Our Top 40 most-visited articles in 2021 (January 1st – December 5th)

In this article, we give links to our Top 40 most-viewed articles on GWS Media and GWS Robotics from January 1st to December 5th, 2021. We also elucidate the origins of our ten most-viewed articles of the year and explore how, when and why they took off in views.

1. 20 Different Types of Websites Part 1

Our two-part article categorising websites into 20 different types went live in June 2019. Part 1 covers websites for business purposes, and has steadily grown in traffic since.

On April 23rd, 2021, it became our most viewed internally hosted article of all time, overtaking longstanding leader The Benefits and Risks of Social Media. Between January 1st and December 5th this year alone, '20 Different Types of Websites Part 1' notched up an incredible 55,065 unique page views, nearly all from organic search, setting a benchmark for the performance of an article within a single year that we think it will be difficult ever to surpass (bearing in mind that GWS Media is a web agency and not a mass-market news outlet).

The idea for the article came from our designer Kyle Johnson. His provisional shortlist of types of websites was extended to 20 by our copywriter Philip Graves, who then researched and wrote up at considerable length about each of the types, resulting in the finished article.

2. Benefits and Risks of Social Media

Our article 'Benefits and Risks of Social Media' has interesting origins as a collaborative piece. It began life as a brainstorming session involving our creative director David Graves and our erstwhile developer Hakun Kamminga, who produced a shortlist of points they felt worth including.

Our copywriter Philip Graves then fleshed these out into a fuller exposition and nuanced discussion, adding in the humorous reference to there being 13 risks for good measure.

The article was publlished in November 2017. On May 24th, 2018, it became our most-viewed internally-hosted article since our new website went live in August 2016, overtaking previous leader Celebrating the Release of Windows 10. It retained the No. 1 spot for two years and eleven months and seemed virtually unassailable before being overtaken this April by 20 Different Types of Websites Part 1.

Cumulatively, it had reached 17,486 unique page views by the end of December 5th, 2021, leaving it in a very strong second place in our ranking of the most viewed articles since August 1st, 2016. 7,040 of those 17,486 views were attained between January 1st and December 5th this year alone.

3. Celebrating the Release of Windows 10

Our article 'Celebrating the Release of Windows 10 - the Evolution of the Windows Logo' was first published on our previous website on July 2015, and was carried forward to the new one when it went live in August 2016.

Although it was already over a year old when our new site went live, it emerged as one of the early frontrunners in unique page views among all the articles on our new site, and by January 16th 2017, it had moved into the lead, a position it retained for the next 16 months and 8 days before being overtaken by young upstart Benefits and Risks of Social Media.

On 19th September 2018, it was further overtaken by the relatively young article 5 of our Favourite High-Tech Companies in Bristol, falling into third place.

In the summer of 2019, it was selectively revised and enhanced by our copywriter Philip Graves, who had not yet been a GWS employee at the time the article first went live. This led Google's algorithms to reassess it, and by early 2020, its fortunes in organic search performance had been turned around, and it had started to put on views faster than at any time since the new website went live.

On 2nd June 2020, it passed 1,000 unique page views since the new website went live; and on 16th September 2020, it reovertook 5 of our Favourite High-Tech Companies in Bristol to reclaim second place overall among all internally hosted articles on GWS Media.

On 18th March 2021, it was in turn overtaken by the high-flying 20 Different Types of Websites Part 1, and therefore settled back into third place in the cumulative rankings, a position it has commanded ever since.

Nonetheless, it has continued to perform very strongly throughout 2021, attaining a total of 5605 unique page views between January 1st and December 5th alone, which is more than half of its cumulative total since August 2016 of 8771. We wonder if the publicity attending the launch of Windows 11 this year has paradoxically given it a new lease of life thanks to related search interest.

4. Positive Things to Come Out of Lockdown

Our article 'Positive Things to Come Out of Lockdown' began life as an infographic designed by our designer Kyle Johnson, using copy provided by our copywriting team. It was first published thus in late May, 2020.

