The refreshed app is cleaner and easier to use, says the FT, offering readers the choice between a static morning edition mirroring that day’s newspaper or a dynamically updating version with developments throughout the 24-hour news cycle. Users can switch between the two to suit their reading habits.
FT.com Managing Editor, Robert Shrimsley, said: “Our new app offers a richer, more immersive experience that builds on the idea of the dynamic newspaper. Among the improvements are a new look article that makes it far easier to swipe between stories and which also now includes video and slideshows. We believe personalisation is increasingly important to readers, so we've created My FT - a personalised hub which is a one-stop shop for your clippings, portfolio, what you've read most recently and other recommendations based on your browsing history. We've also added the morning edition for those readers who said that even though they liked our app, they wished they could see what had been in that morning's newspaper.”
Key features of the redesign include:
• Cleaner design with more intuitive navigation, making it easier and quicker to find content
• Choice of a static morning edition that mirrors the newspaper or a dynamic, automatically updating version like FT.com with video and slideshows
•‘My FT’: personalised section including clippings, recommended reads based o browsing history, recently viewed articles and portfolio summary
• Richer content: new sections including FT Money and FTfm, additional video and vibrant images
• Blog hub: new index page linking to all FT blogs
According to the FT, the new app also offers a better proposition for advertisers, with ads now available on all article pages and full page ads between article and section pages.
FT Labs Director, Rob Shilston, said: “Creating an app that replicates the FT newspaper morning edition, but is built entirely from web technologies, was a challenging journey. We’ve kept innovating to take advantage of the improvements in HTML5 capabilities, incorporating many technological features to support new devices. We’re continuing to push the bounds of HTML5, benefiting from the better tools and coding patterns that are emerging. FT Labs continues to share our learning and experiences with the development community, from organising conferences to releasing open source code and helping browser vendors and standards bodies define the web of the future.”
The app is available on iPad at launch and will be rolled out to the FT’s iPhone, Windows8 and Android apps in the coming months. Existing iPad users won’t have to do anything to see the upgrade, which came into effect globally yesterday. The FT is offering a 33% discount on a standard annual subscription for new users during the week of launch.
Mobile is increasingly important channel for the FT, driving a third of FT.com traffic and 15% of digital subscriptions.
