Metro
- Interface design and
- XHTML/CSS
Metro is the phenomenally successful daily free newspaper that is now available to 13 UK cities. Like the other newspaper titles in the AND stable it was important for the Daily Mail & General Trust (its parent company) to create a digital presence for this hugely popular publication, thus we were instructed to design a new home Metro online.
"Metro now has 750,000 unique users enjoying its pages online every month - serving up a huge 15 million page impressions"
- Publishing & lifestyle
- Launched Spring 2003
- Visit the Metro site
Originally Metro.co.uk was a glorified holding url where the marketing department could capture data when people entered competitions via the morning newspaper. However, this actually proved more successful than anyone imagined and it really opened our eyes as to the potential of a fully-fledged Metro website, to compliment the newspaper.
Like the other websites in AND portfolio it was important that Metro online would have its own personality; we really wanted the experience to have a coffee break feel to it; a sense of fun. To facilitate this sort of user experience we included features such as crosswords, games and puzzles as well as the hugely popular community message boards which had a legacy of being extremely popular within the AND stable.
As the site matured so too did the way it was being used. We moved with the audience and embraced user-generated content; photos, videos, blogs that really enhanced the community vibe and coffee break feel; staying true to the original concept.
Demonstrating that the Metro's brand has such broad appeal Metro online now has 750,000 unique users enjoying its pages every month - serving up a huge 15 million page impressions.
