Redesigning
Springer Link
Springer Link is the reading platform for all of Springer Nature’s journals. Its design hadn’t changed in over 10 years, the experience was flat and difficult to use. Along with the new UI components, I established a user-friendly and human tone of voice and a content strategy to help our early-career researchers decide to publish with us through instilling trust.
Changes made
Comparing the two experiences is like comparing the first Mac to the newest Macbook pro — they’re miles apart.
From a content design perspective, experiences are connected through appropriate linking, the microcopy is tighter and more useful, and the tone of voice is approachable.
SEO improvements
Open access publishing is the bread and butter of Springer Nature’s business strategy.
What’s open access? When an article is published open access, it means the content is immediately available to read and download by anyone in the world.
When I joined Springer Nature, no one had looked at our SEO ranking for open access. After intentionally linking to our ‘Fundamentals of open access’ page across our site, we moved from 20th place in Google results for ‘what is open access’ and ‘open access’ (in the US) to 3rd within 2 weeks — it’s now at 2nd place.
