The short vertical video format now defines social media. Snapchat grew up on it, Instagram adopted it, and for the younger generation TikTok is the most natural way to consume content. We are now rolling it out across our websites as well. Web Stories already run on iSport.cz, Poggers and Mateřídouška.
The impulse for web stories came from a collaboration with the studio Qest, which created the Sportlito tool. It presented sports results and player cards with statistics in an attractive vertical format, almost automatically. The football club Arsenal also used the tool. We bought Sportlito from Qest and started adapting it to our needs.
Attractive for readers, simple for editorial teams
Lubor Zoufal’s goal was to bring a new, attractive format to our websites while making the work of editorial teams as simple as possible. Together with Qest, we therefore developed a web application. In it, editors can add a video, photo or headline in a few clicks. All of this happens in their own templates, which keep the visual style and brand of each title. If only images are involved, the whole set of stories, including the captions, is generated automatically with AI, just by entering the article URL.
Easy deployment across websites
Deploying to the homepage of any website takes just one script, which can be inserted directly into the site’s design and works independently of the CMS. Content created on one website can also easily be shared with others, so a post from iSport can appear on other websites within minutes.
Web Stories also open up new business opportunities. A carousel can contain both editorial and branded content. Partner logos can be added to the templates, or several editorial stories can be combined with one advertising block.
Where are we heading next?
We first launched Web Stories last year on the iSport website. Big thanks go not only to Qest and Lubor, but also to Matúš Mészaros and Ondřej Šavrňák. After a successful pilot, we added Poggers and Mateřídouška at the beginning of this year, and other websites will follow soon.
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