Best Website Redesign Contest Rules

Websites.com Best Website Redesign Contest

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES

THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES THAT ARE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, EXCLUDING LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. INDIVIDUALS MUST BE 21 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER AND MUST BE LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE TIME OF ENTRY. THIS CONTEST IS SUBJECT TO ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.

THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO THE FIRST FIFTY (50) INDIVIDUALS WHO PROPERLY SUBMIT A REGISTRATION (DEFINED BELOW) AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 2 OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

1. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: The Websites.com Best Website Redesign Contest (the “Contest”) is open only to individuals and entities that are legal residents of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, excluding legal residents of the State of Florida and legal residents of the State of New York. Individuals must be 21 years of age and older and must be located in the United States at the time of entry. Employees, agents, directors and officers of Verio Inc. (the “Sponsor”), NTT Communications, any Vendor (defined below) and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies (collectively, the “Contest Parties”) and the immediate family members, and persons living in the same households (whether related or not), of each such employee, agent, director and/or officer are not eligible to enter the Contest as an individual or through an entity.

To be eligible to enter the Contest, the entrant must agree to complete a major redesign of an existing website (such redesign must be sufficient to satisfy the Redesign Requirement as set forth in Section 3(b) below) for a commercial business that sells products or services in the United States and is organized under the laws of one of the 50 United States. The website must not contain obscene or pornographic material or depictions of violence, and it must not in any other way violate applicable laws and regulations. The entrant must enter the Contest with at least one vendor that is listed in the Websites.com Find an Expert Directory as a potential partner for the Contest and has fulfilled the requirements to participate as a partner in the Contest (a “Vendor”), or a partner who becomes a Vendor before the entrant completes a Registration (defined below). The major redesign of the website must be completed between 6:00:01 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 10, 2009 (the “Completion Period”). The redesigned website must be hosted on a Verio Inc. hosting plan, purchased through Sponsor or through a Vendor before 5:59:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 10, 2009. If the entrant’s redesigned website is selected as a Finalist Site (defined below), the entrant must consent to participate in an interview, by phone or via Skype, consisting of questions related to such entrant’s experience redesigning the website, and must agree to provide any additional information related to the entrant’s experience redesigning the website that is requested by Sponsor. Collectively, the requirements set forth in this Section 1 are the “Eligibility Requirements.”

2. HOW TO ENTER: You may enter the Contest between 6:00:01 pm Mountain Standard Time on September 1, 2009 and 5:59:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on October 13, 2009 (the “Entry Period”). To enter the Contest, entrants who satisfy the Eligibility Requirements must (1) complete all the required fields on the Contest entry form located at www.websites.com (the “Website”) during the Entry Period, including, without limitation, agreeing to these Official Rules, the Websites.com Registered User Terms and Conditions, the Websites.com Acceptable Use Policy, and the Websites.com Privacy Policy; (2) indicate the Vendor that such entrant will partner with to enter the Contest; (3) submit a screen shot of the homepage of the website that will be redesigned in connection with the Contest showing the website before the redesign; and (4) complete any additional on-screen instructions associated with the Contest entry form (each validly completed Contest entry form a “Registration”). Registrations that do not meet the Eligibility Requirements, include all required information and adhere to these Official Rules will be considered void.

To be eligible to enter the Contest, each Registration must be properly submitted by 5:59:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on October 13, 2009. Sponsor is not responsible for late or incomplete Registrations. If a problem occurs in the online registration process, the entrant is solely responsible for verifying that the Registration has been validly completed and submitted, and neither the Sponsor nor any Contest Parties shall be responsible for any incomplete Registrations or information not actually received due to incomplete or improper transmission. Neither the Sponsor nor any Contest Parties have any obligation to advise an entrant of an incomplete Registration.

The Contest will only be open to the first fifty (50) entrants who properly submit a Registration that is deemed eligible as set forth above. Each entrant who completes and properly submits a Registration that is deemed eligible for the Contest and that is among the first fifty (50) Registrations received by the Sponsor will receive an e-mail at the e-mail address provided on such entrant’s Registration confirming entry into the Contest. If a problem occurs in this notification process, the entrant is solely responsible for verifying that the Registration has been validly completed and submitted and is among the first fifty (50) Registrations received. Neither the Sponsor nor any Contest Parties shall be responsible for any confirmation of registration notification not actually received due to incomplete or improper transmission.

In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, the entry will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address at time that the Registration is submitted. The authorized account holder is the natural person who is assigned to the e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider, or other organization, or the domain associated with the email address.

3. CONTEST DESCRIPTION AND TIMING: The Contest will consist of the following periods and rounds:

(a) THE ENTRY PERIOD: During the Entry Period, entrants may complete a Registration to enter the Contest as described above.

