Inspiring News Website Design Examples That Redefine Journalism

Inspiring News Website Design Examples That Redefine Journalism

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News websites are interesting because of their content. But another interesting aspect that gets overlooked is their design.

Websites that feature news have a challenging task. They need to show many items in a way that is logical and attractive. News websites also need to be usable and easy to navigate. Designers can utilize these opportunities to display their skills.

Design elements of a news website design include typography, navigation menus, and layout.

It is evident that you will find a lot of design inspiration when you look at news websites. They become even more interesting when a news website is well-structured and features common designs, such as a blog design.

In this article, you will find a list of the best news website design examples you can find online. All have a beautiful and balanced design. You will find something that you can use for your projects.

Key Features of a Good News Website Design

User Retention

One of the hardest things about a website is keeping the readers interested. Content heaviness is an added challenge for a news website.

User Engagement

On the plus side, it is easier to engage consumers with digital news than with traditional news outlets. For example, it is very easy to comment on a news website and take part in discussions. Users can also share their own news with others.

Maximal Ad Revenue

Many news websites offer at least part of their content for free. That is a result of a development in internet use. Most users do not want to pay for online news.

Reducing Bounce Rates

News sites thrive by having visitors come back daily or even several times a day. The bounce rate is a measure of how many visitors return to a website. The higher the rate the better.

Ensuring Timely Updates

News website visitors often look for specific information or a type of news item. If they don’t find it, they will go somewhere else.

News Website Design Examples that Inspire

Plumwood Mountain Journal

This news website design matches the website’s content. The Plumwood Mountain Journal focuses on ecopoetics and ecopoetry at an international level.

Be Journalist

 
 

This is an online magazine for professional creatives. It is about designers from all kinds of industries and how their designs affect the lives of others.

Toast Tab Press Room

This news website design catches the attention of visitors by having a clean layout and interesting content. You can download several media kits. The news coverage section has clear logos that identify the news outlets. There is a separate section for press releases.

Be Press

 
 

The attractive images and thumbnails make this one stand out from other news websites. There is a sticky header that makes browsing easy. Ease of use is one of the reasons why people keep coming back to a website.

Banners contain and separate ads from the rest of the website’s content. This is important because the advertisements don’t intrude on the viewers’ focus. At the same time, The Next Web generates money and ensures the continuity of the website.

Techniques Journal

Techniques Journal is an art magazine and an academic journal at the same time. It is also a design experiment and a curatorial platform.

Be Blogger

 
 

Besides the news articles, the expandable navigation menu catches visitors’ attention. Think Global Health has a modern and clean design. Other news websites feel cluttered, but Think Global Health is a pleasant exception to the rule.

Vizio

This news website contains press releases and blogs. The images above each press release help to make the information and the website more relatable. At the top of the page, you will find all featured articles.

Be Blogger 2

 
 

Like other news websites, the Vanity Fair page has had many different faces over the years. The only thing that hasn’t changed is that it always looks amazing. The current website design features special typography and red, white, and black color schemes.

De Morgen

This Flemish newspaper website features a wide range of topics. Here you can read about sports, politics, science, economics, and much more. You will notice the bold typography right away. This choice also contributes to the readability of the text. It displays advertisements in different fonts and colors to distinguish them from the rest of the content.

Be Blogger 3

 
 

Both the stories and the Lens website design inspire, inform, and entertain.

SFGate

SFGate is one of the news websites that cover the news from the San Francisco Bay area. Visitors can easily navigate to the item that interests them the most. Each article has a thumbnail that identifies the item. There are banners of different categories and different sizes. You can find them at the top and on the side. Navigation is easy with the sticky mega menu at the top.

Lucid Motors

The Lucid Motors news website design has contact information at the top of their press release page. Visitors can download a complete press kit. The design is simple and modern and is a good reflection of the brand.

FILSON JOURNAL

Elva worked closely with Filson to redesign their blog. The new Filson Journal reflects the products, brand, and culture.

