I redesigned El Confidencial’s paywall to test new layouts and messages that increased conversion and perceived value. The project focused on making the offer clearer, aligning benefits with reader needs, and establishing a modular system for future experiments.
El Confidencial’s paywall relied on a single transactional message and a basic price table. Qualitative feedback suggested readers didn’t clearly understand benefits or value, leading to low conversion. The objective was to rethink the narrative and structure to improve clarity and intent to subscribe.
We analyzed leading paywalls from outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Financial Times. We evaluated tone of voice, benefit framing, social proof, and plan comparison patterns to define principles: clarity, autonomy, and trust over friction.
We designed several paywall options, each highlighting a different persuasive lever. We changed just the content and layout—no color tricks—so we could isolate what message architecture worked best.
Simple, direct, and focused on immediate action — “Subscribe to keep reading.”
Reinforces trust by highlighting how many readers already subscribe and what they gain.
Explains benefits clearly (newsletters, comments, premium content) to increase perceived value.
Shows annual vs. monthly options and savings to help users choose with confidence.
We implemented A/B tests across article pages and the subscription funnel. Success metrics included CTR to checkout and conversion to paid. Results were monitored weekly to compare each variation against the existing control.
Value‑based and price‑comparison variants improved engagement and intent, especially on mobile. Social proof increased trust on first visits. Next steps: integrate the most effective elements into a modular paywall and extend tests to the plan selector.
Beyond short‑term lifts, this work established a shared framework for future experiments and informed new subscription prompts across the site. The modular approach reduced design/development effort for ongoing testing.