Staying ahead of the pack in the publishing game is a difficult feat, but GQ believes the homepage is key to this quest. Speaking recently to Digiday, the publication revealed it has upped its homepage traffic by 20 per cent in the last six months thanks to a tactical digital revamp.
GQ publisher and chief revenue officer Howard Mittman tells Digiday it is important for businesses not to undervalue the importance of a homepage. He comments: “There’s for years been so much conversation about how every page is a homepage. But in premium environments for luxury advertising, premium positioning still matters. Maybe whereas five years ago, it was the premium space. Now it’s a part of that strategy, but it’s still an important part of that.”
We break down the make-over below:
Design
The revamp has seen a new homepage design introduced. Replacing a ‘river of content’ are three distinct areas that allow stories to stay longer on the homepage, with a hero image and ‘related stories’ section underneath.
Increased content
On average, GQ has increased its daily posting by 36 per cent within the year. This way, visitors to the website can view a new story more often. The magazine also said it has paid more attention to when it schedules stories, with a focus on evenings and weekends when readers have more time to enjoy content.
Loading time
To accompany, GQ also cut page loading time dramatically, making it load 80 per cent faster than previously. This was inspired by mobile readers who prioritise speed and mobile response over everything else.
