What is a Paywall?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A paywall is a system used by online publishers to monetize their digital content and generate revenue. They restrict access to content, such as articles or videos, unless the user pays a fee or subscribes to a service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, an online paywall is a barrier that prevents users from accessing content until they have paid for it or completed some other action, such as registering an account or signing up for a free trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Paywall Strategy Fits Into a Great SaaS Product Experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are plenty of elements within our control when it comes to optimizing a SaaS product experience. As mentioned above, paywalls are just one component of your strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below you can see how paywalls fit in the ‘Registration’ phase of the user experience and get a better understanding of all the elements we could optimize to improve acquisition, conversion, and retention metrics in digital media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, let’s get into the specifics. Paywalls can be implemented in a variety of ways, but there are two main types of paywalls:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hard Paywalls <\/strong>ask users to subscribe to access content and prevent the user from reading any further until they have subscribed. They may include incentives like free trials, discounts, or special promotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Registration Walls <\/strong>prevent the user from reading any further until they have registered. They ask users to give a few simple details like an email address in order to continue reading. Offers vary, but registration walls typically offer a few free articles per month or week to users who register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: <\/strong>Registration walls are sometimes referred to as \u201csoft paywalls\u201d because the nature of the barrier isn\u2019t quite as firm. We recognize that \u201cpaywall\u201d is a bit of a misnomer, but it\u2019s easier to say, so it stuck. While we like saving a few syllables here and there, for the sake of clarity, we\u2019ll keep referring to these as Registration Walls throughout this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Registration walls keep it simple. They simply ask the user to exchange minimal information (sometimes only an email address) for article access. They occasionally grant other privileges like commenting and bookmarking, but their main offer tends to be the article itself, not the deeper features like bookmarking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at a few examples of Registration Walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Medium keeps its registration wall as simple as it gets: one line of text and two single sign-on (SSO) options. They don\u2019t spend a lot of time convincing users here because they aren\u2019t asking for a lot of effort from users to register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The New Yorker doesn\u2019t bother with SSO. The simple but directional headline clearly relays the benefit to the reader and asks for minimal effort to continue\u2014a single email field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hard paywalls are true paywalls<\/em>. The ones that actually generate revenue. <\/em>Users can\u2019t close out of or circumvent them by submitting only their email address. A hard paywall asks users to subscribe. It typically offers details like pricing, benefits, incentives, and a call to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hard paywalls are typically seen on article pages where user intent is highest to continue. In some cases, a dynamic paywall is used to gate some types of content but not others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s important about a hard paywall is that it blocks the remainder of the page. A traditional popup that can be dismissed won\u2019t do. A hard paywall, by nature, must<\/em> obscure the bulk of an article. Let\u2019s look at a few ways that can be done:<\/p>\n\n\n\n An inline paywall<\/strong> is embedded in the page and moves as the user scrolls. In this example from The Economist, they used an inline paywall to obscure the remainder of the article after the first paragraph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sticky banner <\/strong>at the bottom of the screen is another common paywall format. Here the New York Times includes key subscription details in their sticky banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Frame-1-2-1024x892.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRegistration Walls vs Hard Paywalls (With Examples)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Registration Wall Examples<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Paywall](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/medium-paywall.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pasted-image-0-9.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHard Paywall Examples<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-economist-paywall-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n