For those who have never heard about us, Webmaster Showcase is Australian community of focused designers and developers all after the same goal: to share our work, and grow from it. At its most basic level, Webmaster Showcase can be a website to turn to in order to gain ideas and inspiration for your next design. On the other end of the scale, the site is a way to track design trends, see how yours compare with others in the same field, and to basically do some advertising for your work in the process.

How it all works

Any web designer or developer is able to join the community (remember, it’s free), but you must be based within Australia. After joining, you are able to submit your own work to the website where it will be judged – side by side – with the 135 other submissions that are currently circulating throughout the site.

Judging takes place in votes, meaning the design with the highest number of votes at the end of the month or year will be drawn to the front of the website. As a member, you have the ability to vote, but please note that we do not allow multiple voting on the same design.

Getting the most out of Webmaster Showcase

–Set up a personal profile: Creating a profile gives you the ability to list your personal information, such as a link to your personal work, as well as build a better presence in the community. One of our top users, WebbyEasy, can be seen here as taking advantage of this factor. He made sure to create an avatar – the image that displays with your comments and submissions – to make his experience much more personal.

–Create an effective site profile: When submitting your work, create a clean and informative site profile. One Man Epic | North Pole Expedition is a good example of what we are looking for as it clearly gives the design description, category, tags, and it was created by a member with a complete personal profile. The avatar for the member is clearly displayed, and if anyone clicks on the user’s name, they get to view a finished profile. Think of this profile almost like a business card.

–Vote and comment often: Take an active role in the community by giving other submissions your honest feedback through comments and voting. The more you contribute, the more likely you are to get noticed, as well as get more feedback on your own. Participation and feedback can only help you grow as a designer, in addition to getting you to the top of the Top Users list!

–Create and join groups: Groups in Webmaster Showcase allow members to share articles and information with other members of similar interests. Groups are a great way to create discussion, share and grow in the community, as well as get noticed and show an expertise in your area.

Win awards and gain credit

One of the coolest features of taking part in Webmaster Showcase is the fact that you can win awards and gain credit in the design world. Each month and year, the top voted submission will earn a place on our Winners Wall, in addition to the right to sport a Webmaster Showcase badge on your own website. Just imagine how good that will look to potential clients that your design(s) has been selected as the top among many!

Think you measure up?

Take a look at just some of our latest submissions below, and if you think your designs match or standout amongst these designs, then we would love to see your work on the showcase.

We look forward to having you as a member of Webmaster Showcase and making a great 2010. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, too, for even more tips and info relating to the web design world.