Dezeen hit a major milestone this week, becoming one of the 3,500 most-visited websites in the world, according to ranking service Alexa.

Dezeen has risen over 1,100 places in Alexa's global internet engagement ranking since the start of the year, with our Virtual Design Festival propelling us further up the chart in the last few days.

Dezeen is particularly popular in the USA, where we are among the top 2,500 most popular sites, according to Alexa's latest 90-day trend figures. As of today, Dezeen is ranked 2,449 in the USA and 3,500 worldwide.

Record traffic in March

The news follows Dezeen's best-ever month for traffic in March, which saw 3.65 million unique visitors, up over 20 per cent on our previous record set in March 2019.

In addition, our interview with Li Edelkoort about the impact of coronavirus has now been read more than 750,000 times, making it by far the most popular story we're ever published.

We have also been receiving a record number of comments on our stories.

"We want to thank our readers for putting their trust in us during this difficult period," said Dezeen founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.

"While this is an extremely tough period for all businesses`– and not least media businesses – it is very gratifying to know that the incredible content our team puts out every day is being enjoyed, shared and discussed by millions of readers around the world."

"We'd also like to thank all our partners, advertisers and sponsors for supporting us through this difficult period."

"Spirit-lifting, feel-good culture to enjoy during lockdown"

Dezeen's Virtual Design Festival, which launched last week, has received significant press coverage around the world.

The BBC listed VDF among its pick of "spirit-lifting, feel-good culture to enjoy during lockdown," alongside classic 1989 movie Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and artist Gerhard Richter's exhibition at the Met Breuer museum in New York City.

"The global design community has collaborated to launch the first virtual design festival in response to the coronavirus lockdown," said The Guardian.

Design journalist Barbara Chandler wrote in the Evening Standard: "The Virtual Design Festival is rescuing cancelled spring and summer shows with a free online feast of style."

"A Virtual Design Festival featuring a rolling programme of talks, debates, exhibitions and product launches is one example of designers adapting to coronavirus," said the South China Morning Post.

"We will meet again at Bar Basso"

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said: "The festival was launched by the online magazine Dezeen, with a video that gives voice to thirty-five designers from all over the world. And the video starts right from the Bar Basso in Milan, as a usual meeting place for creatives, with the landlord opening the door, locked for the health emergency."