Patch app
Redesigned news article page to increase reader engagement
Overview
Patch serves up hyperlocal breaking news, stories, and events. It started as an AOL-owned website, then added an app experience as well.
The app was well-reviewed among readers, but Patch needed to make article discovery a more seamless experience, in turn driving more page views and exposure to both ads and other features within Patch.
My role: Senior Product Designer, working alongside a Researcher, Product Manager, and two developers.
We identified 3 major goals for the app article page
-
1 – Drive exposure of Patch offerings, and ads
User testing revealed that readers were often not aware of Patch’s other offerings, which include news, events, and neighbor posts. Patch also had the business goal of increasing ad views.
-
2 – Show the value of Patch’s local editors
Many users think Patch simply links to local articles across the internet. Patch wanted to drive awareness to the fact that it has local editors across the country, serving up the latest local news and happenings.
-
3 – Drive community engagement
Patch wanted to drive more article engagement by making it easier to share and reply to articles.
Opportunity
How might we create a clear, seamless reading experience?
1 – Exposure
Drive exposure of Patch offerings
We included links to content across the Patch app (neighbor posts, news, and events) in the middle and end of each article, and at the end of the article page.
2 – Editorial value
Patch local editors
Patch was more than a recirculation platform for other news sites–it provided hyperlocal news via its local editors, which was a valuable differentiator for Patch. These editors’ information was included both at the beginning and end of the articles. Accompanying the second author byline was an icon that opened to the author’s background and the opportunity to email them.
3 – Engagement
Drive community engagement
I wanted it to be as convenient as possible for the reader to share content, by making that option accessible throughout their experience. As the design sprint was taking place, I was also working with developers to finish updated designs for replies, which would be an accessible feature within the article page as well.