Uncovering Web App perceptions for World Service
Early signals from a user facing test in Spanish speaking audience
Native Installation flow: Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are a hybrid between web apps and native apps.
Progressive Web Apps align well with specific World Service needs
Across World Service sites there is a strong preference to:
- mobile use
- there are regions with low internet access and
- we do not currently offer a "sign-in" option, which limits our ability to personalise the user experience.
We recently run a data analysis study to understand users behavious based on entry point. We identified loyal behaviours among visitors using the PWA:
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“Visitors arriving via PWA and direct traffic show more exploratory behaviour, higher return rates, and greater overall engagement, including more pages viewed and longer time spent on site, compared to other traffic sources.”
These conditions make lightweight, accessible solutions like PWAs especially valuable for reaching and serving audiences effectively.
Challenge
Users Arriving via the Web App Show Loyal Behaviour. How Might We Encourage More Users to Discover and Engage with Our PWA offering?
To answer this question we, first, needed to understand if users are aware of the PWAs and which benefits would motivate users to adopt a PWA-style experience, and how to communicate those benefits clearly.
Approach
Validating Value Through Real User Contexts
Local, in-region testing is always the most reliable way to understand how news products fit into people’s daily realities and cultural norms. However, to avoid a lengthy process and additional costs, and to gain early insights before committing to engineering resources, we decided to use the European BBC UserZoom account to run an unmoderated test in Spain.
Why Spain, and why is it still a valid testing ground?
BBC Mundo has a significant audience there, including members of the Latin American diaspora, and the behaviours we tested—such as recognising a button—are fairly universal.
What we learned
Without guidance, most users struggled to find the install
button.
In the first click test (no guidance), participants
clicked in multiple places, with low success in locating
the button (20%)
clicked in multiple places, with low success in locating
the button (20%)
With
a simple visual prompt, success went up a lot.
Second click test with explanatory box → success rate increased significantly. (57%)
Answers to the Question if the explanation box helped them understand the functionality of the button reached 87%
Insight: Users need visual cues to find the button.
Answers to the Question if the explanation box helped them understand the functionality of the button reached 87%
Insight: Users need visual cues to find the button.
An upselling message proved even more effective, with the
majority of the users finding itinteresting and very influential
In the messaging ranking test, the top motivators were quick
access with one tap and offline reading. Notifications and personalisation came
last.
Clear messaging and offline access became the primary value driver
Clear messaging and offline access became the primary value driver
Outcome
Research showed that prioritising clear messaging, visual cues, and onboarding strategies to bridge the knowledge gap will help improve user understanding of the PWAs. As for the offline reading , this proved to be the strongest adoption motivator . These insights shaped the roadmap and led to active development of an onboarding strategy and an offline experience model.