In spite of its status as only an infographic, by December 2020 we noticed that it had begun to perform surprisingly well in organic search, notching up more than 250 unique page views already. We therefore decided to add a text version beneath the main image, which had the desired effect of further enhancing its visibility in search.

By 8th February 2021, it had surpassed 1,000 unique page views; and by 5th October 2021, it had surpassed 5,000. On March 21st 2021, it overtook 5 of Our Favourite Hi-Tech Companies in Bristol to become cumulatively the fourth most-viewed article on GWS Media since August 2016, a position it has held ever since.

While we suspect that as memories of lockdown fade, it will attract less and less interest in organic search, it is remarkable that such a simple concept as turning the dreariness of lockdown conditions on its head has proven such an Internet success, and the article, brief though it is, has proven far and away our most viewed article related to the Coronavirus pandemic that has swept the world these past two years.

Between January 1st and December 5th 2021 alone, it attained 4884 unique page views, out of its cumulative total of 5323 since it first went live, making it also the fourth-most-viewed article of 2021 on either GWS Media or GWS Robotics.

5. Marketing in the Time of Coronavirus

The title of our article Marketing In the Time of Coronavirus, much like Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini's charming 1999 album Love In the Time of Science, was inspired by Love in the Time of Cholera, a famed 1985 novel by Gabriel García Márquez that was first published thus in English translation in 1988.

Our article was written by our copywriter Philip Graves, who himself had suffered from a COVID infection shortly before the first lockdown in March 2020. It was published on April 9th, 2020, nine days after the UK went into its first lockdown on March 26th, then gradually picked up traction in organic search as the year wore on, and had attained 250 unique page views by December 3rd.

After this, it accelerated into overdrive, reaching 500 unique page views by January 29th 2021, 1000 by April 11th, and 2000 by May 26th, making it already the seventh most-viewed article on GWS Media since August 2016.

Interest in the topic perhaps inevitably tailed off with the easing of COVID restructions, but by the end of December 5th, it had climbed to fifth place in the cumulative rank order of articles hosted on GWS Media, and was just ten unique page views short of 3000. Within 2021 alone, it had clocked up 2707 of those 2990 lifetime unique page views, also placing it fifth in the running order for the year on GWS Media and GWS Robotics combined.

6. The History of Robotics in Medicine: Medical Uses for Robots

Our article 'The History of Robotics in Medicine: Medical Uses for Robots' was written and researched by our copywriter Philip Graves in the week of March 21st to 27th 2020, while he was beginning to recover from a nasty bout of COVID-19.

After being published on March 27th 2020, it gradually took off in organic search, reaching 250 unique page views by August 18th, 500 by November 9th, 1000 by February 16th 2021, and 2000 by June 26th 2021.

On 24th February 2021, it overook 20 Questions on Robert Ethics and Pepper Robot to become the second most-viewed article on GWS Robotics since the site was launched around August 2016, a position it has retained ever since.

By 5th December, it had cumulatively reached 2731 unique page views, of which 2007 were attained in 2021 - the other 724 dating back to 2020. This makes it the sixth most-viewed article on GWS Media and GWS Robotics combined in 2021, and the eighth most-viewed cumulatively since receords began in August 2016. If it continues to gradually gain ground on this year's Nos. 9 and 10, which are still above it in the cumulative ranking order, it may eventually surpass them there too.

7. 20 Different Types of Websites Part 2

'20 Different Types of Websites Part 2' is the companion piece to this year's runaway success '20 Different Types of Websites Part 1' and was launched on July 16th 2019 after it was decided to split the article into two because it had become too long to comfortably fit in a single page.

The second part is focused more on websites used for purposes other than business, such as personal websites and community websites.

