Readymag Examples: the selection process and criteria explained
Learn how Readymag’s design team picks the crème de la crème for the Examples and its social networks. And be sure to submit your favs!
We at Readymag seek to promote the best of the web and give creators the spotlight and network they deserve. That’s why we came up with the Examples section on Readymag’s website. The websites showcased there reflect our vision of great design aesthetically, functionally, and content-wise, and we believe they set trends, shape the future of the web, and help their creators shine professionally.
To be transparent in our selection and answer any questions you might have, we’ve asked our teammates who run the section to cover the essential processes. We’ve also scattered a few picks from the Examples around the page to give you some inspo for your future stellar websites.
This is who answers:
Tatiana Egoshina, Designer at Readymag
Varvara Fomicheva, Designer at Readymag
Esenia Asadullina, SMM Lead at Readymag
What is the Examples section?
“The Examples are a collection of headmost websites that masterfully use Readymag, function well, and ooze with aesthetics. We believe anyone on the web can find the section useful when searching for inspiration and fresh creative ideas. Also, the websites featured in the Examples showcase what one can make with the current set of tools Readymag offers.”—Tatiana Egoshina outlines the role of the Examples.
What’s the benefit of being featured in the Examples?
Egoshina shares that designers whose projects make it into the Examples frequently mention it and post the link on their websites and CVs or social networks. “I believe that being seen, appreciated, and mentioned is always pleasant and meaningful for a creative, and this kind of nomination also helps designers understand that their work really stands out.”
How do websites land in the Examples?
Readymag users can submit their favorite creations using the button ‘Submit to Examples’ right in the section. The button shows up only for those who are logged in. The pages sent via the button accumulate in the administrator panel, and the design team peers through the submissions every two weeks. On average, we get around 50 new websites over this period, and only 10 percent of them make it to the Examples.
“We select only the websites that are high quality, fully finished, and well functioning,” says Varvara Fomicheva. “We look at their structure, typography, navigation, stylistic choices, and content.” Tatiana Egoshina adds that they also make sure all the buttons work and a mobile layout is in its place. Fomicheva explains further that in addition to the objective and measurable criteria, the design team also tries to choose the designs they would like to relate to and which somehow stand out.
Sometimes, the design and SMM teams can remove websites from the Examples. Some of the featured pages may get unpublished, deleted, or simply changed beyond recognition after some time. “We will certainly remove a website,” Varvara Fomicheva adds, “if we happen to know its design was copied from another user’s website.”
And how do nice website examples get into Readymag’s social networks?
The design team picks websites for the Examples and also suggests which designs can best fit social networks. Esenia Asadullina shares another side of the process: “We at SMM also check social media posts where Readymag was tagged and regularly show the compilation to our designers. They distribute the websites into two groups: those that fit Instagram the most, and those that will be highlighted in the other networks.”
Is it true that websites featured in the Examples have a better chance of winning the Readymag Websites of the Year contest?
Egoshina notes that most of the projects that have been shortlisted or won the annual Readymag Websites of the Year contest over the years were spotlighted in the Examples in the corresponding year. “Of course, we don’t give some sort of bonus points if a website is featured. However, one of the main qualifying criteria is the superior quality of the submission. And if a website has made it to the Examples, it already means we can vouch for its quality.”
The criteria we use to evaluate submissions to the Readymag Websites of the Year are a command of Readymag, craftsmanship in design, visual storytelling, speed and performance, accessibility, text content, and impact. Also, you can always take a look at the projects that have already hit the Examples to understand what’s trending in web design right now and what level of projects we accept to the section and the contest.