Introduction

In the rapidly changing tech landscape, where ideas come to fruition in the blink of an eye, hackathons serve as the ultimate hubs where this transformation takes place. If you're an organizer searching for the perfect platform to host a great hackathon, look no further. At Devfolio, we simplify the process of hosting hackathons, transforming it into an unforgettable journey for organizers and participants alike.

In this blog post, Devfolio’s crafted features makes organizing hackathon smoother across the 3 phases: Hackathon Groundwork (before), D-Day (during), and Hackathon Wrap-up (after). We equip organizers with all the tools needed to curate exceptional hackathons. From seamlessly managing registrations to fostering an immersive hackathon experience to easily distributing prizes,  Let's dive in.

Hackathon Groundwork (Before Hackathon)

🤺 The period leading up to the hackathon is crucial for setting the stage and ensuring a smooth and productive sail. In this part of the blog, we will explore how you can make the "before" phase of your hackathon a resounding success by utilising our platform features in the most efficient way.

🤝 Setting up your hackathon with Devfolio

Ready to launch your hackathon on Devfolio? Here’s where you get started. We offer three flexible hackathon modes — “Offline”, “Online”, and “Online with Application Review” — to meet the varied needs of organizers.

• Offline: for in-person hackathons
• Online: for online hackathons (no application shortlisting)
• Online + Application review: for online hackathons with application review/suitable for Hybrid hackathons (in-person + online)

Learn about these modes in detail in the Devfolio guide here.

📌 Streamline Your Hackathon Management with Devfolio's Organizer Dashboard

Our Organizer Dashboard offers comprehensive stats and tools to streamline your hackathon.

📝 Easily Evaluate Applications with the Application Review Feature

Reviewing applications can be an overwhelming process. That’s why we’ve simplified it with streamlined search and filtering, effortless tracking, and fast-paced review. Organizers can quickly search applications by team name, username, name, or email and view stats like applications submitted, acceptances, rejections, bulk status changes for applications etc.

Our Organizer Dashboard offers comprehensive features and tools to streamline hackathon management. With dedicated tabs for Overview, Review, Volunteer, Logistics, and Admin, organizers can efficiently navigate every aspect of their hackathon journey.

📱Create a Captivating Online Presence with Devfolio's Hackathon Microsite

No Landing Page, No problem. Devfolio Microsite comes in, providing a sleek and professional public page. We have a button integration as well, which you can add to your own landing page to seamlessly direct the audience to apply for the hackathon. You can learn more here.

The Microsite on the Devfolio platform allows participants to register, submit projects, and engage with the community. You can customize the look and feel of the Microsite to align with your hackathon's branding by choosing your own colour scheme, logo, and banners. You can check out ETHIndia’22 Microsite for reference.

D-Day (During Hackathon)

🤺 In this part, we will focus on the platform features that contribute to an engaging experience during the hackathon — the time when ideas thrive and all of your preparation comes down to a single juncture.

🙋‍♂️Manage Attendance with Devfolio's Check-In Feature

Devfolio streamlines attendance tracking for hackathon organizers with its Check-In feature. Integrated with the RSVP process, it offers an efficient confirmation system, aiding attendance anticipation and simplifying event check-ins.

🏌️ Effortlessly Manage Hackathon Logistics with Devfolio's Admin Tab

The Admin Tab allows organizers to take actions on the fly like email announcements and changing the project submission or application deadlines. Besides, they can download CSV of hackers to make refined decisions.

📮 Submit and view Projects on Devfolio

Devfolio provides a seamless process for project submission and review. Devfolio makes it easier to showcase your projects to the world, by providing relevant fields to bring out your voice in the project.

Once the projects are successfully submitted, anyone can view them from the hackathon page under the projects tab. Look for the projects you wish to see with the help of the search bar or using filters to get the required results.

🥋 In-built Judging Feature on Devfolio

Judging always being the tricky part of any hackathon, Devfolio has brought an in-house solution.

Our Judging feature allows judges to evaluate projects based on categories like Technicality, Originality, Practicality, Aesthetics, and Wow-factor. Scores are automatically normalized, resulting in a speedy result declaration.  In addition, Devfolio's Judging feature also facilitates sponsor judging, enabling sponsors to evaluate and recognize projects aligned with their specific criteria and interests.

Hackathon Wrap-up (After Hackathon)

🤺 In this final stage, we will delve into the crucial steps that follow after the hackathon concludes — the part where we get to celebrate and cheer them on!

💰Quadratic Voting

Freshly baked, we introduced a new voting mechanism called Quadratic Voting (QV), where the hackathon attendees can vote for all their favourite projects and help them get $$$ from the QV Matching Pool. This democratizes the voting process and prevents decision-making power from being concentrated with a handful of people. Learn more about Quadratic voting in the Devfolio Guide here.

🥳 Crypto Cheer

Devfolio enables the community to support their fave projects by cheering builders with monetary value (ETH) through digital stickers, providing motivation and potential income.

It drives higher-quality projects and meaningful innovations in this digital world. Support builders, one sticker at a time ;)

🚩 Report Project

At hackathons, using recycled or plagiarized work can lead to unfair competition. To address this issue, Devfolio has a 'Report Project' feature. This feature allows participants to anonymously submit a report against such projects, followed by a validity check by the organizers and Devfolio team. If the report is valid, the said project is permanently flagged on the platform.

Conclusion

Devfolio creates a win-win situation by bridging the gap between hackathon organizers and talented builders by providing all the necessary resources. Our platform is tailored to meet the needs of any hackathon, empower builders, promote innovation, and facilitate the creation of impactful projects.

Learn more about the nuances of organizing and hosting a hackathon in the comprehensive Devfolio guide at https://guide.devfolio.co.

Stay tuned for more updates and interact with the Devfolio community at:

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Until then, Never Stop Building 🛠️