The Index Awards

The Index Awards recognise the UK businesses that are easiest to buy from online. They are based on what The Index observes on each business's public website, and no business has to enter or pay to be considered.

Why we built The Index

iWeb has built ecommerce websites since 1995. In 31 years we have worked with builders' merchants, foodservice wholesalers, parts distributors, manufacturers and retailers, and we have seen how differently each sector trades online. A builder ordering a mixed load for site delivery needs different things from a chef placing a weekly order or a fitter looking for one part.

That work showed us two gaps. Most businesses in these sectors have no clear way to see how their website compares with others like them. Most published advice on ecommerce is written for consumer retail, which leaves trade and specialist sectors to work things out alone.

The Index is how we are closing those gaps. We map each sector business by business and review every website against the same five jobs a customer needs to do: find the product, choose the right one, see the price and availability, buy it, and buy again. The map shows where each business is. The report shows what its website does today and what would make it easier to buy from.

What we want to change

We want every listed business to have a free, factual account of its online presence and a short list of improvements it can act on. We want each sector to be able to see its own standard rise from one year to the next. The awards give credit to the businesses setting that standard, including independents that would never enter a paid awards scheme.

How the awards work

Every business in The Index is considered automatically.
Scores come only from what we can observe on the public website.
Sponsorship, being an iWeb client and anything a business tells us do not change a score.
A shortlist of five in each category is published [one month] before the winners are announced.
[A panel of iWeb, our sponsor and a trade body] confirms the winners.
Where a shortlisted business is an iWeb client, we say so on its profile and on the shortlist.

Dates

The first Index Awards, for builders' merchants, will be announced in [month and year]. Until then, each business profile shows its current standing in every category it is eligible for. Other sectors will follow as they are added to The Index.

Check your business

Find your business on the map and read its report. If something is missing or out of date, tell us and we will review it.

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