Best of the Westshore

Step 1 — Enter your details once

Type your business name, pick your city and your category. Every sample, badge, and banner below updates as you type — and when you are done, hit Update my copy to confirm it and jump to your updated copy. Then just hit Copy on the one you want. Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere; it only changes the copy in your own browser.

Business name

City

Copy-paste samples — nomination phase only

This is the copy-paste text itself — not a description of it. Enter your details at the top first, the boxes below fill with your business, city, and category, then click Copy on the one you want, paste it into your own email, post, or text, and send. Nothing you type or copy here is saved anywhere.

1. Customer email — copy and paste

🏆 Are we one of your favorites in [City]? Westshore Weekly's Best of the Westshore Awards are accepting nominations! If you love what we do at [Business Name], we'd be grateful if you'd nominate us for Best [Category]. It only takes a moment, and your support means the world to our team. ❤️ 👉 https://westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/ Nominations close November 20! #BestOfTheWestshore #SupportLocal

2. Short Facebook / Google post

Are we one of your favorites in [City]? 🏆 Best of the Westshore nominations are open through November 20 — and [Business Name] would love your nomination for Best [Category]. It only takes a moment: https://westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/ Thank you for supporting a local [City] business. #BestOfTheWestshore #SupportLocal

3. Instagram Story text

🏆 Nominate us! [Business Name] — Best [Category] Best of the Westshore Nominations close November 20. 🔗 Link sticker: westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/ #BestOfTheWestshore #SupportLocal

Story tip: add the nominate link as a link sticker. Do not add a second link or a Charter / offer message to the same Story.

4. Short text / SMS version

Hi! [Business Name] here in [City] — Best of the Westshore nominations are open through Nov 20. If you love what we do, would you nominate us for Best [Category]? It takes a moment: https://westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/ Thank you!

5. Printable register sign

🏆 ARE WE ONE OF YOUR FAVORITES IN [City]? [Business Name] — Best [Category] Best of the Westshore nominations are open! Nominate us here: https://westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/ [QR CODE — links to the nominate page above] Nominations close November 20, 2026. Thank you for supporting local!

QR placeholder: the printed sign should carry a QR code that opens https://westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/ . Customers still pick [Business Name] and [Category] on the form — the QR code only gets them to the form, it does not pre-fill a nomination.

The rules — please read first

Sharing never changes your standing, badge, or ballot place. Sharing helps neighbours find you. It does not improve your position.
No discount, perk, freebie, or prize for a vote or a nomination. Do not offer one, and do not ask customers for a screenshot in exchange for anything.
No rank or win promise. Never say you are winning, in the lead, or going to win. No live scores are published.
Nominate phase and voting phase are separate. This page is for nominations, Nov 2–20. Do not use voting copy before Nov 23. Voting versions are shown below as preview only, locked until Nov 23.
Badges: “Nominate Us” badges can be used by any claimed + verified business. “Best of Nominee — Best [Category]” badges are only for a business that actually received a stored nomination in that category.
Enter your details once at the top. Every sample, badge, and banner updates with your business name, city, and category. If a bracket is still showing, you have not filled that field yet — fill it before you copy. Do not guess another business's details.

Badges and banners

Use the “Nominate Us” badge now. Use the “Nominee” badge only if you actually received a stored nomination in that category.

(a) Nominate Us — for any claimed + verified business

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Nominate Us
for Best of the Westshore

Nominations open through Nov 20, 2026
westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/

(b) Best of logo + Nominee — for actually-nominated businesses only

[Business Name] — Nominee, Best [Category]

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Yes — use the logo we created, but always with the word Nominee next to it. The logo alone says “Best of the Westshore Readers' Choice 2026” and could read as a win. “Nominee” makes the stage honest, and it only goes on a business that actually received a stored nomination in that category. The logo file is best-of-logo-oct24/best-of-lockup-horizontal.png (navy circle, gold star). For the live site, use that file itself, not this page's embedded copy.

(c) Best of Nominee — CSS example only, for actually-nominated businesses

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[Business Name]
Best of the Westshore Nominee — Best [Category]

Your business name and category from Step 1, if you picked them.
Use it only if you were actually nominated in that category.

Category badges are one template design with the category name swapped — the same design works across all 33 categories. Do not use a “Finalist” or “Winner” badge before those stages actually happen.

(d) Website banner — 728 × 90 style

Best of the Westshore — Nominate [Business Name] for Best [Category]

Nominate Us →

Place this prominently on your website and link it to https://westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/ .

(e) Email signature banner

🏆 Nominate [Business Name] for Best [Category] — Best of the Westshore
Nominations close Nov 20, 2026: https://westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/

For a real email signature, the logo needs a hosted image link (e.g. on westshoreweekly.com) — most email clients block embedded images. This preview uses the logo file directly so you can see the layout; the live page should link the hosted logo file here.

Logo-branded posts for Facebook and Instagram

How sharing works now: pick the image you want below first — then hit Share this on Facebook or Share this on Instagram under that image. It downloads that exact image and copies its caption, then opens that platform, where you upload the image and paste the caption yourself. Nothing posts automatically, and there is no separate generic share button anymore — the share always belongs to the image you picked.