(b) THE COMPLETION PERIOD: During the Completion Period, between 6:00:01 pm Mountain Standard Time on September 1, 2009 and 5:59:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 10, 2009, each entrant who submits a valid Registration (each a “Participant”) must complete and submit a redesigned website in accordance with the information set forth on such Participant’s Registration (each a “Participant Site”) and submit the Participant Site in accordance with the instructions for submitting a Participant Site located at www.websites.com. Each Participant Site must be properly submitted by 5:59:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 10, 2009 to be eligible to take part in this Contest and be considered for selection as a Finalist Site (defined below). No Participant Site may be modified between the time that it is submitted in connection with the Contest and 6:00:01 pm Mountain Standard Time on December 8, 2009. Sponsor is not responsible for late or incomplete submissions of Participant Sites. If a problem occurs in the submission process, the Participant is solely responsible for verifying that the submission has been validly completed and submitted, and neither the Sponsor nor any Contest Parties shall be responsible for any incomplete submissions or information not actually received due to incomplete or improper transmission. Neither the Sponsor nor any Contest Parties have any obligation to advise a participant of an incomplete submission of a Participant Site.

The Participant Site must have undergone a major redesign during the Completion Period in order to be considered for selection as a Finalist Site (defined below). Whether a Participant Site has undergone a major redesign and is eligible to be selected as a Finalist Site will be determined by a panel of three (3) judges selected by the Sponsor (the “Judges”) using a screen shot of the Participant Site homepage before the redesign and a screen shot of the Participant Site homepage as it is submitted in connection with the Contest, and will be based on satisfaction of at least three (3) of the following five (5) criteria (collectively, the “Redesign Criteria”):

1. significant changes to the navigation of the Participant Site;
2. significant changes to the look and feel of the Participant Site, including that the Participant Site does not use pre-made templates;
3. significant changes to the content and/or text of the Participant Site;
4. significant changes to the graphics and/or Flash used by the Participant Site, including the use of new Flash and imagery, which will be judged based upon both the screen shots and a description provided by the Participant on the application form; and
5. significant changes to the usability of the Participant Site, which will be judged based upon a description provided by the Participant on the application form.

The Judges, in their sole discretion, make the final determination as to which Participant Sites satisfy at least three (3) of the five (5) Redesign Criteria. Satisfaction of three (3) of the five (5) Redesign Criteria, as determined by the Judges in their sole discretion, is the “Redesign Requirement.”

Each Participant and Participant Site must fully satisfy the Eligibility Requirements as set forth in Section 1 of these Official Rules and the Redesign Requirement as set forth above. Each Participant Site, and the redesigned content contained on each Participant Site, must be the original work of the Participant produced for this Contest; Participant’s contribution to the redesigned website may not have been previously created; it must not infringe any party’s intellectual property or other rights; it must not contain any copyrighted works (other than works owned by the Participant) for which Participant has not secured appropriate permission and/or license to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display; it must be suitable for display in accordance with the Websites.com Acceptable Use Policy; it must not contain obscene or pornographic material; it must not contain defamatory statements (including but not limited to words or symbols that are widely considered offensive to individuals of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or socioeconomic group); it must not include threats to any person, place, business, group or world peace; it must not invade privacy or other rights of any person, firm or entity; it must not contain depictions of violence; and it must not in any other way violate applicable laws and regulations. Participant Sites that do not comply with these Official Rules or that otherwise contain prohibited or inappropriate content as determined by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, will be disqualified and will not be considered for a prize. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, makes the final determinations as to which Participant Sites contain prohibited or inappropriate content.

(c)  THE FINALIST SELECTION ROUND: During the period between 6:00:01 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 10, 2009 and 5:59:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 27, 2009 each Participant Site that is submitted within the Completion Period, satisfies the Eligibility Requirements, satisfies the Redesign Requirement, and complies with these Official Rules will be deemed eligible entries and will be judged by the Judges based on the following criteria, which are equally weighted (collectively, the “Criteria”):

(1) accessibility of the Participant Site,
(2) ease of navigation of the Participant Site,
(3) manner in which content is displayed on the Participant Site,
(4) effectiveness of the Participant Site in establishing the identity of the owner of the website, and
(5) functionality, use of technology, multimedia, legal protections and originality.

The Judges will award each Participant Site up to fifteen (15) points for each of the five (5) Criteria, or up to seventy-five (75) total points in total. Up to ten (10) Participant Sites that are awarded the highest point totals by the Judges in the Finalist Selection Round will be selected as finalists (each a “Finalist Site”), and the Finalist Sites will be eligible to compete in the Audience Vote Round and the Winner Selection Round (as defined below). The Judges, in their sole discretion, make the final determinations as to which Participant Sites are selected as Finalist Sites.

