By Michael Goldberg
More than ever before, website design plays a critical role in the success of today’s digital publisher. Not only does it affect whether a visitor decides to stay and consume the content, the site’s layout is one of the core factors on the publisher’s bottom line. Understanding the importance of website design, TripleLift launched the inaugural Visual Web Awards to honor the publisher with the most aesthetically pleasing design as voted on by the advertising community.
Visuals have become the new language online. Whether it’s photos or videos, it seems images are the easiest and fastest way for us to express ourselves. It’s no wonder why – 90 percent of the information sent to the brain is visual. In today’s crowded media landscape, it’s important to standout and give website visitors something that catches their eye.
Publishers across the web have taken note and are adopting image-centric designs to give their users a more engaging experience. This trend has been adopted across every screen, resulting in an explosion of image-first content. As the Visual Web becomes the new standard, publishers are also seeking more integrated native ad experiences to deliver to their users.
While native advertising can be extremely effective, it is only as good as the site it is on. If the design is too content heavy, or the layout is disordered, you will not be able to give your user a true native ad experience, rendering your advertisers’ investments worthless.
Fortunately, TripleLift works with hundreds of publishers across diverse verticals – from niche blogs to major media moguls – that have developed beautiful, visual designs that are delivering meaningful experiences for both users and advertisers. We felt it was time to honor them. It was hard but we narrowed the list down to 8 of our favorite designs and asked over 100 advertising and agency executives to vote on their favorite design.
And the results are in…
We’re proud to announce that Macheesmo, a site devoted to the art and style of cooking, is TripleLift’s 2015 Visual Web Award winner for design excellence.
“I think visual design is an incredibly important part of the user experience on the web,” said Nick Evans, the site’s founder and publisher. “It makes everything easier if you have a memorable design. Your visitors will appreciate an easy layout and remember a unique brand. Investing in a good design that showcases your content and voice clearly is some of the best money you can spend in the online world.”
Macheesmo, which was founded in 2008 and whets the palate with its inviting food photos, received 40 percent of the vote. Check out their site and see for yourself why they walked away with this year’s honors.
“Enabling publishers like Macheesmo to beautifully integrate a brand’s creative into their site’s aesthetic is why we’re in business,” said Dan Martin, TripleLift’s VP of Business Development. “Advertising is as much as an art as it is a science and when publishers can easily paint their own canvas with great content and complimentary advertising – consumers will ultimately reward the experience with their time and attention.”
We’re already excited for next year’s awards and expect even more publishers to be in the mix as they continue to adopt beautifully, visual website designs.
