A List Apart
A List Apart is a privately held online publication founded in 1998 that publishes editorial content on web design, development, accessibility, and content strategy for web professionals, monetized through sponsorships and affiliated sister brands A Book Apart (books) and An Event Apart (conferences).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What A List Apart does
A List Apart is an online publication founded in 1998 that publishes editorial content on web design, development, accessibility, content strategy, and user experience for practicing web professionals. Its primary audience consists of front-end developers, UX/UI designers, content strategists, and information architects who rely on the site for peer-reviewed guidance on web standards and best practices. Content is freely accessible via alistapart.com and distributed through email newsletters, RSS feeds, and social channels.
The publication operates on a WordPress CMS hosted by Pressable with Webtype fonts, and has no proprietary software, mobile app, or public API. Revenue is generated through sponsorships, affiliated publishing (sister brand A Book Apart, which sells brief books for web professionals), and affiliated events (sister brand An Event Apart, a conference series for web designers and developers). The business is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, and operates with a small team of 11-50 employees under founder Jeffrey Zeldman and Editor in Chief Aaron Gustafson.
The company's competitive position rests on nearly three decades of continuous publishing, an ISSN-registered publication (ISSN 1534-0295), and a contributor network of industry practitioners that produces curated, high-signal editorial. The sister-brand ecosystem (books and conferences) extends the publication's monetization beyond advertising into educational products and live events, though the overall enterprise operates at the scale of a niche, independent media business rather than a venture-backed technology company.
A List Apart firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- A List Apart
- Legal name
- A List Apart
- Website
- https://alistapart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- A List Apart is a privately held online publication founded in 1998 that publishes editorial content on web design, development, accessibility, and content strategy for web professionals, monetized through sponsorships and affiliated sister brands A Book Apart (books) and An Event Apart (conferences).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where A List Apart is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
A List Apart business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Sponsorships: Sponsored content and sponsorship opportunities for brands targeting web professionals
- Related publishing: Revenue from affiliated publishing ventures including A Book Apart (brief books for web professionals)
- Events: Affiliated event business An Event Apart hosts conferences for web professionals
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
A List Apart product offering
Product offeringCore offering
A List Apart is an online publication that publishes editorial articles exploring the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards, accessibility, and best practices. Content is provided free to individual web professionals and is monetized through sponsorships, affiliated book sales via A Book Apart, and affiliated conferences via An Event Apart. The publication has been continuously operating under the same editorial mission since 1998.
Product overview
A List Apart operates as a single unified online publication focused on web design, development, and content strategy. The company publishes articles exploring web standards, accessibility, design, and best practices through its main website. Associated brands include A Book Apart (publishing brief books for web professionals) and An Event Apart (web conferences), which extend the publication's mission into physical events and print/digital books.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- A Book Apart: Brief books for people who design, write, and code. A publishing imprint associated with A List Apart.
- An Event Apart
Products and services
- A List Apart (Online Publication) A long-running online publication (ISSN 1534-0295) that publishes editorial articles, essays, and topical resources on web design, web development, accessibility, content strategy, and user experience for individual web professionals who make websites.
- A Book Apart
Companies that use A List Apart
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
A List Apart technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
A List Apart partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- A Book ApartcoreA Book Apart publishes brief, practical books for people who design, write, and code. Founded as a sister company to A List Apart, extending the educational mission into long-form book format. Bundle offers available for ALA readers.
- An Event ApartcoreAn Event Apart hosts conferences for web professionals. Linked as a sister brand to A List Apart, providing in-person educational events for the web community.
- Northwestern University School of Professional StudiesminorNorthwestern advertises their MS in Information Design & Strategy program on A List Apart, targeting ALA's audience of web professionals interested in career advancement.
Scale indicators2 records
Expansion highlights3 records
A List Apart competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CSS-Tricks: Web design and development publication founded by Chris Coyier covering CSS, front-end techniques, and web standards. Highly comparable as a niche online publication serving the same web professional audience as ALA.
- Designer News: Community-driven news and discussion site for designers and web professionals. Comparable as a content/community hub serving the same web professional niche, though lighter on long-form editorial.
- Web Designer Depot: Online publication covering web design, UX, and digital trends, monetized through sponsorships and advertising. Directly comparable content model and target audience to ALA.
- Tuts+ (Envato): Tutorial-driven publication for designers and developers, now part of Envato. Comparable as a content-led online education platform for web creatives with subscription and course monetization.
- Creative Bloq: Online publication for creative professionals covering design, web, and branding. Comparable audience and content-led sponsorship model, though broader in creative disciplines beyond web.
- SitePoint: Online publisher of tutorials, books, and courses for web developers and designers. Operates a similar publishing-plus-books-plus-courses monetization model targeting the same professional persona as ALA.
- Smashing Magazine: Long-running online publication for web designers and developers covering design, UX, coding, and best practices. Operates a similar content-led business with conferences, books, and memberships—directly comparable to ALA's publishing-plus-events-plus-books model.
- UX Design Collective / UX Matters: Online publications focused on UX, design, and content strategy for practitioners. Comparable as content-led resources targeting the same UX/content strategy segments of ALA's audience.
Broad incumbents
- LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com): Large-scale online learning platform for professional skills including web design and UX. Comparable as a destination for continuing professional education among web professionals, though much broader in scope.
- O'Reilly Media: Established technology publisher and learning platform producing books, conferences (O'Reilly Velocity, OSCON), and online learning for tech professionals. Comparable at a much larger scale as the incumbent in the tech professional publishing-and-events space.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
A List Apart social profiles
Digital presenceA List Apart financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
A List Apart leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
A List Apart funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
A List Apart M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about A List Apart
What does A List Apart do?
A List Apart is an online publication that publishes editorial articles exploring the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards, accessibility, and best practices. Content is provided free to individual web professionals and is monetized through sponsorships, affiliated book sales via A Book Apart, and affiliated conferences via An Event Apart. The publication has been continuously operating under the same editorial mission since 1998.
Is A List Apart a public or private company?
A List Apart is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was A List Apart founded?
A List Apart was founded in 1998. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is A List Apart based?
A List Apart is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does A List Apart make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are related publishing and events.
Who are A List Apart's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CSS-Tricks, Designer News, Web Designer Depot, Tuts+ (Envato), Creative Bloq, SitePoint, Smashing Magazine and UX Design Collective / UX Matters. Broad incumbents are LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com) and O'Reilly Media.
Does A List Apart have an API?
No public API is recorded for A List Apart.