Built around the principles of open journalism, the redesign offers readers more opportunities to interact with, and be part of the conversation by integrating the GuardianWitness platform for the first time.
Available to download for free across all Android and iOS phones and tablets running Android 4 and iOS 7, the app will showcase Guardian journalism in more interactive ways to a growing number of readers across the globe. Flexible formatting will enable the Guardian’s editorial team to curate content with greater sensitivity to the news agenda and better demonstrate the Guardian’s editorial voice. The new version will deliver the sharpest, most personalised, and most advanced Guardian experience across mobile devices, connecting with the Guardian’s progressive audience, say the publishers.
The new app is free to download and use by everyone, and is supported by sympathetically integrated advertising. Based on in-depth data analysis and research, the new app offers significantly larger ad formats and MPUs in-stream for the first time. It also offers interstitial ads when users swipe between pages, giving brands the freedom of a full-page creative. Building on the Guardian’s ‘Audiences not Platforms’ tool, the advertising process has been made more efficient and flexible for clients, with targeted audience planning, and responsive formatting that means one ad unit fits all digital platforms.
According to the Guardian, the app’s new and improved features include:
* Greater personalisation: Readers can tailor the types of articles they want featured on their homepage and create bespoke alerts to follow their favourite journalists, stories and football teams, as well as having region-specific editorial curation.
* Offline reading: Readers will also be able to save stories to read offline with fast and intelligent caching.
* New responsive design: The app’s flexible responsive format means that readers will have the best possible experience of the Guardian’s journalism regardless of which device they choose to view it on.
* More content and better visuals: The new app will include all theguardian.com’s content, improved photo galleries and, for the first time, interactives.
* New opportunities for brands: The Guardian’s digital team has used in-depth data analysis and technical expertise to develop effective new ad formats, such as mobile in-stream adverts and interstitial adverts on both mobile and tablet.
* Just in time for the World Cup: Beautiful new ways to display football data, matches, live-blogs, goal alerts, and interactive features.
* Easier reader interaction: The GuardianWitness platform is integrated into the app for the first time, allowing readers to post their comments, photos and videos more easily than ever.
* Flexible formatting: The app has undergone a complete redesign, and its flexible layout allows editors to curate stories according to their significance. This means readers are able to get an instant picture of the news agenda. Clearer design and navigation helps readers to discover new stories and writers with greater ease.
Built in an open environment in the Guardian’s UX Studio, and based on thorough research into how people consume the news, the new features, design and experience were created to give readers the best possible Guardian app experience. A beta programme ran with over 5,000 users giving feedback on how the new app should work.
Nick Hewat, commercial director, Guardian News & Media, said: “As more and more people consume their news on mobile devices we have brought our app bang-up-to date and are able to offer brands the most effective ways of reaching our progressive audiences who consume their news via our app.
“As people’s habits change, both news organisations and advertisers need to adapt and meet our audiences where they are. The new app is beautifully designed and will provide ad options that you would expect from a world class digital offering.”
The new Guardian app is available via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store from 29th May 2014. The app will sit alongside the Guardian and Observer Daily Tablet Edition for offline reading. The new app will be delivered to current users as an update to their iPhone or Android app.