Ready-made, logo-branded graphics owners can post — not just text to copy. Each one below uses the Best of logo, 5 stars, and your business name and category from Step 1. Post the square one to your feed, the vertical one to Stories/Reels, and the landscape one when you share the nominate link.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Nominate [Business Name]

for Best [Category] — Best of the Westshore

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[Business Name] — Nominee

Best [Category] — Best of the Westshore

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Nominate [Business Name]

Best [Category]
Best of the Westshore
Nominations close November 20
🔗 Link sticker: westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/

Nominate [Business Name] for Best [Category]

Reverse colors — second option, same wording

Same posts, navy background instead of white, so a second post does not look like the same post again. The logo itself stays on a white panel inside the navy card, so it stays readable — the logo's navy text would disappear directly on navy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Nominate [Business Name]

for Best [Category] — Best of the Westshore

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[Business Name] — Nominee

Best [Category] — Best of the Westshore

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Nominate [Business Name]

Best [Category]
Best of the Westshore
Nominations close November 20
🔗 Link sticker: westshoreweekly.com/best-of/nominate/

Nominate [Business Name] for Best [Category]

How downloads work: after you fill in Step 1 (business name, city, category), hit Download on the design you want. The page draws that design at full size in your browser — 1080 × 1080, 1080 × 1350, 1080 × 1920, or 1200 × 630 — with your name and category already in it, and saves it as a PNG to your device. No screenshot needed, no file is sent to Westshore. If a field is blank, it will ask you to fill Step 1 first, so you never download a bracket placeholder.

Graphic sizes — Facebook and Instagram

Use these sizes when you make or download a share graphic, so it does not get cropped or blurred. One square for feed, one vertical for Stories/Reels, and one landscape for link previews covers almost everything.

Where it goes	Size (pixels)	Ratio	Notes
Facebook feed — square	1080 × 1080	1:1	Best all-purpose feed size, works on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook feed — portrait	1080 × 1350	4:5	Takes the most feed space on mobile.
Facebook feed / link preview — landscape	1200 × 630	1.91:1	Use this for a shared link image.
Facebook Story / Reel	1080 × 1920	9:16	Full-screen vertical. Keep text/logo away from the top and bottom ~250px where the interface sits.
Facebook cover photo	820 × 312	—	Page cover only, not a post.
Instagram feed — square	1080 × 1080	1:1	Classic, safest for logos/graphics where nothing may be cut.
Instagram feed — portrait	1080 × 1350	4:5	Classic portrait. Also accepted: 1080 × 1440 (3:4), the tallest feed post, which fills the profile grid tile without a crop.
Instagram feed — landscape	1080 × 566	1.91:1	Widest feed shape, smallest on screen.
Instagram Story / Reel	1080 × 1920	9:16	Full-screen vertical. Keep text/logo in the centre safe zone, away from top/bottom ~250px.
Profile picture (both platforms)	320 × 320	1:1, shown as a circle	Upload square, keep the logo/text centred so the circle crop does not cut it.

Short version for owners: make the badge/graphic at 1080 × 1080 for feed posts, 1080 × 1920 for Stories/Reels, and 1200 × 630 for a link preview. The 728 × 90 website banner in the section above is a website banner, not a social post size.

Reminder schedule — share more than once

One post on launch day is not enough. Other toolkits use a dated reminder arc, and this page follows the same pattern.

When	What to do
Share now	Post the customer email or short post, plus a Story. Put the register sign up.
Reminder — Nov 17	Share again with a personal line: why your customers matter to you, and the nominate link.
Last call — Nov 19–20	Final reminder: nominations close Nov 20 at 11:59 PM ET. Do not add urgency that is not true, and do not promise a win.
Thank-you — Nov 21	Thank customers who nominated you. Do not claim a ballot place yet — the ballot is set after verification.
Voting version — Nov 23 (preview only, locked until Nov 23)	Do not use voting copy before Nov 23. From Nov 23, the ask changes to voting, Nov 23–Dec 20, with the category ballot link.

🔒 Voting-phase preview — do not use before Nov 23:
“Voting is open! [Business Name] is on the ballot for Best [Category] in Best of the Westshore. Voting runs Nov 23–Dec 20, 2026. Thank you for backing a local business.”

What others do — research notes

These patterns come from other Best Of ballots, award programmes, and supporter toolkits. They are patterns to borrow, not claims about Westshore results.

Local Best Of toolkits (209 Multimedia / Bulletin / Best of 209): give “Vote for Us” ads to place prominently on the business website, regular social reminders, customer-database emails with dated reminders, register / reception flyers, pre-formatted social graphics for each platform, and category links so customers jump straight to the right ballot group.
Second Street Best Of guide: gives a media kit with “Nominate Us” / “Vote for Us” / “Thank you” graphics, Instagram and Facebook post + Story sizes, an 8.5 × 11 poster, a point-of-purchase display, and a QR code.
Award toolkits (Stella Awards, TrustRadius): give short and long copy, “Vote for Us” logos, custom branded graphics, email signature banners, and website badges everywhere — homepage, email signature, social banners — plus press-release templates. Their rule is the same as ours: multi-post campaigns, not one announcement-day post.
Peer-to-peer supporter toolkits: give copy-paste posts for each platform, a personal-link script (share your own link, not just the homepage), 3–5 posts across the campaign rather than one launch post, email templates for launch / reminder / last-call / thank-you, and “Copy Caption + Download Image” buttons so a supporter can post in under a minute.
Local publishers (The Ottawan, GCM): the flywheel is nominated businesses sharing the ballot with their own fans — those fans meet the publication for the first time. GCM's opt-in contests captured 1,250+ opt-ins this way. That is why this kit exists: the business's audience is warmer than Westshore's own audience.

No URLs are listed here for those external toolkits, to avoid linking to a page that may have changed. The patterns above are cited by programme name only.