net was a monthly print magazine that published content on web development and design. Founded in 1994, the magazine is published in the UK by Future plc. It was widely recognized as the premiere print publication for web designers. The magazine was initially aimed at the general Internet user, but has adapted into a title aimed at professional and novice web designers; a significant proportion of its readers are full-time web developers. Its sister publication, the web design-focused Creative Bloq blog, is estimated to receive over 10 million monthly readers according to analytics firm SimilarWeb. The company, and its parent Future plc, are also known for their annual The Net Awards, which is an awards body recognizing outstanding achievements in the web development industry. The magazine ended publication in June 2020.
History
The magazine was founded in 1994, with the first issue appearing in December. Its then editor was Richard Longhurst and assistant editor was Ivan Pope. It was initially aimed at the general Internet user in the early days of the internet and world wide web gaining wider momentum. In August 2006, the magazine was redesigned to include a new themed cover design and a new inner layout. Other changes were the addition of a new section at the back of the magazine called Trash replacing comics by drew and the Hi! Monkey Soon after the redesign a column entitled Web Drifter was introduced; written by Martin Sargent, it usually contained issues and language considered vulgar by the readership, and it was subsequently cancelled. Also in August 2006, the Penny Forum section was removed but reinstated for issue 153 onwards due to large reader response to its removal. Another addition was Web Pro in the latter half of the magazine. This is sectioned into several topics and written by industry professionals. There is also a web FAQ section. In December 2013 it was re-badged as net to end confusion with Microsoft's.NET Framework which launched in 2002. Along with the name change the magazine was given the tagline "The voice of web design". Future Plc announced in April 2020 that it would cease publication due to commercial reasons with issue 332 being the last.
Net Awards
The ".net" brand is known throughout the web development industry for its long-running annual The Net Awards, which awards outstanding achievements in the field. Now in their 16th year, the awards recognize the new talent, trends, and technologies that have pushed the web forward over the previous twelve months, as well as recognizing outstanding contributions by established individuals and companies. The annual judging panel is made up of notable industry veterans and thought leaders. Categories include Agency of the Year, Individual Outstanding Contribution, Developer of the Year, and Best Collaborative Project. Notable past winners include BBC News, Dropbox, Old Spice, Flickr, and Jeffrey Zeldman. The annual voting process begins with a public nominations phase. In 2015 alone, over 1,000 nominee considerations were submitted. These are whittled down to ten nominees per category by the award's judging body. Next, a public voting phase occurs to allow for community impact to play a role in each project's consideration. Finally, the judges weigh in to determine the winners of each category. Awards are given out live at the year-end ceremony in London.
Conference
net launched its Generate Conference in 2014. The event consists of a single-track, two-day series of speeches and workshops presented by prominent individuals in the web design industry. The inaugural conference took place in London, with Shopify and Badoo acting as featured sponsors. The 2015 conference took place in New York City, with Media Temple acting as the featured sponsor. Past speakers include Dan Cederholm, Jake Archibald, Remy Sharp, Ethan Marcotte, and Elliot Jay Stocks.
