Webby Opens Verified Credits Registry to More Than 150,000 Creators

By Sophie Lindqvist

More than 150,000 people with credits for Webby-recognized work can now claim free, verified profiles through the Global Webby Credits Registry. The eligible pool includes producers, writers, developers, designers, social strategists and creators.

The Webbys confirmed the launch. Their registry covers 30 seasons, from 1996 through 2026, and spans 24,000 organizations. They expect thousands more people to qualify each year as the organization recognizes new work.

Award categories include creators alongside websites, video, advertising, social, podcasts, games and AI. The awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, received more than 13,000 entries this year from all 50 states and more than 70 countries.

Why does the Webbys want verified credits?

A Webby credit is the entry point. People connected to recognized work can turn that listing into a profile documenting their specific contributions.

The Webbys describe a persistent visibility problem. Professional credit often sits across portfolios, résumés and social profiles, where it remains outside the view of search engines and AI systems. The registry attaches verified credits to a person’s name in a format those systems can read.

That is the organization’s stated ambition, not a reported traffic or hiring result. The launch announcement includes no audience forecast, ranking guarantee or commercial-return figure. For practitioners, the budget effect is straightforward: there is no profile fee, while the claim process adds a LinkedIn identity check.

“The people behind great creative work on the Internet have never been harder to find, and they’ve never mattered more,” said Jesse Feister, executive director at The Webby Group.

Feister added: “The Global Webby Credits Registry puts 30 years of Webby recognition in the hands of the more than 150,000 individuals who earned it, and the thousands who will earn it in the years ahead, giving them verified credentials to build reputation in the AI era.”

How does claiming a profile work?

The workflow starts in the Webby Credits database. It requires three steps:

• Search for the relevant Webby-recognized work.
• Select the credits that belong to the claimant.
• Verify identity through LinkedIn before publishing the profile.

LinkedIn’s identity verification services confirm that the person matches the listed credit. The Webby Awards issue those credits directly and host profiles on webbyawards.com at no cost.

Founding Members already publishing profiles include Shonda Rhimes, Adam Scott and Pooja Tripathi of Brooklyn Coffee Shop. They are also inviting peers to join. PBS, iHeartMedia and R/GA support the launch.

“Behind every great PBS digital experience is a team of talented people bringing our mission to life,” said Amy Wigler, PBS vice president of multiplatform marketing and content. “The Webby Credits Registry gives those individuals recognition that stays with them throughout their careers.”

The Webbys also plan an integrated marketing campaign featuring past winners, creators and industry leaders. Its stated purpose is to encourage eligible professionals to claim profiles. Founding Members’ invitations add another route into the network.

What does the launch mean for practitioners?

For freelancers and in-house teams, the registry adds a free credential to the evidence they already keep in portfolios, résumés and social accounts. The LinkedIn check adds an identity layer. It does not broaden eligibility beyond Webby-recognized work.

That distinction matters for reach. Only people connected to recognized work can claim a profile, while search and AI visibility depend on how widely systems index and surface those records. The launch announcement provides no evidence yet on profile views, referral traffic, conversion rates or employer demand.

The registry launch also arrives amid a search-product shift. In July, Google shipped a Search Console tool for creators without a website to track how their Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts perform in Search.

For practitioners, the tools address different layers. The registry records who made recognized digital work; the Google tool shows how social posts surface in search. One supports professional credibility, while the other supports performance reporting.

As another awards cycle adds thousands of eligible people, the registry’s next test will be whether creators claim those profiles and whether verified credits gain meaningful visibility in search and AI results.