With 60 percent of our audience consuming our reports on desktop, accessing our content during business hours, and the other 40 percent using their mobile phone, it was evident that we should adopt a strategy of inbox emails and an ergonomic interface adapted for any screen. Additionally, having a good user experience for all content formats allows us to reach all types of audiences.
We browsed a dozen media outlet websites to better understand media UX and how we could aim for a functional yet aesthetically pleasing result.
You will access our website within two seconds and find our main products to your left — these are articles, newsletters, and podcasts. There is also a menu bar presenting the different categories of articles. When passing your cursor over these categories, you will see the latest articles in each section.
We have opted for three main components to design our website:
First, dynamic colors — green, yellow, and light gray — with modern fonts to draw attention to essential elements.
Second, a busy but clear and organized layout, with the yellow color for new visitors, to lead them to conversion.
Third, you can scroll through three different columns separately, the central one being bigger than the side ones, to focus on the latest articles. All columns are divided by blocks, clearly showing the section name, and alternating between texts, slideshow, etc.
Also, for certain specific articles, such as special investigations, we offer a different and memorable multimedia experience, for example a darker background color and larger font size. While scrolling those articles, the reader will also generate videos, infographics, audio, etc.
As our media outlet is very niche, focusing on one country and its surrounding region, we assessed that it did not make sense to invest in an expensive app, considering the difficulty of forecasting the efficiency of such an investment. With the functionalities we require, the cost would have been around USD200 000, a budget that we prefered to allocate to contracting more workforce.
Instead, we opted for a halfway solution, creating a different version of our website for mobile interface. The design is very similar to an app and has all the same functionalities, with the only difference being that you do not have to download any software. Instead, you enter our website’s URL or create a shortcut on your mobile phone to access our content.
The Brazilian Report also developed a distinguished brand and is recognized as a reference by our readers and the foreign media. In addition, the website’s design worked as a foundation for our visual identity, setting the tone for our social media aesthetic.
Our efforts were recognized by 2021 EPPY Award for Best Home Page Design & Best News or Event Feature Video, but also by WAN IFRA in the best paid content strategy category.