Each Finalist Site will be made available on the Website at 6:00:01 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 27, 2009. The Participants who submitted such Finalist Sites will not receive separate notification that they were selected as Finalist Sites.

Each Participant who submits a website selected as a Finalist Site must complete an interview, by phone or via Skype, consisting of questions related to the Participant’s experience redesigning the Finalist Site, with an interviewer selected by Sponsor (the “Interview”), and provide any additional information related to the Participant’s experience redesigning the Finalist Site that is requested by Sponsor. Sponsor will use the Interview and the additional information to prepare a case study documenting the Participant’s experience redesigning the Finalist Site that will be posted on the Website (the “Case Study”).

(d) THE AUDIENCE VOTE ROUND: Each Finalist Site will be made available at www.websites.com on or about November 27, 2009 in preparation for an audience vote as to which Finalist Site best satisfies the Criteria. Starting at 6:00:01 pm Mountain Standard Time on November 28, 2009 and ending at 5:59:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on December 8, 2009 (the “Audience Voting Period”) each visitor of the Website that agrees to be bound by the Websites.com Registered User Terms and Conditions(each a “Registered User”) will be permitted to vote to select the Finalist Site that such visitor believes best satisfies the Criteria. Each Registered User will be limited to one (1) vote.

Each Finalist Site will be ranked according to the percentage of the total number of audience votes cast that such Finalist Site receives. The Finalist Site with the highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a first ranking and will receive twenty-five (25) points, the Finalist Site with the second highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a second ranking and will receive twenty (20) points, the Finalist Site with the third highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a third ranking and will receive fifteen (15) points, the Finalist Site with the fourth highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a fourth ranking and will receive ten (10) points, the Finalist Site with the fifth highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a fifth ranking and will receive eight (8) points, the Finalist Site with the sixth highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a sixth ranking and will receive five (5) points, the Finalist Site with the seventh highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a seventh ranking and will receive three (3) points, the Finalist Site with the eighth highest percentage of total audience votes will receive an eighth ranking and will receive two (2) points, the Finalist Site with the ninth highest percentage of total audience votes will receive a ninth ranking and will receive one (1) point, and the Finalist Site with the lowest percentage of total audience votes will receive a tenth ranking and will receive zero (0) points. In the event that two or more Finalist Sites receive the same number of audience votes during the Audience Voting Period and therefore tie for a ranking, each of the tied Finalist Sites will receive the number of votes allocated to the ranking.

(e) THE WINNER SELECTION ROUND: The total score for each Finalist Site in the Winner Selection Round will be determined using the combined score obtained by adding (1) the total points awarded each Finalist Site by the Judges in the Finalist Selection Round, and (2) the total points awarded each Finalist Site by the audience voters in the Audience Vote Round. The Finalist Site with the highest total score obtained using this formula will be the first place winner (the “First Place Winner”), and the Finalist Site with the second highest total score obtained using this formula will be the second place winner (the “Second Place Winner” and together with the First Place Winner the “Winners”). In the event that two or more Finalist Sites receive the same total score using the formula above and therefore tie as one of the Winners, the tie will be broken based on the Finalist Site(s) with the highest score awarded by the Judges. If there is still a tie between Finalist Sites then the tie will be broken based on the Finalist Site with the highest total score awarded by the Judges in the Criteria set forth in Section 3(c)(5) of these Official Rules at Sponsor’s sole discretion. If there is still a tie between Finalist Sites then the tie will be broken based on the Finalist Site with the highest score awarded by the Judges in each of the Criteria set forth in Section 3(c)(1)-(4) of these Official Rules, starting with the Criteria set forth in Section 3(c)(1) and continuing through Section 3(c)(4), at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

Each of the potential Winners will be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility, release of liability, and where lawful, a publicity consent and release agreement (collectively, the “Releases”), all within five (5) days of notification. If a selected Winner cannot be contacted, is found to be ineligible, fails to claim the prize within ten (10) days from the date on which notification was sent, or fails to return the completed Releases within five (5) days from the date on which notification was sent, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate Winner selected using the judging criteria set forth above at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

Entrants agree that the Sponsor has the sole right to decide all matters and disputes arising from this Contest and that all decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding.

4. PRIZES: The First Place Winner will be awarded a prize of US $10,000.00. The Second Place Winner will be awarded a prize of US $3,000.00. All federal, state and local taxes related to the prize awarded to each of the Winners are the sole responsibility of such Winner. Total Actual Retail Value: US$13,000.00.

5. NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: Each of the Winners will be notified by e-mail at the e-mail address provided on such Winner’s Registration, or by phone at the phone number provided on such Winner’s Registration, on or before December 16, 2009. In addition, the Winners will be announced on the Website on December 16, 2009.