It took off relatively gradually at first, reaching 50 unique page views by December 10th, 2019, 100 by March 4th, 2020, 200 by September 4th, 2020, and 300 by December 26th, 2020. However, in 2021 its rate of views accelerated significantly, and it reached 500 by March 23rd and 1000 by May 23rd. By December 5th, it was just 27 views short of 2000, making it the eighth most-viewed article on GWS Media since August 2016, and the 11th most-viewed on GWS Media and GWS Robotics combined.

Of its 1973 unique page views to date, 1673 have been obtained within 2021, a very strong performance accounting for its seventh place in the combined ranking order for GWS Media and GWS Robotics for this year.

8. How do Social Robots Interact with Humans?

Our article 'How do Social Robots Interact with Humans?' was written by our copywriter Philip Graves for GWS Robotics, where it was first published on August 2nd, 2019 after being selectively edited and amended by our creative director David Graves.

It took a while to get a strong foothold in organic search, reaching 50 unique page views on January 22nd, 2020, before accelerating to 100 on March 3rd, 2020, 250 on July 1st, 2020, 500 on October 20th, 2020, 750 on December 31st, 2020, and 1000 on February 25th, 2021.

On 11th March, 2021, How do Social Robots Interact with Humans? overtook '20 Questions on the Ethics of Robotics and Pepper Robot' to become cumulatively the third most-successful article on GWS Robotics, a position it has maintained ever since.

The article had further risen to 2000 unique page views by September 27th, 2021, and had reached 2389 by December 5th, of which more than two thirds (1639) had been attained within 2021, making it the eighth most-viewed article in GWS Media and GWS Robotics combined this year by a comfortable margin over the next contender. It is also cumulatively the ninth most-viewed article on the two sites combined since records began in August 2016, having recently overtaken former No. 2 '5 of Our Favourite High-Tech Companies in Bristol'.

9. The Difference Between Paid Search and Organic Search

Our article 'The Difference Between Paid Search and Organic Search' was first published in December 2018 and set out to give a clear explanation of the different types of listings seen in search engine results pages, including paid advertisements and organic search results.

By May 23rd, 2019, it had reached its first 100 unique page views. Its progress gradually accelerated from there. By September 10th, 2019, it had scored 200; by December 10th, 2019, this had again doubled to 400; and by May 12th, 2020, it had doubled once more to 800. On 17th August, 2020, it crossed the 1,000-visitor hurdle; and on 3rd April, 2021, it surpassed 2,000.

Cumulatively, by December 5th 2021, the article had notched up 2927 unique page views, making it the sixth most-viewed article on GWS Media, and the seventh on GWS Media and GWS Robotics combined, proving that even articles about organic search as a topic can occasionally do well in organic search in themselves.

1364 of those views were attained during 2021, placing it slightly lower in the year-to-date rank order among all articles this year, in ninth position.

10. A Brief History of Robots and Robotics, from 300 B.C. to 1969

Our article 'A Brief History of Robots and Robotics, from 300 B.C. to 1969' was researched and written by our copywriter Philip Graves for GWS Robotics, where it was published in June 2018.

The article gradually established itself as a serious contender for decent sustained levels of views in organic search, reaching 100 unique page views on January 6th, 2019; 250 on May 6th, 2019; 500 on October 23rd, 2019; 1000 on April 23rd, 2020; 2,000 on December 9th, 2020; and 3,000 on August 10th, 2021.

On May 26th, 2019, it became cumulatively the most viewed of all articles on GWS Robotics, pipping early leader Meet Pepper at Business Showcase South West into second place. It has held onto that lead ever since.

By December 5th, 2021, cumulatively, A Brief History of Robots and Robotics had attained 3402 unique page views, placing it fifth among all articles on GWS Robotics and GWS Media combined, and still first among those just on GWS Robotics.

Within 2021, however, it has been outviewed by two newer articles on GWS Robotics (Nos. 6 and 8 above), which suggests that it may eventually be overtaken by one or both of them in the cumulative rank order. In the year to December 5th, it managed 1334 unique page views, placing it tenth among all articles on GWS Media and GWS Robotics combined in terms of views within 2021 itself.

