News & Media
151 Features Every News Website Should Have: The Global Benchmark
We're conducting the largest news website benchmark ever — scanning 1,730 news sites across 147 countries against a 151-feature checklist covering everything from article typography to paywall strategy to accessibility compliance.
What We Check
The 151 features span 16 categories:
- Article Experience (18) — headlines, bylines, reading time, typography, related articles
- Navigation (15) — hero area, section nav, trending, breaking news, archive
- Monetization (12) — paywall type, subscription tiers, donations, micropayments
- Multimedia (10) — video, live streaming, podcasts, data journalism
- Accessibility (10) — semantic HTML, contrast, keyboard nav, screen reader support
- Trust & Transparency (10) — about page, editorial policy, corrections, author profiles
The Scale
| Tier | Countries | Sites per country | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (major markets) | 13 | 30 | 390 |
| Tier 2 (rest of world) | 134 | 10 | 1,340 |
| Total | 147 | 1,730 |
Early Findings
Premium outlets (NYT, FT, Guardian) score highest on accessibility and trust signals. Ad-supported sites score highest on engagement features but lowest on ad experience quality. Public broadcasters (BBC, ABC, CBC) lead in accessibility compliance across every market.