The Daily Mail: anti-traditional Web page design from the user experience

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[Core Tip] from a design and user experience perspective, why the Daily Mail will quickly overtake the New York Times as the world's most-clicked newspaper network.

A few days ago, a phone call from a journalist friend of global entrepreneur said that the Daily Mail would quickly overtake the New York Times as the world's most-clicked newspaper network, from a design and user experience perspective. As we can see from its official website, they now have 40 million independent IP visits per month, and more interestingly, two-thirds of the traffic is not from the UK where the newspaper was issued. In this everything needs to be summed up into a pattern, it seems that successful people have practiced some kind of heart, and the bursting of the site must be followed by some market and design principles of the era, the daily Mail website design can be used very "simple" to describe.

March 19, 2013 Night 8:20 on the first screen

On the question-and-answer Web site, there are already a lot of people talking about why the Daily Mail is so successful? Because I do not like to see the lengthy 1,2,3,4, almost is the mouse roll in the end, a rough look at a few of the shortest evaluation, more convincing include:

Home without ads, so that users focus on content;

Grasp the content, such as "sex" and "gossip explosion";

HD Uncensored Big picture, let you look at once enough;

Waterfall flow, no refresh prompts, guide users to stay for a long time;

In order to feel the strong appeal of the Daily Mail, I used the high-frequency 3 days, from the content, user psychology, search engine optimization, web design, the design team behind the several aspects of my understanding. (only 3 days in a hurry to speak, due to me to see the product's "intuitive principles"-really attractive products do not need excessive "brain", intuitive feeling is the core value)

Content

I divide news into three main categories:

Essence (a commentator's article worthy of deep and repeated taste);

Professional (knowledge and information related to user's work and interest);

Boredom (fill the user's fragmented time of gossip, Meng, sensitive, funny, thriller, shocking, etc.).

For the general user, independent reading priority, three kinds of content are required, and the first two categories belong to the pressure reading, because the subconscious must extract from the content of the "keyword bar" mixed user "cognitive model" for information architecture. In short, it's a brain process. For boring content, the user is often used to stimulate and replace non-essential information in the brain, in short, this is an empty brain process. The main content of the Daily Mail is the light content of the Science and Technology Section-"The Brain Process", and a variety of heavy mouth, high-definition and stimulating "heavy space brain process" composition, which provides users with a pleasant experience, moderate pressure plus relaxation, the ultimate experience we can analogy "foot massage"-Pain and happy.

First-level interface without advertising, and the secondary interface began to add a large number of ads. This is a simple strategy. For most of the information shallow request users, see the main page of the long title and large image, as well as a wealth of information (the interface is designed to squeeze in the unit area of the overload of Rapid update information), has been satisfied with its brain and the process of release. If the user is attracted by the image content, you can go to the secondary page to browse a large number of high-definition images (usually 5-10), because of the visual attraction of pictures, users do not care about the next advertising interference.

Features of the "FEMAIL" female content module, "is said to contribute to the content and attract users to the credit." I didn't see the direct data from the Daily Mail, so I couldn't determine the flow of the content module. But logically, the whole content of the Daily Mail is so far the overall orientation of the "female", "just need", so that each content module users to a certain extent can be used as gossip and fierce material to browse. FEMAIL module is the most delicate taste, mainly female users of the direct demand, such as beauty makeup, shopping, diet and mother and child mainly. I do not think that this is the main source of web clicks, but this module can be a direct flow of its partners, from the promotion is understandable.

The FEMAIL module of the pink theme

User reading Psychology

About the user psychology, always and the website design and content inseparable, here only a few interesting points to say.

Grasping the depth of the content of the article

In the case of the New York Times, the media sector has been lead, its content of professional depth and social moral considerations are absolutely the industry's top level, its Web site and mobile end of the design, but also the quality of the implementation of the end, even the font and content arrangement gap is extremely elegant, its "temperament" and "quality" need not repeat. Domestic media such as "Chinese entrepreneur", in the industry, the same reputation, content depth even better than "first financial weekly", but sales can not compare with it. A more extreme example: can you say that the contents of the man's suit are very deep? Similarly, the New York Times traffic is relentlessly overtaken by the Daily Mail.

In other words, readers face high quality content is read pressure. Professional readers account for only a small percentage of the overall population, and a large number of readers need services that can quickly access fresh information, "fresh pleasure" and "objective presentation" as key words. As Britain's second-largest newspaper, the Daily Mail is preparing a new Web content team in several cities around the world to provide users with firsthand information quickly. Careful taste of the Daily Mail article, although there are a large number of explosive material and the edge of the content, but to use the picture to speak and maintain a basic objective position (editors will not be significantly left-right) has been a content bottom line. Editors do not pretend to be too deep to reduce the reading pressure of content.

