Jun 02, 2022
ARLINGTON, VA -- The USA Rice consumer-facing website, thinkrice.com, is the winner in the “Associations & Non-Profit” category of the 2022 Sitefinity Website of the Year Awards. Since its inception in 2011, the Sitefinity Awards have recognized websites powered by Progress Sitefinity for the exceptional digital experiences they deliver to visitors.
This year, a panel of Sitefinity product experts evaluated more than 120 submissions against six criteria – visual design, content, layout and navigation, complexity, innovation, and significance – and shortlisted the three best websites per category. After narrowing the field, the doors were opened for public voting to help determine the “Best of the Best.” And with more than 6,200 votes cast, thinkrice.com emerged as one of sixteen category winners.
“Thank you to Sitefinity and everyone who voted for our website – it’s a tremendous honor to be a recipient of this award knowing we were in competition with other industries such as medical and fine arts, not just ag,” said Katie Maher, USA Rice director of strategic initiatives. “This award affirms all the hard work we put into updating our website to better support our promotional efforts and ensure that visitors have a positive experience on the site.”
In January 2021, USA Rice debuted the new and improved thinkrice.com, where visitors come to find rice recipes, cooking tips, nutrition information, foodservice resources, and much more. One of the major goals in revamping the website was to improve the user experience through design, content, and functionality enhancements.
Since the launch of the revamped website, there has been a steady improvement in web analytics, including a 19 percent increase in traffic from search engines and a 36 percent increase in page views – this means more people are finding the site and viewing multiple pages during their visit.
“We’re really proud of the redesign and performance of thinkrice.com, but the cherry on top is receiving this prestigious award,” said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice director of domestic promotion. “This recognition will certainly generate new traffic to the site where people can learn more about the industry and see what makes U.S.-grown rice so special.”