Fast Company’s new site allows for module changes

Fast Company magazine has launched a redesigned website that allows its editors to change the modules on the home page, giving the magazine more flexibility in what it showcases to its readers.

The current home page, for example, features five featured stories, as well as short news stories currently called “The Latest” but will likely be changed to “Fast Co. News.” Below that, the website features the top five stories its readers are looking at, and then a module called “Change Generation,” which focuses on entrepreneurs who want to change the world. But after refreshing the site, that module changes to another called “Second Shift,” which has stories centered around work/life balance.

The module after that is “Fast Co. Studios,” which includes the magazine’s video content.

The new website is now available to mobile users and will be rolled out to desktop readers in the next two to three weeks. Fast Company had 5.8 million unique visitors in December, according to ComScore.

“We went into building this home page with a different idea in mind,” said Noah Robischon, Fast Company’s executive editor who oversees its web operations. “We have readers who really love us. And we want to have a better connection with them. And we feel like there’s a lot of value between us and them. Your home page is for your most loyal readers. How can you deepen your relationship with them and get them to come back more? I am more interested in return visits and having stickiness among our core audience.”

Fast Company’s old home page featured one main story at the top followed by a reverse chronology of the news instead of the five that are currently at the top of the page. And it had more categories for content.

The new site allows editors to change stories as well as the modules throughout the day. The modules can also be moved up and down on the page. Robischon said that the magazine wanted to get away from a design that was static and didn’t allow the home page to have different looks.

Robischon is unsure how many stories will be posted each day under the “Fast Co. News” section. “We’re still getting a feel for what we are and are not going to cover and how comprehensive it needs to be,” he said. “Some news feeds will be more topic oriented.”

Other modules will be rolled out later this year. One will include a polling function, said Robischon, where readers can answer questions related to articles on the page.

“We’re cognizant that the people who come to the home page want to find something they like,” he said. “We’re trying to curate the experience with them but give them a new experience each time.”

Fast Company hasn’t decided yet how often its editors will change the modules, said Robischon. They’ll be watching the site’s data closely to determine how many times per day. “Does that make a difference?” said Robischon. “Do we change it too many times? Are they coming back?”

Fast Company has been sending out an email survey to readers asking them about the new redesign. Robischon said that readers have “overwhelmingly” opted for the new design when asked. Their criticisms have been that the design uses too many fonts, especially near the top of the page. But they believed that the home page was loading faster — which is not true, added Robischon.

Since Robischon joined Fast Company in 2008, the magazine has launched a family of sites — Co.Design, Co.Exist, Co.Studios and Co.Create.

The magazine is also working on a new content management system.