The "New York Times" Chrome side of the application, well-designed, high content quality

About user Reviews

The New York Times Network is not open to comment, can only do social sharing, meaning: my opinion does not need you to evaluate. The Daily Mail article has a rich comment area that allows the user to "top" and "kick" the operation, saying: "Welcome you to spit, perhaps the content is more interesting than our text." Sharing function is not much to repeat, this is the standard of the network media, but the official Facebook account on the Daily Mail, its activity will still be frightening jump-the original "spit" is the people really loved and personally involved in the brain activity.

The Daily Mail review area often sees my orgasm

For similar examples, we can refer to "watercress". Often play in watercress friends have such experience, a fun post, the main paste is absolutely just a fuse and be spit object, the real fun there must be hidden in the comments later. UGC is not only a contribution to focus issues, but also from a fragmented response to information, and this will be a trend, since the growth of content through effective algorithms and moderate operation, may bring unexpected user groups to the site.

Watercress Group Hot paste reply number close to 20,000, still in constant refresh

The title must be long

Let us recall such as Sina, Sohu and other portals, due to the compartmentalization of the partition, a lot of content requirements must be reduced to 8-10 characters, so that we often can not match the title and content, and how to click in to continue browsing? The Daily Mail has only 1 requests for headlines: Long, must be long, Long enough to capture key information without browsing specific content. This message is effective.

This is actually due to the different grammatical composition and reading habits in Chinese and English. Chinese is highly generalized and metaphorical, and we are used to doing things in circles. English is simple and rough, you have to hit the point directly, in the title of the same thing can often use several adjectives. We recall the speech of the Chowa Lord-incomparable, wonderful, unbelievable, unprecedented, all words that were used repeatedly.

Title + subtitle + picture, information communicated already in place, want to see more bikini map, please enter the secondary page

Search Engine Optimization

This factor is generally ignored by non-technical personnel, as a designer, I am not a professional in this field, can only be a superficial mention. But in fact, from the website operations and data, SEO is definitely a key point of concern. Although Google constantly adjusts the algorithm, resulting in many previous SEO methods no longer applicable, but overall, some key ways still important.

or a long title.

Long title contains the most information and keywords, as to why SEO I do not explain. We just need to know, such a long title in meeting the design principle, from content to SEO are very advantage.

Still clear uncensored big picture

If we need to find a point of view, we can go to the New York Times, to talk to Obama about the mountains, you can go to Google +, we have a lot of choices, for the entrance we have little stickiness. Just as we don't care where we go to charge our mobile phones, we look at which discounts are more attractive, and in this respect, the portal has no advantage.

But if we want to see the big picture of the gossip, the Daily Mail is almost our only and best choice. This is "just needed", and from the data they disclose, 60% of its traffic doesn't even come from platform portals such as Google and Facebook, but direct user access. This is quite impressive, that is to say, the Daily Mail and Facebook, as the main independent access, almost can not sell Google's face, the user's viscosity is very high. Also, when we use key hot word searches in Google, a lot of results are also directed to the Daily Mail, which also gives the site a lot of traffic.

Web Design

Finally can say design, in fact, I think, the Daily Mail not only does not violate the design principle, and it also conforms to many recent design trends.

Web page without primary and secondary design

In traditional web design, we often refer to the concept of the "F" area, that is, the title bar and the left navigation bar, as well as the first screen of the prominent position needs to be specially designed, or even accurate to the pixel. For the Daily Mail, the primary and secondary content of such pages is ambiguous, as the full page is a very long stream of information that is not refreshed. Users can scroll down to about 30 screens all the time. Such a "Waterfall flow" new layout, in fact, is to guide users to read habits from the "title-content page" mode to "parallel information block" mode. Each information module is independent and the user does not have to enter the secondary page to view the details.

A typical "Parallel information module" design

This information design style, most typically Microsoft's Metro UI design. Although not mature at the operating system level, the advantages of content presentation are obvious. Only at the system level can add a real-time update function, the site is not widely used.

Another noteworthy trend, which we call Parallax Scrolling (parallax scrolling), is a new way of presenting information using HTML5 technology, which is believed to be used frequently on a growing number of strong content networks.

Spotify's homepage, which uses parallax scrolling to create a rich sensory experience for users

Use primary and secondary content arrangement, guide the user to form the page position dependence and the content of primary and secondary pages to exchange views

This is more awkward, need to highlight. We carefully observe the Daily Mail main interface design, each body content has a (main content), B (auxiliary content) and C (related content) composition, the ratio in the home page is about 1:2-4:5-7.

