As previously reported, 2022 marks 25 years that Jehovah’s Witnesses have had an official website. But it was ten years ago, on August 27, 2012, that the redesigned jw.org was released. This three-part series will examine how the redesigned jw.org has brought far-reaching benefits to millions of individuals.

Videos: At conventions in 2012, the first two episodes of a new series entitled Become Jehovah’s Friend were released on DVD. But DVDs became less popular and more expensive to produce. When the redesigned website came online in the summer of 2012, it provided a more efficient method of distributing videos. Therefore, in January 2013, the next episode of Become Jehovah’s Friend, entitled Pray Anytime, was released in digital format on jw.org. More than 40 episodes have been released in the years since.

The video Why Study the Bible? was also released digitally in 2013. That video has become a valuable tool in the ministry and a part of the Teaching Toolbox. Since that release, video distribution through jw.org has continued to be an integral part of the preaching work. For example, during a campaign to distribute the tract advertising jw.org in August 2014, some 15 million videos were downloaded or viewed.

One brother who worked on building jw.org says: “It was faith-strengthening to see how Jehovah prepared us for future events. We had no idea at the time that our efforts to provide a new method of distributing videos would be so vital in the future.” For example, JW Broadcasting was introduced in October 2014, and over 37 million videos were downloaded that month. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, jw.org saw another large increase in video consumption. So far in 2022, an average of over 260 million videos have been downloaded from jw.org each month.

Digital Publications: In recent decades, many readers have begun to favor reading material online or in a mobile app instead of in print. With the release of the redesigned website in 2012, users could now read the magazines online, often before they received the printed edition. The work to produce digital publications for the website also facilitated the introduction of the JW Library app later in 2013. The app complements the website and provides an excellent platform for reading and studying the digital publications.

Initially, publications released at summer conventions were not available on the website or in the app until January of the following year. But at regional conventions in 2015, audiences were thrilled to learn that they could immediately download digital editions of the convention releases—this included the publications Jesus—The Way, the Truth, the Life and Return to Jehovah, as well as the video What Is True Love? The next year, during the May 2016 JW Broadcasting program, Brother Anthony Morris of the Governing Body released the brochure Answers to 10 Questions Young People Ask and announced that it was immediately available for download. This was the first time a publication was released to the worldwide brotherhood simultaneously.

Jehovah’s organization has a long history of using technology to promote Kingdom interests. We are thrilled to see how the jw.org website has been used to make available “food at the proper time.”—Matthew 24:45.

• Videos downloaded each month

• Daily visitors each month

• Release of Pray Anytime, January 2013

• Release of JW Library app, October 2013

• Worldwide campaign with tract promoting jw.org, August 2014

• Release of JW Broadcasting, October 2014

• Convention releases made available electronically, May 2015

• Worldwide release of Answers to 10 Questions Young People Ask, May 2016