Everything is online now. The internet has emerged as the next best things since sliced bread and woe is the company, start up or individual that does not have a significant online presence.

It has been quite the task selecting which to pay attention to but these are the top 10 websites that had Nigerians clicking.

From shameless click baiting magnets to hard hitting investigative journalism, finance to online retail, Nigerians had their online game covered. Presented in no particular order.

Brittlepaper.com

In these days of click baiting and traffic vacuuming by any means necessary, it is increasingly difficult to maintain a quality site that caters exclusively to a niche audience. Brittlepaper.com is perhaps doing for books what Notjustok.com has done for Nigerian music. Carefully curated by Ainehi Edoro, a Doctoral student at Duke University, Brittlepaper.com tries to be the one stop shop for everything African literature.

Gtbank.com

Nowadays, almost every Nigerian bank has embraced the internet banking option but it is Guaranty Trust Bank that captures the ruthless efficiency and wide open aspirations of this relatively new medium of banking the most. Even with the myriads of challenges that come with such a medium, Gtbank.com remains top choice in terms of volume of transactions and a permanent spot atop Alexa.com rankings.

Jumia.com and Konga.com         

It would be unfair to list one without the other so in the spirit of the season, we shall save this spot for intense rivals Jumia and Konga. Both online retailers are the first and last word in Nigerian online shopping space and both are as popular as they are widely competitive. Both have their diehard fans and both are equally exasperating when they want to be. But still the year in shopping wouldn’t be the same- for better or worse- without Jumia and Konga.

Lindaikejiblogspot.com

The most popular blogspot address this side of the Sahara has shown no signs of slowing down. In terms of popularity and market size, Linda Ikeji remains queen and the blog which is an extension of the fabulous life of its founder continued its tradition of being the go to place for breaking news, dishy gossip, furious commentary and top of the range advert placements.

Naij.com

The front end may be far too busy for our liking, with its overplay of letters and pictures but Naij.com has spent the better of 2015 on the up and up as one of Nigeria’s most widely-accessed news and entertainment websites. With 180 million monthly page views and over 16 million visitors per month (according to Google Analytics), Naij.com is definitely one of the internet’s most trafficked sites.

 

Nairabet.com                                                                                                                   

Football is the favourite pastime of Nigerians of all walks of life and Nairabet has capitalized on this popularity to emerge as the biggest site for legitimate online gambling. Regulated by the Lagos state lottery board and boasting a wide range of sporting activities asides from football, Nairabet recently signed on hip hop star Phyno as a brand ambassador, aligning their interests closer with targeted audience.

PartyJollof.com          

PartyJollof.com may be on hiatus till January 2016 but it made enough of an impression to earn a place on this list. Hailed as the Buzzfeed of Nigeria in some quarters, Party Jollof combines barbed listicles, tongue in cheek reviews with finely detailed long reads to make devoted fans out of those searching for fun but cerebral content on the internet. We cannot wait for the return.

Premium Times

Where Sahara is given to hasty, unchecked conclusions, Premium Times is far more restrained but equally as effective in zeroing in on the subjects that catch its fancy. Investigative journalism may be a trend that is fast disappearing but not where the hardworking guys and ladies of this Abuja based online newspaper are concerned. No wonder they keep raking all the prestigious journalism trophies available.

Sahara Reporters

Fearless, fast paced and endlessly scandalous, Sahara Reporters has been mired in too many controversies to be taking seriously as a credible news worthy outfit. But just when one is about to give up on the New York based paper, the team led by Omoyele Sowore delivers another knock-out punch of dogged investigative skill and fearlessness to uncover the seedy underbelly of Nigeria’s political class.

Zikoko.com

The freshest, zingiest and edgiest website of the year, Zikoko.com brought to you by the guys at Big Cabal media brought the term new media home to the average Nigerian. Making use of GIFs, memes, sharply observed nuances and hilarious pictorials to capture everyday life in today’s Nigeria, Zikoko.com has been developing a fast growing fan base especially among the cool kids this side of the world.