Breaking records as we bring you latest news
It was a year of records, relegations and retweets. The Express & Star's website was read by more people than ever before in 2013 and smashed the record books on a regular basis.
The site reached over 100 million page views this year and more than nine million users have logged on to get the latest news, sport and opinion since January.
There has been plenty to get people talking, 2013 saw the end of The Public as an arts venue, relegation saw Wolves lose their Championship status and just last week fire claimed landmark Wolverhampton bowling alley Strykers.
Express & Star readers logged on in their millions to read, browse and watch the latest news, as well as having their say on the biggest stories each and every day.
It was the decline of Wolves that got readers most talking on the website, as the club hired and fired their way to a second successive relegation, which saw them start this season in the third tier.
In hindsight, appointing Dean Saunders as manager in January proved to be anything but the right decision, but Star readers struggled to believe in him from very beginning. There was a record-breaking 640 comments on the story announcing him as manager and just 23 per cent of the thousands who voted in our poll said he was the right choice.
His successor, Kenny Jackett, fared better with our hard-to-please readers, but still only 46 per cent backed the current boss at the time of his appointment.
As Wolves dropped to the third tier, news of their pitch invasion after defeat to Burnley all but confirmed relegation was read 75,000 times, while Jamie O'Hara's phone call to the Express & Star pulled in 38,000 clicks to the site.
Away from the football field, the loss of Strykers to a huge fire saw thousands of readers log on to find out more details – with the latest pictures and video footage from our photographers and readers on Twitter telling the story as the bowling alley burned.
And Wolverhampton superstar Liam Payne was responsible for another of our biggest stories of the year – as his retweet on his win at the Express & Star's Sons and Daughters award went viral with more than 10,000 of his fans sharing the link to the paper's story.
The 30-second video of him accepting his award, filmed for the Express & Star by his father Geoff, also proved hugely popular – with more than 100,000 views it became the Star's most-watched video ever.
This year also saw the Express & Star's busiest ever month online – with page views in July smashing through the 10 million mark for the first time.
Star readers were the first to find out about the fire that destroyed the Jayplas recycling plant in Smethwick, bomb attacks on mosques in Walsall, Tipton and Wolverhampton and traffic woes across the Midlands.
It was also the year that the Express & Star launched a new commenting system, making it easier than ever for people to have their say, as well as Star Witness – which showcases the best user generated content from our readers.
Launching in October, Star Witness asked readers for pictures and video footage of their news, as well as setting assignments to encourage budding snappers to show their creative sides.
Our Autumn tones gallery, showing off gold and red leaves in West Park, conkers in Cannock and everything in between proved hugely popular – with over 120 photos sent in.
And the site has also provided some great news pictures – a shot sent in of two poppy tin thieves being detained by police was used on the front page of the newspaper.
In short, 2013 was the biggest year the Express & Star website has ever seen.
Here's to 2014.
