Showcase: Newspapers Engage More Readers Using Visual Database Galleries

A consistent trend we are seeing among our media customers is to have a dedicated page that consolidates their popular databases in a single place on their website. Not only does this approach increase reader engagement, it also supports the Open Data initiative by making government data more easily accessible to the public.

This page is called many different names – Data Central, Data Desk, Data Watch, Data Tracker – but what they all have in common is the eye-catching visual layout. The databases are arranged in an image gallery for readers to quickly browse through a variety of topics, similar to the grid layout made popular by Pinterest and many magazine websites.

Today we’d like to share some of the best database galleries created by our media customers.

 Lafayette Journal & Courier – Data Central Page:

The Charlotte Observer – Databases Page:

The Vancouver Sun – Data Central Page:

A dedicated database gallery also brings many long-term benefits:

1. Provides a centralized place to view multiple databases, encouraging visitors to return to the same page again in the future.
2. Educates readers by publishing information that was often previously unavailable to the public.
3. Promotes community engagement by turning local data sets into visual “shareable” stories.
4. Serves as an ongoing digital asset that continues to generate page views and ad revenues.

With over 10 years of experience serving online media, Caspio offers extensive industry expertise to help editors and journalists create interactive online database applications that drive page views.

Read more about our unique services for online media, and contact our Customer Success team for a free project consultation.