6. TERMS OF SUBMISSION: As conditions of entry into this Contest, and by submitting a Registration or Participant Site and/or participating in an Interview or providing information for a Case Study, each Participant:

(a) Warrants and represents that the Participant owns all rights to the Participant Site and all content included on the Participant Site; warrants and represents that his/her Participant Site is original to the Participant, does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights or any other legal or moral rights of any third party, or violate applicable laws or regulations; and further warrants and represents that the Participant has the written consent, release and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person depicted on the Participant Site to use his/her respective name or likeness to enable inclusion and use of the Participant Site by the Sponsor in accordance with these Official rules, and can make available to the Sponsor copies of such written permissions upon request.

(b) Grants to Sponsor and its parents, subsidiaries, and agents an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, fully paid-up and royalty-free license to post, display, publish, use, adapt, edit and or modify such Participant’s Participant Site, Interview or Case Study in any way, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, for any purpose (including without limitation promotion, advertising and trade), without limitation and without consideration to such entrant. Each Participant further agree to release and indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsor and the Contest Parties from any and all claims that any commercial, advertising, presentation, web content or any other material subsequently produced, presented, and/or prepared by or on behalf of Sponsor or any of the Contest Parties infringes on the rights of such Participant’s work contained in the Participant Site, the Interview and/or the Case Study..

7. GENERAL CONDITIONS: By participating in this Contest, entrants release and hold harmless the Sponsor, the Contest Parties and their respective employees, agents, principals, contractors, directors and officers from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the Contest or receipt or use and/or misuse of any prize. By participating in this Contest, entrants agree to these Official Rules, the Websites.com Registered User Terms and Conditions, the Websites.com Acceptable Use Policy, and the Websites.com Privacy Policy, and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant deemed to be (1) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or the Website; (2) violating these Official Rules; (3) violating the Websites.com Registered User Terms and Conditions, Acceptable Use Policy or Privacy Policy; or (4) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy abuse, threaten or harass any other person.

8. DISPUTES: This Contest is offered only in the United States and is governed by the laws of the state of Colorado. All claims relating in any manner to this Contest or to any Registration, Participant Site or Finalist Site must be resolved in the federal or state courts located in Denver County, Colorado.

Each entrant waives any and all objections to jurisdiction and venue in these courts. As a condition of participating in this Contest, entrant agrees that any disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, other than such entrant’s actual out of pocket expenses (e.g. costs associated with entering this Contest), and entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE: Each entrant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor will not be a party to any agreement between such entrant and any Vendor made in connection with the Contest, and that no liability is assumed by the Sponsor or the Contest Parties in connection with any such agreement. No liability or responsibility is assumed by the Sponsor or the Contest Parties resulting from any entrant’s participation or attempt to participate in the Contest or ability or inability to upload or download information in connection with participating in the Contest. No liability or responsibility is assumed by the Sponsor or the Contest Parties for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences which may affect the operation of the Contest: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any e-mail transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted e-mail transmissions; inaccessibility of the Website in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the Website; unauthorized human or non-human intervention of the operation of the Contest, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms, or destruction of any aspect of the Contest; or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an e-mail account used in connection with the Contest. No liability or responsibility is assumed by the Sponsor or the Contest Parties resulting from any typographical errors in the announcement of prizes or these Official Rules, or any inaccurate or incorrect data contained on the Website. Use of the Website is at each entrant’s own risk. Neither the Sponsor nor any of the Contest Parties shall be responsible for any personal injury or property damage or losses of any kind which may be sustained to entrant’s or any other person’s computer equipment resulting from participation in the Contest, use of the Website or the download of any information from the Website. By participating in the Contest, each entrant releases the Sponsor and each of the Contest Parties from any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such entrant’s participation in the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify, cancel, terminate or suspend all or any portion of this Contest should fraud, virus, bugs, unauthorized human intervention, systems malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest.

10. USE OF DATA: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about all entrants (including without limitation e-mail addresses) when such entrants submit a Registration. By submitting a Registration, entrants hereby agree to all personal information uses and disclaimers as explained in the Websites.com Privacy Policy. Submitting a Registration further constitutes an entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the Websites.com Privacy Policy, and confirms each entrant’s willingness to be contacted by telephone and/or e-mail.

11. WINNERS LIST: For the names of the creators of Finalist Sites and/or the Winners, or to request a copy of the Official Rules, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, postmarked by June 17, 2010 to: Websites.com Best Website Redesign Contest, c/o Verio Legal Department, Verio Inc., 8005 S. Chester St. Suite 200, Centennial, Colorado 80112.

12. CONSTRUCTION: The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any such provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, these Official Rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained therein.

13. SPONSOR: Verio Inc., 8005 S. Chester St. Suite 200, Centennial, Colorado 80112.

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