Re-thinking the newspapers app from the ground up to ensure users kept coming back for fresh and exciting news content.
As part of the Independent Premium rebrand I led the redesign of the current Independent premium app. The objective was to make it a more compelling feature within the subscription product that was also able to convert users at a higher rate.
After analysing Adobe analytical data we identified certain patterns of user behaviour that was potentially limiting subscription conversions, namely we were giving away too much free content. On top of trying to fix this potential shortcoming I created full user flows for the current app and highlighted potential areas of weakness. Below is one of the customer journeys that I identified as being highly confusing and convoluted, the ability for users' to restore a previously paid for subscription.
I created a buyer’s journey map (see the first part of it below) to further explore the reasons users don’t convert, which also incorporated App Store and customer service feedback. With both qualitative and quantitative feedback we determined a problem statement to help our ideation process:
"In order to provide a higher conversion rate we would need to rethink the visibility of premium content within the app, whilst also differentiating the app product from the mobile website."
Below you will see that "features" (i.e premium content) is now split out from regular news content. This was to create a differentiation between our free journalism and the more in-depth analysis you would receive with a subscription. I also bundled up a number of "extras" (i.e. secondary benefits) that form a suite of added benefits.
On top of providing a more compelling reason to convert, many other features only found in our web experience were to be folded into our app. This meant the information architecture of the app had to be reviewed in its entirety. Below is the final IA that I chose to put forward, but to reach this conclusion I undertook a card sort exercise with our readers to understand where within the app users' would expect to find certain content.
After building wireframes I used InVision to start prototyping the app. Multiple rounds of usability testing showed the new app to be simpler to use and helped users understand the subscription proposition more easily (one of our main objectives).
"In order to provide a higher conversion rate we would need to rethink the visibility of premium content within the app, whilst also differentiating the app product from the mobile website."
I worked closely with the UI designer to ensure the app felt part of the Independent family of products. To follow the ESI Digital Design System standards the app designs were built from the ground up using nested components within Sketch libraries. Any future app work can now draw upon these libraries to ensure a much faster design workflow.
To ensure robust UAT testing, and to provide the customer service team with complete documentation, I built user flows for all key app journeys. These continue to help the product team identify further areas of improvement.
iOS app store rating increased from 3.2 to 4.4.
Within the top 25 Magazines & Newspapers apps based upon downloads.
Over 15k downloads so far.
Increased conversion rate of 23%.
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Building a video game from the ground up for Brackeys' game jam 2024.
Overhauling how the whole editorial team runs their news desks day to day.