11. 10 Great Christmas Websites to Visit

Get stuck in and explore, and see what you think the children in your family might enjoy.

12. Where Does Social Media Come From?

Social media in one form or another have now been established for more than two decades, since the Internet was still in its infancy.

13. Robot Ethics and Pepper Robot: 20 Questions

In early June, parts of the interview were used in her article for Decode Magazine on the use of Pepper Robot in assisting patients with autism and dementia.

With her kind permission, we now publish the full unedited transcript of her thought-provoking interview.

14. Mensa International, the High-IQ Society

MENSA, the society for people with a high IQ, was an exclusively British society from its foundation in 1946 until 1960, when the US branch was launched. In 1964 Mensa International (then called International Mensa) - was founded.

15. Which Sectors are Open During Lockdown?

While many areas of business have been forced into total closure or severely restricted operations by the coronavirus-related lockdown, it’s important to remember that people still need food, utilities and healthcare, and there are vitally important economic sectors that remain open for business.

16. 5 Reasons Why Grammar and Spelling are Important on Website

Perhaps you know what you want to say but when it comes to writing, you’re not always sure of your spelling and grammar?

You may be of the school of thought that so long as you get your message across, no-one’s really going to care about your grammar and spelling. But when you are writing on your website, these things will affect perceptions of your brand and professionalism.

17. 10 File-Sharing Platforms for Business

In this article, we introduce and review the main features of ten file-sharing platforms that are used by businessses.

18. Tips for Naming Your Brand Or Business

There are many different sources of inspiration for brand and business names. Here is a selection of the most common and popular types.

19. The Pros and Cons of Google Analytics Version 4

We explore some of the pros and cons of version 4 in order to see what benefits it brings and the downside of moving away from the familiar old versions.

20. Robots vs Humans in the Workplace

A summary and analysis of the findings of five major studies into the effects of robots on the displacement of jobs.

21. 20 Animated Logos for your Inspiration

From a shortlist of 45, our design team has picked out 20 animated logos around the web to inspire you.

22. Website Design: Facebook

This week, we shall start our series on the design of social media sites with a look at Facebook.

23. How to Reduce Or Eliminate Landfill Waste From Your Business

In the 2020s and beyond, demonstrating sustainability is likely to be a key to credibility with environmentally conscientious consumers.

24. 5 of our Favourite Hi-Tech Companies in Bristol

With hundreds of eligible and eminently worthy candidates to choose from, we can only say that the following five are a small selection of some of our favourites.

25. 15 of your Favourite Movie and TV Show Fonts

Here we examine fifteen examples of well-known productions whose title fonts are worth commenting upon.

26. Bristol Street Art and See No Evil

With Bristol's spectacular Street Art Festival ready to return in an explosion of colour and creativity next week, we thought it deserved some attention.

27. How Can Hotels Adapt to the Coronavirus Lockdown?

But shutting your doors to guests may not have to mean the end of all economic activity for your hotel during the lockdown. Have you considered offering up rooms to NHS staff, or even to patients with non-infectious diseases?

28. Business Networking Groups in Bristol

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29. How Has the Global Pandemic Changed the Digital Landscape?

The global pandemic that 2020 brought along with it has required adaptation for all and on all levels.

30. Website Design: Twitter

Here we will turn to Twitter to ask similar questions of how the branding and design works, and see if we can make connections between design decisions and website goals.

31. The Ten Most Popular Content Management Systems Compared

In this article, we’ll take a look at the ten most popular content management systems today, showcasing the market-leading platforms for building websites in 2019.

32. COVID-Proofing Your Office Waiting Room

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33. The History of Drupal Content Management System

Drupal has recently been celebrating the 20th anniversary of its first release.

34. How to Look After Your Mental Health While Social Distancing

With more time being spent at home and many social activities limited, some may be experiencing feelings of loneliness. At this time, it is more important than ever to remember to look after your wellbeing. We’ve come up with various ideas to help you ensure that self-care remains a priority.