Frieze

Frieze has a layout that is different from many news websites. On the homepage, you will find content arranged in one column with an intuitive distribution of categories. Going down the homepage, this arrangement changes to a multicolumn layout. This section has different categories.

Healthline

This interactive news website focuses on breakthrough technologies and innovations in healthcare. The design is modern, which reflects the innovative focus of the website. Bright colors and animations help to keep the attention of the website visitors.

ESPN

ESPN is a world leader in sports coverage. It features recent sports results at the top and various trending news flashes and stories. The website design includes a practical menu that directs users to sections by sport.

TheBlaze

Each item on this news website has a featured photo and color. This makes the website design stand out. The colors attract viewers and engage them for a longer period. There are specific color codings that add structure to the design.

Fresh Fonts

Fonts are very important and this website covers news about newly designed fonts. Many designers, art directors, and other creative leaders recommend this website.

BBC

The BBC curates a website that features news from around the globe. The news items have background images that make the items more appealing to the viewers.

Without intruding on their serious news coverage, the website also has advertisement banners. Brands that want to increase awareness gain much exposure through this channel.

BBC News website visitors can also enjoy clips and videos that present news in different forms.

MEN’S JOURNAL MICROSITE

On this microsite, you will find stories about the 50 most adventurous men of the last 25 years.

The New Yorker

The clean layout of The New Yorker’s website is outstanding. It has bold headlines and a simple logo. The navigation menu lets you browse different subjects, and there is a call to action in the form of a subscribe button.

The Art Newspaper

The overall design of the Art Newspaper website is black and white. It adds specific accents with hints of maroon. You can select different categories by hovering over the maroon elements. The color scheme is thus very simple but very effective. White space separates different articles and sections.

Dirt

Here, you will find news about the latest developments in digital pop culture. Each week you can enjoy in-depth essays on things like TikTok, web3, video games, and streaming. There is a small team of critics that regularly post on the Dirt website.

Bloomberg

Norstedts is a famous old publishing house from Sweden. Grebban is the web designer behind their website. It emphasizes the publisher’s identity and merges the old with new design elements.

The Intercept

The purple color on the Intercept website is adorable. This color contrasts with the many darker tones in the background.

On the homepage, you will also notice the featured video content and the call to action. The Intercept offers a wide range of topics, such as politics, science, environment, national security, and more. This news website always tries to appeal to a large audience.

Reuters

The main color for this website is orange, which is unusual. Yet, it works very well in this news website design. The orange color stands for playfulness, youth, and boldness. It energizes and grabs attention. It is, thus, perfect for a platform such as this one.

Badische Neueste Nachrichten

The web design of the BNN is black and white with colorful icons. For example, the paid content has a yellow indicator. Another icon shows an open book and indicates what the reading time is for each article.

New York Magazine

The website uses a column layout which serves to put as much information as possible on the page. The website of the New York Magazine uses mainly black, white, and red.

Age of Union

Age of Union wants to raise awareness for the environment. It calls the next decade crucial in this regard.

VilaWeb Newspaper

VilaWeb is one of the oldest online newspapers from Catalonia. It was time for a facelift, and this resulted in a website design by Mortensen. VilaWeb is ready for a new era.

KTLA

KTLA uses images and a modern look to keep visitors engaged. It uses orange, black, and white. Because so many people now prefer videos, it also embedded videos on its news site. Also, it uses a news blog to keep people engaged and interested in coming back.

The Hill

The strength of this website is the strong visual hierarchy. It uses several web design elements to achieve this without making it boring. Because it uses a good visual structure people know where to go. This news website design example shows how to structure a website to guide people in the right direction.

The New York Times

The New York Times is one of the biggest newspapers in the world. Its website has a main navigation menu at the top, right below the website’s header.

There is another menu at the left of each page. The hamburger menu displays the vertical menu. Secondary dropdown menus appear when you move your mouse over a navigation link.

The way these menus work together makes this a pleasant navigation experience for the users.

