Affino was commissioned to create the new Responsive-Design website for Farmers Guardian. The new FG Insight website would aim to significantly modernise and improve the news delivery experience for one of the UK’s longest-running newspapers, founded in 1844 as the Preston Guardian. As technology plays an increasingly important part in farming, it was essential to marry up the experience with the now leading edge nature of the industry.
At the start of the project a 3rd party agency had already been tasked with designing the FG Insight interface. Affino then re-worked and streamlined those designs into a user-friendly experience. Affino worked closely alongside the core Farmers Guardian team to improve and finesse the workings of the site, and to improve customer engagement and the overall customer experience. Affino's mission is always to get under the skin of things and to figure out better ways to deliver on key business activities. The emphasis is always on efficiency and productivity - ensuring that those using the system are fully empowered to work effectively within their daily roles and responsibilites. These projects are always highly iterative, ongoingly seeking to improve the experience both for the consumers and the service / news delivery teams.
Affino's mobile-first approach was critical in the build of this site, as the experience has been very much optimised for smartphone and tablet use - which is where all the growth is currently in news media. The two key innovations featured here are Content Metering and Content Filtering (vs Content Segregation).
Content Metering allows non-members to view a limited amount of articles (2 in this instance), before they are required to register for further access.
While the filtered approach works by listing all articles in a single news feed as such, where readers can personalise the listing through selecting their topic preferences. Clicking on a topic, filters the feed to articles only of that type - allowing readers to swiftly narrow or broaden their field of view. There are a number of further innovations in how advertising, promotions and sponsored content is served up within the same responsive framework.
Even though the new site is in its infancy, its clarity of purpose and smooth efficiency underline the hundreds of man-hours which were expended in pursuit of continuous improvement. There will undoubtedly be some further fine-tuning required to fully optimise the experience, but early indications are that the readership is enthusiastic about the changes.
"Having all content and e-commerce functionality on one platform is proving highly successful. For the reader, they have a better all-round experience and more immersive engagement, where they never need to re-enter details already provided at registration."
"We're Very, Very, Very, Very Happy with our Branding and Website and really appreciate how it just all works super smoothly and efficiently all of the time."
"Affino worked with Drewry to deliver on an uncompromising and complex brief - which covered responsive CMS, fully integrated CRM, messaging, product fulfilment and subscription management. We have been impressed with the solution which has helped transform our approach to marketing and business development."
"Affino worked with TTG to deliver its new responsive-design digital business. The new solution gives TTG a more dynamic edge in an increasingly competitive environment."
"Affino worked with Briefing Media to deliver the new responsive-design FG-Insight digital business. The forward evolution of Farmers Guardian matches the increasingly important role technology plays in modern farming."
"Whilst we have always been able to see which articles have been the most popular, the new Article Report functionality allows us to instantly see which types of audiences are reading a particular article without setting up conversion events. To retrospectively interrogate this data has been a godsend and has given us a more detailed view of audience engagement with absolute ease."
"Working with Affino has been instrumental in creating the very best environment for us to engage fully with our readership.”
"Icelandair Cargo has been with Affino since 2005. Our internal customer web based on the Affino platform is well received and widely used by our customers and interacts via webservices with our Cargo Systems. The web has been upgraded throughout the years both technically and with more functionality added. Affino always delivers professionally and as promised."
"We worked with Affino for almost two years on a major website build and platform migration. It was an extremely complex project involving many bespoke elements. Affino were thoroughly responsive and communicated well throughout and their team were friendly and willing to help us achieve our ambitious goals. We’re very pleased with the modern and professional look and feel of the new website and users have been similarly impressed. Several of the bespoke elements added to the database platform have enhanced our ability to analyse our data and the platform works smoothly and reliably. Affino’s work has helped us to scale up our operations as well as grow and strengthen our brand."
"A very easy to use and highly functional experience, the new site looks fantastic - we've ended up with a great final product after a really positive and smooth running operation. Affino's support was highly responsive and always there when we needed it. And it was heartening to be on the receiving end of so much positivity from the readership"
"Affino always delivers on budget and on time!"
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