Case History. Corriere del ticino: readers love the new apps

Corriere del Ticino (CdT), the independent newspaper from southern Swiss region of Ticino, just chose Tecnavia as their technological partner for the complete renovation and upgrade of their digital edition on both web (html5) and mobile apps (Android/iOS).

The new CdT digital edition, based on Tecnavia’s Newmemory e-Edition system, went live on April 2021, after just 2 months from the start of the project, a remarkably short time considering the scope of the migration. The project included the integration of Protecmedia’s editorial system, the re-processing of more than ten years of archive for multiple publications, a third-party login system interfacing, the set-up of ten unique editorial products (including newspapers, magazines, and periodicals), the launch of new native iOS and Android apps and a series of brand, new improvements and customizations, including:

• Native Apps based on a custom template. Thanks to the improved page processing capability, the CdT can now provide a more responsive and comprehensive reading experience on mobile devices. Additionally, the new CdT App has been customized to retain the visual identity of the newspaper, thanks to the implementation of key design elements (logos, fonts, icons, colours) on our consolidated user interface.
• New redesigned launch screen. The new launch screen provides quick access and an overview of the latest issues to both the main edition and all periodic publications and supplements.
• First vectorial text implementation on web version. For the first time the CdT e-Edition supports vectorial fonts on both the App and Web (HLTML5). Vectorial fonts provide the best readability both on high-resolution devices, like 4K monitors, as well as small screen mobile devices when zooming in can be useful for a comfortable reading experience.
• New usability and functionality updates. Improved text-to-speech (read aloud); updated content translation function (now supporting 11 languages) and updated night/dark reading mode make the system even more user-friendly.

The response from CdT subscribers has been overwhelmingly positive, resulting in a 2,5% monthly increase of total e-Edition accesses and 17,5% monthly increase of mobile Apps accesses. in the first 6 months after release. Really satisfying is also the App appreciation in the App Store with a score of 4,7 out of 173 ratings.