NASCAR.com Site Enhancements
UX / UI, Graphic Design, Creative Direction
We needed to overhaul the entire site to accommodate new consumption habits and our evolving business model. Working closely with our technical, editorial and advertising team, we switched our CMS platform, completely updated our UI, added new digital products and created a unique mobile experience.
Solutions
New layout for updated ad capabilities and better view-ability score
Grid system for visual consistency and faster deployments
UI refresh aligns with Brand group and more visual focus
New interactive modules and ‘hub pages’ for more fan engagement and sponsorship opportunities
Wordpress Migration / Homepage Update
Back in 2015, we had to be flexible and fast. Users wanted more content on more devices. To keep up, our editors needed stable, user friendly publishing tools that could handle multimedia. And our dev team needed robust technical support and a framework for responsive mobile experiences. For all those reasons, we moved our entire digital platform from Adobe CQ to Wordpress. This was a huge effort, but it paid off – we became a better business, we made better products and eventually got nominated for a Digiday Publishing Award for “Best Use of Technology.”
Grid Implementation: With a layout grid, we could clean up the visual clutter and showcase our multimedia content. We could also design faster and support the larger effort to develop responsive pages.
Digital Style Guide: A cohesive document with Brand designated typography, formalized UX/UI principles, site components, etc., would all be found here. DOWNLOAD STYLE GUIDE
With new updates finalized, we were ready to roll out the new homepage and new article pages – all with special attention to mobile design.
The results? Fans stayed longer and consumed more content, boosting ad value. (Source: COMSCORE and Omniture)
+50%
Display Ad CPM
+34%
Homepage Consumption
-55%
Homepage Bounce Rate
New Learnings, New Experiences
We took what we learned and built new products. With Race Center, we increased sponsorship revenue and gave fans a destination on race day. The new video hub showcased our franchises and gave fans a better mobile experience.
+8.0M
NASCAR.com’s Race Center accumulated over 8 million visits during the first half of the 2017 season, attracting major clients like Coca-Cola who wanted to connect directly with fans. Video views reached 268 million, up 10 %, year over year. (Source: Digital-Adobe Analytics)
Honing and Refining
Digital always changes and there are always new challenges. When our users moved from traditional websites to apps, we saw a trend that needed a response. With Progressive Web App technology, we could give our mobile web space a mobile app experience.
Navigation, Search and Filtering
If we’re delivering content in a new way, then fans needed a clear way to consume it. To find the right path, we had to explore different possibilities.
Filtering was a problem with two distinct answers: Support sponsorships and filter by series or provide a better user experience and filter by content type.
Now that we had clarity, we could give our new experience to the fans.
New Learnings, New Updates
Mobile improved, but there was more to do. The homepage of NASCAR.com was our front yard, and it was time for new landscaping. By the beginning of 2019, if you pulled up to our ‘curb’, you’d find an updated UI, a wider content well, more media components and integrated native ads.
But before starting, we had to make sure we still understood our users. Analytics research showed us that unique visitors jumped over 300% on race weekend (Friday – Monday). If our new homepage did not account for those changes, we would miss a crucial opportunity.
We worked through different ‘race weekend’ variations, each conceived to capture different business needs, user habits and editorial strategies. But in all cases, we still had to prioritize sponsorship and native ad opportunities.
We got our main stakeholders on board with the concept, then developed hi fidelity mocks for review.
Progressive Web App and larger homepage enhancements produced noticeable improvement on race day – as of Q1 2019. (Source: COMSCORE and Omniture)
+7%
Engaged with Live Product
+8%
Average Visits Per Unique
+4%
Average Time Per Session
More Concepts For More Engagement
We’re always working on new concepts that will engage fans and deliver the most valuable content across the platform.
Race Center enhancements
Can we build on our success with this premium product by increasing key metrics like video consumption and time on page? Also, can we find ways to seamlessly integrate stats and driver data? How do we integrate other products? Can we find new, creative ways to integrate sponsorships?
Updated Driver Pages
These pages present a unique opportunity, especially as new drivers become more popular. If we integrate more current and historical data, will we increase time on the page? If we update the UI, will that attract more sponsors? Can we repurpose new functionality somewhere else on the platform?
