The challenge
The Wall Street Journal had set itself a clear goal: three million active subscribers.
Reaching it meant solving two problems at once. More visitors had to choose a subscription, and more of the people who subscribed had to stay.
The first problem started in the shop. It offered nine subscriptions: three packs, each with three price points. Visitors struggled to understand the differences between them, because the packs had few clear differentiators and the layout made comparison hard. That complexity was reducing the number of people who reached checkout.
On mobile, the problem was sharper. Around 60% of the 192,000 people who visit the WSJ shop each month do so on a phone, where a three-tab layout hid most of the choice. Research showed more than 85% of users never explored more than one pack and term length, so many never saw anything beyond the introductory offer.
The second problem began after sign-up. Keeping new subscribers engaged beyond their first days was difficult, and a subscriber who does not build a reading habit is a subscriber at risk.
The challenge was making the subscription easier to choose and harder to leave.
Our solution
We started with the shop.
In-depth research dug into why visitors found pack selection difficult, and which packs would resonate most with the WSJ audience. We presented every pack in a clear three-column layout, made the difference between packs explicit, and showed the value each one created. Alongside the new layout, a revamped product mix better matched what visitors actually needed.
For mobile, we combined past insights, a heuristic evaluation of the existing page and testing with real users to expose where content was being missed. We then redesigned the layout, navigation and timing of information so that more visitors could discover the full range of offers, with relevant details appearing at the moments they mattered.
Then we turned to retention. Using web analytics and behavioural data, we studied the habits of WSJ’s most engaged readers and ranked each action by its impact on long-term engagement. Signing up for a daily newsletter and downloading the WSJ app emerged as high-value habits.
That insight became the Habit-Forming Project: more than 100 experiments designed to guide new subscribers gently towards those habits, from the moment they signed up through their first 30 days. Each experiment was prioritised by impact in a shared roadmap, so the programme of conversion rate optimisation kept moving towards the habits that mattered most.
The outcome
The new shop layout increased revenue per visitor by 40% and lifted subscription conversion by 18%. By matching visitors to the right products, it also helped more people choose longer-term subscriptions.
The mobile redesign delivered an 8.9% uplift in conversion rate, with 75% of experiments producing a winning variation. The winning design beat revenue targets by 20.7%.
The Habit-Forming Project changed what new subscribers did in their first month. Newsletter sign-ups rose 980%, app downloads rose 155%, and the trial retention rate increased by 18%.
Together, the work strengthened both sides of WSJ’s growth: more people choosing a subscription, and more of them building the habits that keep them reading.
“They are, quite simply, the best partner I’ve ever had. If you should be so lucky as to engage them, my advice is simple: give them a big canvas and get out of the way.”
