Paywalls on Mobile Are Different

Displaying paywalls on mobile? Of course!
The majority of journalistic content consumption now happens on smartphones. And yes, paywalls are delivered responsively – meaning the layout automatically adjusts to the screen size.

So everything’s fine?
Unfortunately, not quite. Because user expectations on mobile devices are different from those on PCs and laptops. There are several important differences to consider.

More options ≠ better experience

Of course, there are situations when people simply don’t want to subscribe – for example, while on the bus commuting to work. But what’s striking is this: many paywalls don’t even appear in the visible part of the browser on smartphones. While the website and paywall are technically responsive, the paywall is often placed too far down and is seen far less often than on desktop.

Even when paywalls are eventually seen after scrolling down, they tend to get fewer clicks – unless they only show one or two offers. Mobile paywalls with just one or two options perform significantly better than those offering three or four. Clearly, more choice isn’t always better on mobile.

Too many fields, too small a keyboard

Responsive design often means that offer boxes get stacked vertically. Alongside price and benefit communication, this can make the paywall quite long – and not all offers are visible at the same time. The user scrolls up and down and back again, and in the end might decide: better not at all.

Even if they click on an offer, the actual purchase is less likely to be completed on a mobile device. The challenges are obvious: lots of fields, small keyboard.

Think mobile-first with paywalls

Unfortunately, many checkout flows are still just mobile versions of traditional subscription shops, with – let’s say – subpar user experiences. It can be frustrating when you’re asked to enter a title, phone number, date of birth, address details, BIC, etc. That’s definitely not best practice for digital subscriptions anymore.

So, what can be done? The most important step is to start thinking from the mobile user’s perspective – and test the process yourself:
How long is the paywall on a normal phone?
Do I really need to show every offer on mobile? (Does anyone actually buy an annual subscription on their phone?)
Is there room for improvement in the actual checkout flow?

And of course: Test everything you can.

Andreas Demuth is Founder and CEO of Upscore.