Frequently Asked Questions
Who's behind these awards?
Kristoffer Tjalve (Naive Weekly), Matt Klein (Zine), and Matt Muir (Web Curios) are the people to blame.
What does “the small, poetic, creative, handmade web” mean in practice?
That is an excellent question. We've previously described it as “the other web, the one that is small and handmade and isn't trying to sell you anything or monetise anything but which instead is about people using the digital tools we all have access to to make the sorts of small, personal experiences that you tend not to see in feed.”
Basically what we're trying to celebrate is people making things on the web for themselves, for the fun of it, for the hell of it, using their imaginations and whatever development tools and processes are available to them. It it interesting? Is it funny? Is it weird? Is it emotive? Is it heartbreaking? Does it make your soul sing? That's what we want to celebrate!
What sort of websites are eligible?
To be eligible for selection, projects must meet the following criteria:
- Non-commercial: projects must not be intended for commercial end; projects which feature some sort of merchandise/donation mechanic are eligible, but this must be secondary to the project's primary scope/focus.
- URL-based: projects must exist on their own, unique URL (on a URL you—or the website maker, if not the submitter—own. It can be a subdomain/subdirectory/file sitting somewhere off the main domain).
- No apps/downloads: projects that exist as apps and/or require a download are excluded from selection.
- No agencies or brands: individuals or groups of creators only.
- Launched between July 2024 and July 2025
What sort of websites aren't eligible?
Is the website you're thinking of more than a year old? Maybe don't enter it! (we do check)
Is the website you're thinking of less whimsical and personal, and more “look, I built a really exciting new SaaS offering?” Maybe don't enter it! As a general rule, we don't tend to think “productivity' software is particularly magical (see also—personal journaling software, accountancy software.)—basically if it's something you can conceive of turning into a future revenue pipeline then it's probably not appropriate.
What about apps?
Sorry, no, no apps—this is mainly because of the highly-commercial nature of the app space and the often high barriers to entry involved in getting things approved for distribution, which tend to work against the small and handmade.
Also, websites are oldschool and these are, well, oldschool awards.
What's your position on generative AI?
Look, this is complicated. We understand that people have strong feelings about generative AI and its impact on creative work (amongst other things), and the ethics of using it at all. Equally, though, it's true that there are a significant number of ways in which generative AI can be used to help people make and build things online which they wouldn't otherwise have been able to do—which feels like a good thing!
Basically speaking, the Tiny Awards approach to generative AI is:
- We don't have a blanket ban on entries that use Gen AI.
- That said, if it looks like a website that's been coded and written using an LLM and illustrated entirely with Stable Diffusion output, it's unlikely to get shortlisted.
- We are trying to celebrate the human, personal internet—it's up to you to decide whether or not a website created using machine-generated code and content really fits the bill here (clue: it doesn't).
How big's the prize? What's the trophy like?
The prize is pretty small—it's not a lifechanging amount, but let's say it will help with hosting costs.
Previous winners have received c.$500, but this may vary from year to year
We also hope to be able to give (even smaller) additional gifts (seriously, these are VERY small) to everyone who gets nominated.
The prize money is determined by our ability to attract funding/sponsorship, so if you can think of anyone who might be interested in helping then let us know!
The award has for each of the past years been handmade by a different artist—we are hoping that this year will be no exception. It will be shipped to the winner at our expense anywhere in the world.
Is anyone getting rich out of this?
If they are, it is not Kris, Matt or Matt.
The Tiny Awards is an entirely non-commercial endeavour.
Any money received from sponsors—our only source of income—is used to pay prize money to our winners and nominees.
If, somehow, you have an excellent idea for delivering plutocratic returns from the Tiny Awards, please keep them to yourself as we obviously disdain the filthy trappings of lucre (lol please tell us we are very hungry).