The content distribution of the home page of the Daily Mail

This ratio in the secondary page is more exaggerated, a page in addition to a large number of auxiliary high-definition pictures, there are more than 200 categories of C-related content of the text link to ensure that users at any time, as long as the focus on the right side of the link back to a certain content of the page, so as to form a user in the "one page-level two page- First-level page "circular reading situation. I think this is the Daily Mail a very core content guidance model and design innovation. Although from a Web page aesthetic perspective, especially the secondary interface will be messy, but very effective. Web designers need to consider not just the beauty, but also the usability of the page.

At this point, I have to mention 360 navigation. In my opinion, 360 of the product iterations and user demand conversion rate is very high in the peer. Especially in the 360 navigation of this product, a short time to do the market second, and gradually more text static chain replacement replaced by the "user-customized text-side sidebar."

Of course, there will also be encountered an algorithm problem, such as users often browse some of the more exciting video, if the navigation will be the title of this category and large image on the user's home page, may let the user embarrassed and angry, how moderate do content revealing also need careful consideration.

Although it is still inevitable to stimulate the text and picture information, but 360 navigation personalized guidance has been done well

All for easy click

Only a few data to illustrate: The Daily Mail pictures of the average size of more than 636pix, the title length is greater than 20 characters, a main content next to the "small story" more than 260, all the picture content is free.

All this ensures that the reader comes to the site and will stop to point to it and find that it will always return to the home page and find more interesting content. The average site user stays longer than 10 minutes.

Behind the design team

The Daily Mail design team is from London's Brand42, whose clients are mainly global brands and some traditional media that needs to be transformed. The Daily Mail website overall design won the Best Design Award for 2012 years.

BRAND42 Customers

About this company can say a lot, I only say two points:

1. They also follow the standard design process of the general design company. They for the current website, mobile end and brand to do design and consultation, which with the domestic graphic design transformation of the brand design company similar.

visual design and overall tonal design of different content blocks are also a feature they design for the Daily Mail

It's just their name--42 a point. In Tao Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is the number 42. With such visions and pursuits, no wonder they can make such a unique design.

Very playful company introduction, the whole environment is retro + relaxed + nonsense

2. The important position of quantitative research in design. As a design researcher, I often have headaches in explaining design value to clients and other professional colleagues. Because many aspects of design rely heavily on intuition and perceptual and long-term work experience, it is not possible to use mathematical models for quantitative analysis. But the web design is slightly different, because we can get a lot of information from the user, we can analyze the user behavior from the data angle through such techniques as eyeball tracking and hot spot capture of the webpage. Fortunately, during my study tour in London and a lot of design studio, although not directly with the Brand42 to discuss the issue of quantitative analysis, but also learned some technology and interactive ways of integration. It is not difficult to imagine that Brand42 in the Daily Mail design process, a large number of eye movement experiments and AB test. The final presentation, though "messy", is also accurate to pixel layout.

Domestic peers may scoff at what I say, "which internet company doesn't pay attention to data?" True, but the Daily Mail logic is "design-driven data", which first identifies user logic, what content and design is fascinating, and then uses code and data for iterative and improvement, where design innovation and content and reasonable presentation are always the core. A large number of our domestic web site is to first throw a prototype up, buy traffic to run user data, and then rely on data for Web page adjustment, according to the operation to place advertising. The end result: no design, no beauty, and a lot of convergence (how much difference do you get from the data you buy?)

Summary

People tend to have a mental inertia: Model the winners. So after Facebook's success, there are a lot of articles and books that parse Zuckerberg and Facebook designs. For the Chowa who have passed away, even more, is the so-called brain repair indefinitely.

In fact, the success of Internet products relies heavily on specific opportunities in specific time and space, like today's Daily Mail, I do not think it is worthwhile for web designers and internet analysts to write, I wrote here, you reprint or batch of the line. Under the sniper of AOL, Google, Twitter, TUMBLR, Facebook and so on, I do not feel that its traffic will continue to rise without any moral integrity, and its content itself and the single way of profit are not conducive to its next development. On social platforms like Facebook, the operating content is only a very small module, the social relationships and UGC and the space of third party application is very great, this is not to get rid of "media attribute" The Daily Mail is incomparable.

What I'm more looking forward to is the further streamlining and integration of Google's product line after Google Reader is closed; Facebook constantly adjusts its interaction details and user timeline's attempts to change social attributes; Twitter has emerged as the pulse of the times, with better content algorithms and a new profit model for large data operations.

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Original address: http://www.geekpark.net/read/view/175379