Smashing Magazine

Name

Smashing Magazine

Legal name

Smashing Media AG

Website

https://smashingmagazine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smashing Magazine (Smashing Media AG) is an independent, bootstrapped online publishing company founded in 2006 in Germany that produces expert-reviewed articles, books, workshops, conferences, and a paid membership community for professional web designers and developers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Design and Front-End Development Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Blogging & Website Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAB)

Keywords

• Web design publishing
• Front-end development content
• UX design articles
• Web technology books
• Developer community platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Baden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Sidebar advertising on the website. However, ad-blocker usage has caused 50% revenue decline compared to previous year. The company encourages ad-blocker use while seeking alternative revenue.
2. Books and eBooks: 14 printed books and 67 eBooks sold through the website. Books are shipped worldwide via airmail from Germany (free shipping). Includes premium titles like 'TypeScript in 50 Lessons', 'Form Design Patterns', and technical guides for developers and designers.
3. Workshops and Conferences: Online workshops with experts in 2.5-hour segments with live sessions, recordings, and Q&A. SmashingConf conferences held in various cities (e.g., Antwerp 2026). Significant revenue stream to offset declining ad revenue.
4. Membership Subscription: Monthly subscription model priced at approximately $5/month ('1 coffee a month'). Provides community access, discounts, goodies, early-bird access to workshops, and exclusive content like PDF checklists.
5. Job Board: Platform connecting designers and developers with companies. Companies post job listings. Trusted by major enterprise brands.
6. Sponsored Content: Sponsored content that still goes through editorial review and proofreading. Limited scale to maintain quality standards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Smashing Magazine is an online publishing company that produces expert-reviewed editorial content, printed books and eBooks, online workshops, conferences, a podcast, and a paid membership community for professional web designers and developers. Its primary deliverables are in-depth articles and books on web design, CSS, JavaScript, UX, accessibility, and front-end performance, supplemented by live learning events and curated resources. Distribution is digital-first via smashingmagazine.com and smashingconf.com, with physical books shipped globally from Germany.

Product overview

Smashing Magazine is a multi-platform content publishing company for web designers and developers, offering a portfolio of interconnected products: the core magazine with curated articles reviewed by an expert panel, 14 printed books and 67 eBooks, online workshops in 2.5-hour segments, the Smashing Podcast interview show, a membership community, a job board trusted by major employers, a weekly newsletter with 182,000+ subscribers, and annual conferences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smashing Magazine Articles In-depth articles and guides on web design, UX, CSS, JavaScript, accessibility, performance, and front-end development, curated and reviewed by an editorial expert panel of 90+ reviewers.
• Smashing Books (printed books and eBooks) 14 printed books and 67 eBooks covering web development, design, and UX topics, with free airmail shipping worldwide from Germany.
• Smashing Workshops Online workshops with experts, broken into 2.5-hour segments with interactive live sessions, video recordings, and Q&A.
• Smashing Podcast Interview show hosted by Drew McLellan and Vitaly Friedman, featuring conversations with design and development experts, distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and Amazon Music.
• Smashing Membership Paid community membership offering discounts, goodies, books, workshops, and early-bird access benefits for designers and developers, priced at approximately $5/month.
• Smashing Job Board Job board connecting designers and developers with companies, trusted by employers including Booking, EA Sports, eBay, ESPN, IBM, Lonely Planet, Mercedes, MTV, and Rockstar.
• Smashing Newsletter Weekly email newsletter delivering front-end and UX tips, trusted by over 182,000 subscribers.
• Smashing Conference (SmashingConf) Industry conferences for web designers and developers held in various cities worldwide, co-founded by Marc Thiele.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,000,000+ monthly pageviews and 1,500,000+ unique visitors
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NetlifycoreTechnology or IntegrationInfrastructure hosting provider powering smashingmagazine.com. Mentioned in footer as part of the technology stack.
• TinaCMScoreTechnology or IntegrationContent management system used for website content management. Part of the core technology stack.
• SwellcoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform used for handling commerce operations including book sales and membership subscriptions.
• MailChimpcoreTechnology or IntegrationEmail service provider used for newsletter distribution and email marketing campaigns.
• TrellocoreTechnology or IntegrationProject management tool used by the team for coordinating articles and projects.
• GitHubcoreTechnology or IntegrationCode repository and version control used for development and content management workflows.
• SlackcoreTechnology or IntegrationTeam communication and collaboration platform used for internal team coordination.
• Transistor.fmcoreTechnology or IntegrationPodcast hosting and analytics platform powering the Smashing Podcast. Broadcast platform for episodes.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processor for handling transactions including author payments and product purchases.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing for credit card transactions on the platform.
• Deutsche Post/DHLcoreTechnology or IntegrationShipping partner for international airmail delivery of printed books worldwide.

Scale indicators15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CSS-Tricks: Long-running web design and front-end development publication with tutorials, articles, and guides. Direct content overlap with Smashing Magazine's CSS/JavaScript/UX coverage, serving the same designer/developer audience.
• A List Apart: Independent magazine for web designers and developers with rigorous editorial standards and practitioner-authored essays. Highly comparable to Smashing in niche, editorial quality bar, and long-form web design content.
• SitePoint: Web development publisher offering articles, books, and courses targeting designers and developers. Closely comparable book catalog (SitePoint also publishes technical books) and audience overlap with Smashing.
• Codrops: Web design blog and tutorial site with strong focus on CSS, UX, and creative coding techniques. Comparable to Smashing in publishing content for working designers and developers, though with a more visual/experimental tilt.
• freeCodeCamp: Open-source learning platform publishing in-depth tutorials and guides for web developers. Targets the same front-end developer audience with similar long-form content, though free rather than paid.
• Web Designer Depot: Online publication covering web design trends, tools, and tutorials for professional designers. Closely matches Smashing's audience of working designers seeking curated, design-forward content.

Emerging players

• LogRocket Blog: Developer-focused content publication covering React, performance, UX, and front-end engineering, often backed by product-led content marketing. Overlaps with Smashing's technical content audience but with a vendor-backed commercial model.
• Designmodo: Web design content and product company publishing articles, tutorials, and tools for designers and developers. Comparable content focus with a stronger product/commercial angle.

Broad incumbents

• Envato Tuts+: Large online learning and tutorial library covering design, development, and creative skills, owned by Envato. Broader portfolio than Smashing but overlaps significantly in web design/development tutorials.
• Medium (Design/Development publications): General-purpose publishing platform that hosts numerous design and development publications (e.g., UX Collective, Muzli) reaching overlapping audiences. Broad incumbent with deeper resources but lacks Smashing's curated editorial control.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smashingmag
• Facebookfacebook.com/smashmag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smashing-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smashing Magazine