Newsweek

This news site has a primary navigation menu. To encourage people to use their website as a primary news source they also have a menu with trending topics. The homepage consists of several columns with headlines, images, and descriptions.

Fuse.kiwi

This website is a guide for exploring the creative side of the internet. It allows you to discover designs, art, photos, illustrations, videos, fonts, music, reading, and more.

Scubby

This amazing news website keeps you informed about the latest news and events. The website design is simple and clean but full of information. The Scubby website uses white space to give it a clean minimalist appearance. The result is professional and serious.

In the Works

Small businesses and business founders with a mission will love the In the Works website. It was created to inspire business to grow authentically.

HuffPost

The HuffPost website is full of inspiration for those that are interested in media. The hero header shows a screen-wide image with featured articles. It suggests stories for specific visitors. It also shows what is new, what videos are trending, and what is hot.

Los Angeles Times

The LA Times is a leading source of the latest news, including entertainment, sports, science, and more. The web design is clean and makes interesting use of white space, typography, and pictures. It uses lines to divide and organize information into several sections. When you go to the Science section you will notice the division in most read, recent, and subcategories.

These design elements create a visual hierarchy that results in a pleasant user experience.

Esquire

The design of the Esquire homepage is very unique. At the top, it has a huge image referring to the featured article that takes up most of the screen. Below that, it looks more like a traditional blog or news site.

Monster Box

The purpose of Monster Box is to exchange knowledge in the most effective way. It seeks to invent, develop, test, and improve different forms of communication.

Nofilter.space

Nofilter.space explores the intersection between fashion, design, and architecture. It looks at the way those disciplines come together on visual platforms, like Instagram. The topology of this intersection is the foundation of what this website communicates. It combines architectural thinking, communication, visual social media integration, and brand communication.

Aljazeera

User-friendliness is very important on this website. Aljazeera has a modern news website design with large pictures that function as thumbnails. It makes the content more interesting and engaging. Further, it has a tight visual hierarchy where typography plays an important role.

TIME

News websites in general need to cover breaking news and provide background and analyses. TIME covers science, health, politics, entertainment, and more. It uses lots of white and black with little pops of red. This aligns with the TIME brand and directs the readers toward specific content. Things you will notice right away are the calls to action and the sign-in button. This selective use of color is subtle and not cluttering or overwhelming.

UGSMAG

The first thing you will notice here is the beautiful header. The arrangement of the content is horizontal. There is a division into sections highlighting audio, video, and interviews.

Webbed Briefs

The Webbed Briefs has short videos about technology and the internet. It also shows how to use them effectively.

Works in Progress

This website has stories about progress. It contains new content from some of the prominent business thinkers in the world.

The Werk

The philosophy of The Werk is that we sabotage the future of work if we don’t take care of the inner person. By introspection and transformation, we work on ourselves and the world around us.

Developments

The world of the internet does not always have to be fast. Developments goes for in-depth interviews to develop strategic minds. This results in the formation of creative talents that can reach the top of their fields.

VentureBeat

The homepage design of VentureBeat features a dark blue background. Below the fold, it changes color and uses a white background. This makes it different from most news websites.

Emergence Magazine

Innovative stories are what you will find here. This online magazine appears three times a year and explores culture, spirituality, and ecology.

NYLON

NYLON discusses everything that has to do with fashion, music, and entertainment. It uses a bold design with bright colors. It is the place where young and stylish culture enthusiasts meet. It aims to set trends rather than follow them.

Input

Input features breaking news about technology.

Wit and Delight

According to themselves, this is where glass ceiling breakers and feelings feelers come for soapbox stories. It talks about home decoration, depression, and anything in between.

The Verge

The Verge is a news site with a dark background at the top. Below the fold, you see a white background. It divides the homepage into a section for recent headlines and one for individual posts. There is no sidebar, which is different from other news sites.

Quanta Magazine

This magazine highlights new developments in biology, physics, and computer science. The target audience is the public.

SILO

SILO is both a music label and a publishing house.

The Boston Globe

It is amazing how much information The Boston Globe can pack onto its homepage. It has several categories in different sections.

