A Paywall Solution for Converting Readers to Subscribers
A metered paywall software system encourages readers to consume free articles or to browse the free section of the site. When a visitor has read their complement of free pieces, or at another predefined trigger event, the paywall system can impose content restrictions, make offers, encourage signups with targeted CTAs, apply different options of web experience depending on the reader’s preferences, and more. The result is a flexible, personalized workflow of interaction with each reader that increases the likelihood of conversion. The paywall tool integrates with most popular authentication providers and is supported by user data analytics services.
Key facts
- Lightweight paywall tool works as a website plugin loads fast and does not affect website behavior
- Maximises flexibility, enabling multiple paths to conversion
- Large and ever-growing range of integrations with other CRO tools
- White label and brandable
- Integrates with data analytics tools to provide personalized paywalling/conversion support
- Minimizes configuration complexity — powerful and adaptable, but easy to set up
- Scalable and well-equipped for high traffic
- Controllable and configurable via an administrator site, allowing customer-defined custom flows to cover any possible communication logic
- GDPR- and CCPA-compliant, with OAuth 2.0 admin site authorization, client-side encryption, and server-side SSL encryption
- Ad-blocker and incognito mode detection
- Resistant to browser cache reset
Business challenge
Seeking a business model based on subscriptions means moving away from free access to content, with revenue drawn primarily from advertising. The client wanted to get more subscriptions. To achieve it he wanted to implement a module that would block the content after a free, teaser part and suggest the visitor to subscribe to continue reading.
As publishers do this they must find ways to encourage conversions while still using their content to market their publication to casual visitors. In the digital publishing space, it’s vital to remain able to use some content as marketing to encourage visitors, TOFU metrics like social media engagement, and to encourage regular content consumption. Metered paywalls are an effective way to do this, but they must be configured to match the business, its systems and its customer base. One-size-fits-all paywalling tools are clumsy and ineffective.
Creating a custom paywall solution that achieves targeting and personalization at scale involves finding ways to reduce traffic loads and preserve privacy and security, as well as ensuring both sufficient flexibility to permit multiple paths to conversion and sufficient simplicity of implementation, operation and configuration to permit customers to use it freely. In addition, it must be integrated with the whole marketing and conversion optimization stack and with the company’s CDP or equivalent organization-wide source of truth, able to draw data from these sources as well as transmit it.
Key technical challenges include:
- Adjustment to client site design features
- Integrations with client stack
- Security and protection against hacking
- Ad-blocking and tracker-blocking technology
- Trade-off between flexibility and configuration complexity
- Traffic management and server load
- Optimization and scaling mechanisms
Key features of the paywall software system
Lightpoint built the paywall system with:
1 full-stack developer, 2 UI developers, 1 UI/UX designer, 1 manual QA, 1 Automation QA, 1 team lead (full stack developer)
Our continued involvement with optimizing the system means we continue to allocate team hours to the product
Here’s how we solved technical challenges:
Tech stack:
Paywall admin site:
VB.NET, C #, Bootstrap, MSSQL
Paywall plugin:
TypeScript, FlexBox
Paywall API:
REST API C # .NET 4.6, Dapper
Other:
Azure (Tables, Blob storage, Proxy, Functions, MSSQL)
Results
We created a paywalling tool that’s adaptable and flexible, motivating readers to subscribe and offering them many different ways to become subscribers. Integrations with customer data tools mean the system can be used to personalize subscription offers, driving revenue, conversions, and subscriber loyalty.
There are over 15 companies using our paywall software now, and together their traffic amounts to over 20 million individual users per month. They and their readers are served by a paywalling solution that’s adaptable and flexible, giving them the ability to offer their readers many different ways to become subscribers. Integrations with customer data tools mean the system can be used to personalize subscription offers, driving revenue and profitability.