services such as for example the RSS newsfeed subscription service, the share price calculator and an improved search engine. We have also improved content and structure in our main sections for the Press Room, Working in Hydro and Investor Relations," she says.
Ever since 1955 the Farmand Prize has been awarded annually to the Norwegian listed company that published the best and most complete annual report. After Farmand magazine ceased publication in 1988, the Norwegian financial magazine Økonomisk Rapport took over as secretariate for the prestigious Farmand Prize, and it is against this tradition that the "Farmand Prize for Best Website" has been presented for the second time.
"The Farmand Prize for Best Website" lays greatest emphasis on the content of a company's website, but also considers the standard of usability, whether the website is tailored to its target groups, to what extent the website is visible in internet search engines, and the user's experience of surfing the website.
The Norwegian companies Data Respons and Schibsted were awarded second and third prizes respectively in the "Farmand Prize for Best Website 2007" for listed companies.