FAQ on News Website Design

What are essential elements in news website design?

A news website needs a clean layout and easy navigation. You'll want a section for breaking news, along with categories for different types of news. The site should be responsive for mobile users and load quickly to keep readers engaged. A search function can help users find specific stories. Consider features like a comment section, social media sharing, or email subscriptions. The design should guide readers through your content and keep them on your site longer.

How can a news website design attract and retain readers?

A user-friendly design can attract readers and keep them coming back. Make sure your site loads quickly and looks good on all devices. Use quality images and engaging headlines to draw readers in. Update your content regularly to keep it fresh and relevant. Features like personalized content or comment sections can improve engagement. And good SEO practices can help attract more readers from search engine results.

How can a news website be optimized for mobile?

With so many people checking news on their phones, a mobile-friendly design is crucial. Responsive design ensures your site works well on any device. Make sure text is readable and buttons are large enough to tap. Navigation should be smooth and intuitive, even on a smaller screen. Optimize your site to load quickly on mobile devices. And always test your site on different devices and screen sizes to ensure a good user experience.

How should news articles be presented on the website?

News articles should be easy to read and navigate. Use clear, engaging headlines and quality images. The layout should guide the reader through the article with clear typography and good use of white space. Keep paragraphs short and use subheadings or bullet points for easy scanning. Include share buttons for social media. And link to related articles to keep readers on your site longer.

What is the role of images in a news website design?

Images can make your news site more engaging and memorable. They can illustrate stories, break up text, and draw the reader's eye. Use high-quality, relevant images for each article. You can use photos, infographics, or video thumbnails. Make sure images load quickly and display correctly on all devices. And always include alt text for accessibility and SEO.

How can social media be integrated into the news website design?

Social media is a great tool for sharing news and engaging with readers. Include share buttons on each article to make it easy for readers to share stories. You can integrate your social media feeds to share your latest posts directly on your site. Social media can also be a source for user-generated content, like comments or photos. Just make sure any integration doesn't slow down your site.

How can a news website facilitate reader engagement?

Reader engagement can make your news site more lively and interactive. Include a comment section where readers can discuss stories. Offer email subscriptions for regular updates. Personalized content, like recommended articles based on reading history, can improve engagement. Interactive features like polls or quizzes can keep readers on your site longer. And always respond to comments or messages to foster a sense of community.

How can I categorize news on the website?

Categorizing news makes it easier for readers to find the stories they're interested in. You could divide news into sections like local, national, international, sports, entertainment, etc. Use clear and intuitive navigation to help readers explore different sections. Consider using tags for more specific topics. And offer a search function for readers to find specific stories or topics.

How can a news website design support ad placements?

Ads can generate revenue, but they should never disrupt the user experience. Place ads strategically, like in the sidebar or between article sections. Use ad sizes that fit neatly into your design. Make sure ads are clearly marked, so readers don't confuse them with news content. And keep the number of ads reasonable - too many can slow down your site and deter readers.

What are some best practices for the design of the homepage of a news website?

The homepage sets the tone for your news site. It should feature breaking or top news prominently. Other sections or categories of news should be easy to access. The design should be clean and not cluttered, with clear typography and quality images. Include features like a search function or email subscription. The homepage should load quickly and look good on all devices. And remember to keep your brand identity consistent across the site.

Conclusion on News Website Design

The news website design examples in this article show that news coverage has entered a new era. News consumption is guided, in part, by aesthetics and technical innovation. The websites on the list are some of the best examples of how to offer news content to the modern consumer. Each one contains elements like simplicity, readability, and user-friendliness.

Journalism and great design are two things that go together. Web designers are at the front of revolutionizing the way we receive and consume news. Let these examples inspire you as you explore the frontiers of journalism.

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Albert Ślusarczyk
Albert Ślusarczyk
As the co-creator of Be Theme, I am a strong believer in designing with care and patience. I pour my energy, time & knowledge into perfecting the theme for our 260,000+ customers.
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