Kiplinger website could erect paywall

Bill Mickey of Folio writes about the new Kiplinger.com website and the fact that its content could end up behind a paywall by the end of the year.

Mickey writes, “A team of four developers completed the project in about 10 months, and the proprietary, in-house approach saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars, says Harbrecht.

“A particular focus was incorporating social features, with every page being shareable, and the editorial team has dramatically stepped up its participation on the various platforms.

“The site is now optimized for tablet viewing, but Harbrecht says that due to budget and development constraints, formatting for the smartphone will come later. In the interim, the brand will be partnering with Onswipe to create a smartphone-friendly user experience for the site.

“During the redesign, the team laid the foundation for a paywall model, which is expected to launch in the third or fourth quarter this year. ‘It will probably be a metered or some kind of limited paywall,’ says Harbrecht. ‘We’re not quite a news operation, but what we provide is timely and our information can be valuable in both the instant and as evergreen.'”

Read more here.