Courtesy: ESPN/espnW
ESPN and espnW have released a full beta version of its redesigned espnW.com website. The redesigned website debuted Tuesday. The new site incorporates responsive design and time-based feed that makes the full website much more user friendly across its screens. The main focuses of the redesigned website are on social media and visual integration. It will be divided into three main content sections: News & Commentary, Athlete’s Life, and W in Action.
The first of the sections, News & Commentary, will focus on the top stories of the day. They will be featured from an espnW perspective. That perspective includes features, columns, videos and photos. Athletes Life will offer insight into the lives of athletes through essays, training information, videos, and photos. Together, they will give audiences insight into “the woman behind the competitor.” W in Action is meant to highlight how espnW and female athletes are impacting the world and their communities through sports. This is done via essays, columns, features, and photos.
Laura Gentile, espnW Vice President, discussed the updates to the website, explaining the purpose for the changes. “espnW.com has become the digital home for a growing community of women who love sports, and nothing is more important than continuing to enhance the way we serve those fans,” she said. “The editorial focus and design sensibility of the new espnW.com are a direct result of our interaction and connection with fans over the last two years.”
Along with the site re-launch, espnW has launched a new initiative called The Summer of W. It will be made up of two main platforms. The first of the platforms is known as 98 Days to Shine. This platform is a social photo challenge. The challenge is meant to inspire women and get them active. Rewards will be given out daily and weekly for photos submitted to espnW for responses to the challenges that are presented each week. It all culminates with one grand prize handed out at the end of the summer. Photos submitted throughout Summer will be posted to espnW. They will be part of the finale event that celebrates fans’ photos and creativity. Fans can submit photos on Twitter and Instagram using Hashtag #98DaystoShine.
The second of the platforms included in The Summer of W is comprised mainly of editorial content. That content includes the features: 10 Faces of Summer, Heart of Summer, and Hot Shots. 10 Faces of Summer focuses on the brightest female athletes across ten different sports. The athletes in question will take fans into their Summer training regimes and will give fans an inside look at their lives both at home and in competition. Among the already confirmed athletes for this addition to the revamped site are: Skylar Diggins, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Lakey Peterson, Julie Foudy, Jessica Hardy, Sarah Groff, and Aga Radwanska. The Heart of Summer features correspondent Summer Sanders. The column will see her travelling the nation to sporting events of all sizes from a Color Run and a Spartan Race to the MLB All-Star Game and X-games. Hot Shots features profiles and photo essays of athletes from some of the sports world’s lesser discussed sports. Those sports include the likes of: paddle boarding, sailing, kayaking, and mountain biking.
As a final bonus to the revamped website, espnW will be the online destination for the film series, Nine for IX. The film series focuses primarily on some of the most interesting stories of women in sports told through the lens of female filmmakers.
To keep up with all of the latest updates to the espnW website, audiences can go online to http://espn.go.com/espnw and http://www.facebook.com/espnW.
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