Nearly every regional newspaper website audited by ABC recorded strong growth in the second half of 2016.
The Manchester Evening News is the most popular regional press website, bigger even that the London Evening Standard, with an average of 652,881 unique browsers per day.
After the Standard, Trinity Mirror sites occupy the next four spots in the traffic rankings: the Liverpool Echo, Wales Online, Birmingham Mail and Newcastle’s Chronicle Live.
The fastest-growing site was Johnston Press’s News Letter in Belfast, up 67 per cent year on year to 20,336 unique browsers per day, followed by Newsquest’s Evening Times in Glasgow, up 49 per cent year on year to an average of 75,302 unique browsers per day.
The online audience growth contrasts with sharp declines in print sales, particularly for the regional dailies – which fell by an average of 12.5 per cent year on year in the second half of 2016.
Regional press website traffic for the second half of 2016
(Average daily unique browsers, source ABC)
| Title | Owner | Total average unique daily visitors | YoY% |
| Manchester Evening News | Trinity Mirror plc | 652,881 | 17 |
| Evening Standard | Evening Standard Limited | 544,339 | 23.6 |
| Liverpool Echo | Trinity Mirror plc | 456,622 | 8.1 |
| Wales Online | Trinity Mirror plc | 292,824 | 13.1 |
| Birmingham Mail | Trinity Mirror plc | 277,760 | 41.1 |
| Chronicle Live | Trinity Mirror plc | 213,447 | 4.9 |
| Kent Online (KM Group) network | Kent Messenger Ltd | 140,014 | 20 |
| Hull Daily Mail (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 104,163 | |
| GazetteLive | Trinity Mirror plc | 103,268 | 1.9 |
| Scotsman.com | Johnston Press plc | 97,200 | 2.4 |
| Bristol Post (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 93,953 | |
| Nottingham Post (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 92,122 | |
| heraldscotland.com | Newsquest Media Group | 88,418 | 10.8 |
| bournemouthecho.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 81,595 | |
| Daily Post (Wales) | Trinity Mirror plc | 81,125 | 5.1 |
| Plymouth Herald (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 80,255 | |
| Stoke Sentinel | Trinity Mirror plc | 79,480 | |
| Thestar.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 78,577 | 14.6 |
| eveningtimes.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 75,302 | 48.8 |
| dailyecho.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 73,600 | 1.2 |
| thetelegraphandargus.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 72,459 | 4.5 |
| Yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 71,708 | -5.5 |
| Derby Telegraph (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 71,090 | |
| Eastern Daily Press | Archant Ltd | 67,054 | 9.4 |
| Coventry Telegraph | Trinity Mirror plc | 66,321 | 18.3 |
| Leicester Mercury (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 60,760 | |
| thenorthernecho.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 60,697 | 3.5 |
| edinburghnews.scotsman.com | Johnston Press plc | 60,316 | 10.3 |
| theboltonnews.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 57,508 | 12.2 |
| Sunderlandecho.com | Johnston Press plc | 55,874 | 12.8 |
| thepress.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 54,025 | 16.9 |
| Get Surrey | Trinity Mirror plc | 52,395 | |
| South Wales Evening Post (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 51,222 | |
| lancashiretelegraph.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 51,204 | -0.2 |
| theargus.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 50,530 | -5.4 |
| Huddersfield Daily Examiner | Trinity Mirror plc | 50,459 | -4.4 |
| Portsmouth.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 47,451 | 9.8 |
| Get Reading | Trinity Mirror plc | 44,518 | |
| Cambridge News (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 42,323 | |
| Oxfordmail.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 41,933 | 38.8 |
| southwalesargus.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 40,662 | |
| Grimsby Telegraph (Web) | Trinity Mirror plc | 38,408 | |
| newsshopper.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 35,242 | -4.5 |
| Swindonadvertiser.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 34,785 | 12.5 |
| Blackpoolgazette.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 33,049 | -4.6 |
| LEP.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 32,944 | -3.5 |
| Yorkshirepost.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 32,248 | 2.6 |
| www.newsandstar.co.uk | CN Group | 30,048 | |
| Peterboroughtoday.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 29,675 | 32.4 |
| northamptonchronicle.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 28,406 | -9.7 |
| East Anglian Daily Times | Archant Ltd | 26,044 | 21 |
| worcesternews.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 25,403 | |
| wigantoday.net | Johnston Press plc | 24,707 | 13.6 |
| shieldsgazette.com | Johnston Press plc | 24,492 | -1.1 |
| dorsetecho.co.uk | Newsquest Media Group | 24,289 | |
| Ipswich Star | Archant Ltd | 23,813 | 17.7 |
| newsletter.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 20,336 | 67 |
| www.nwemail.co.uk | CN Group | 19,887 | |
| hartlepoolmail.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 16,910 | -19 |
| Norwich Evening News | Archant Ltd | 14,907 | -4.2 |
| www.jobstoday.co.uk | Johnston Press plc | 14,489 | -41.9 |
| Wow247 | Johnston Press plc | 13,469 | -51.6 |
| Visiter.co.uk | Trinity Mirror plc | 12,885 | 0.9 |
| Comet | Archant Ltd | 11,709 | 14.1 |
| Romford Recorder | Archant Ltd | 10,387 | 15.3 |
| Great Yarmouth Mercury | Archant Ltd | 8,875 | 27.9 |
| Brent and Kilburn Times | Archant Ltd | 8,235 | 1.5 |
| Barking & Dagenham Post | Archant Ltd | 7,872 | 19.9 |
| Welwyn Hatfield Times | Archant Ltd | 7,700 | 13.6 |
| Ham and High Express | Archant Ltd | 5,913 | 7.8 |
| Newham Recorder | Archant Ltd | 5,711 | 26.8 |
| Ilford Recorder | Archant Ltd | 5,696 | 7.4 |
| The Herts Advertiser | Archant Ltd | 5,307 | -7 |
| Hunts Post | Archant Ltd | 4,659 | 9.8 |
| Hackney Gazette | Archant Ltd | 4,588 | 37.5 |
| Lowestoft Journal | Archant Ltd | 4,425 | 1.1 |
| Islington Gazette | Archant Ltd | 4,373 | -0.6 |
| Kent on Sunday | Archant Ltd | 3,685 | 12.6 |
| Cambs Times | Archant Ltd | 3,128 | 4.8 |
| Docklands & East London Advertiser | Archant Ltd | 2,954 | 26.3 |
| www.timesandstar.co.uk | CN Group | 2,953 | |
| www.whitehavennews.co.uk | CN Group | 2,566 | |
| Wisbech Standard | Archant Ltd | 2,443 | -16.2 |
| www.hexhamcourant.co.uk | CN Group | 2,432 | |
| North Norfolk News | Archant Ltd | 2,412 | 14.9 |
| www.in-cumbria.com | CN Group | 883 | |
| www.cumberlandnews.co.uk | CN Group | 874 | |
| The Reporter | Archant Ltd | 840 | -43.7 |
| www.cumbrialive.co.uk | CN Group | 632 | |
| www.inthebay.co.uk | CN Group | 495 |
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