Let’s agree that the information age can be overwhelming without news aggregator websites. Not only is there a lot of information in total, but it is also scattered all over the web. In order to save time, you can bring all of the news, updates, insights, tips, guides, articles into one location with content aggregators.
This article is a deep dive into news aggregator websites to highlight their diversity and how they all convert into value for both users and publishers. Along the way, I’ll share some great examples with a dedicated section for some of the top news aggregator websites for 2024.
🤓 These inspiring examples will be a great motivation to build our own aggregator site with WordPress. So in the final sections, I’ll run through all the steps you need to start aggregating content today.
The best news aggregator websites of 2024
1. Feedly
It has to be on top because it is easily one of the best news aggregator websites on the web. With a clean, simple design, Feedly is an excellent way to follow news. I particularly like the vertical organization over the grid organization you find on other sites.
Feedly is fully customizable with both a paid and free aggregator service and an unrivaled range of sources.
The free plan is limited to 100 sources, and the range will get you excited. Feedly aggregates sites from every niche possible. You’ll see knitting, cocktails, JavaScript, and even something for sneakers. If you can think of it, then Feedly have a feed for it.
On top of that, you can also import whatever other RSS source and have it aggregated alongside the big boys. For example, care to add Themeisle’s blog feed there? Use this address: https://themeisle.com/blog/feed/
Feedly in one word: Champion. 🏆
2. Google News
Google News is an awesome, free way to stay updated with the latest headlines from around the world. It pulls news from tons of sources, so you get a broad view of what’s happening. Whether you’re into breaking news, local updates, or specific topics like tech or sports, Google’s aggregator covers it for you. Plus, its smart AI personalizes your news feed based on what you read.
One particular feature I personally like is “Full Coverage,” which gives you multiple perspectives on the same story, helping you see the bigger picture. And the best part? It’s totally free, with no hidden costs or premium fees.
Google News in one word: Worldwide. 🗺️
3. Panda
Panda is a great tool for anyone working as a web designer, developer, or who has the entrepreneurial spirit. It is unique among aggregator sites because it follows Dribble, Behance, Product Hunt, GitHub. Not to mention Hacker News. Aggregating the aggregators!
Its interface has more visual appeal than most of the other news aggregator websites on this list. Panda is a free app with a professional look and feel, so you can expect some ads but the trade-off is acceptable.
Panda in one word: Awesome. 🤩
4. Techmeme
A brilliant technology-themed aggregator site that pulls in tech stories from all over the spectrum. It includes sites like Reddit alongside breaking business news.
You’ll see that each article contains access to other sources, as well as the conversation happening on social. There’s a lot happening on the front page and there’s not much padding between the columns.
They also have sister aggregator sites, MediaGazer (media aggregator), Memeorandum (political news aggregator), and WeSmirch (a celebrity content aggregator site).
Techmeme in a word: Oldskool. 🕶️
5. Flipboard
Flipboard is another cool news aggregator website. Its interface gives you the feeling of reading an actual magazine. The platform is super flexible because you can thoroughly filter the topics in your feed to see only content that is relevant to you.
Flipboard is without a doubt one of the best news aggregator websites because you can follow as many worldwide topics and publications as you want. Or, if you want to narrow down your feed to local news, you can search for your country or city and add it to your topics.
What’s awesome about this content aggregator is that you can go from broad to very specific niche topics. Search for any hobby and you will probably find it there!
Moreover, Flipboard lets you interact with the content. You can like, comment, and share the links to social media. You can read news from your web browser and mobile – available on Android and iOS.
Flipboard in a word: Hobbyist. ❤️
6. Metacritic
Full disclosure; Metacritic is one of my favorite news aggregator websites and easily one of the top such sites of all time. It is a review aggregator, like Rotten Tomatoes, but it also includes games and music.
I also included it because I like how they use aggregated content to create meta content like ranking the classic film franchises using the aggregated reviews.
Metacritic oozes professionalism with that awesome organization on the front page. There are a lot of ads, but I like how the categories are repeated in each section making it easy for users to find their way through.
Metacritic in a word: Essential. 🚰
7. AllTop
AllTop is a truly definitive list of aggregator sites because here you’ll find all the important news on almost any topic. This aggregator is a good way to stay updated with the world’s events.
I love the range of categories, and their location, it is both user friendly and authoritative. There’s a nice arrangement of articles into viral and different niches. The front page is minimalist, without visuals, and there’s no ads on this one.
AllTop in a word: Variety. 🎨
8. The Morning News
I’ve included this one out of a sense of love. The Morning News is unique in that it only has a single column with news covering a wide variety of topics. The topics are not the usual topics you find on news aggregators with more obscure stories finding their way to the front page.
The sources range from mainstream media to more unusual sources like Reddit. I love the fact that the obscure topics are the driver for the website rather than a blanket approach.
The Morning News is a very well organized website that doesn’t use images. The text is also selected with the idea of allowing the website room to breathe.
The Morning News in a word: Informative. 🤔
9. Pocket
Pocket might be my favorite news aggregator at the moment because it offers me a chance to build an archive of must-read links. With the Pocket button, I can save articles, videos, pages from across the web and then read them on any device. The ability to sync it and view articles from a range of categories makes it a leading aggregator site no matter what your interests are.
One thing that immediately appealed to me was the range of categories from tech through finance to travel. Not only that, but the sources are varied with hand-picked articles regularly finding their way to the top of my feed. Highly customizable with a design and setup that allows the sections room to breathe.
Pocket in a word: Personal. 🤗
10. Fark
Fark is another news aggregator that’s similar to AllTop. Here, you will see stories from the most popular news sites and magazines on various topics. But if you ever have enough of serious posts, there’s a category with funny videos and photo galleries especially involving animals.
What I also like about Fark is that it lets you comment on every post and interact with other readers in a format that resembles a forum. Moreover, you can submit your own story if you stumble upon something interesting on the web and want to share it with other enthusiasts.
Overall, Fark seems to have a pretty large community around it with people who engage with the stories and with each other.
Fark in a word: Community. 🏘️
What is a content aggregator site?
A content aggregator site collects information from all over the web and posts it in one location for visitors to access. The topics are created around various keywords using RSS feeds. A content aggregator site will often provide attribution and a link to the original site to avoid plagiarism claims.
Some of the news aggregator sites allow you to follow your favorite publications, too. This way, you make sure you get more content from the websites you trust in your feed. However, a publication needs to own a profile on a news aggregator site in order for you to find it there.
There are a few different ways for an aggregator site to operate, but, generally, they don’t produce content of their own.
Creators can also pay to have their content aggregated and distributed more widely among larger websites. Syndication is a particularly popular news aggregator business model because it helps publishers remove the hard work of negotiating and securing distribution.
Conclusion
No matter if you’re here to get your dose of news from aggregator websites that match your interests or find inspiration in actual examples of websites in order to build your own platform, I hope your expectations were met.
I tried to cover as many styles and formats as possible so you can find the most suitable options for your preferences.
Is there any cool news aggregator website that we didn’t cover in this post? Let us know in the comments and tell us what you like about it.
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!