How News Cards Are Quietly Transforming The Web

Cards, a technology that collapses online content into digital containers for fast and easy consumption has begun a transformation across the web.

Web publishers have battled for years, but the final prize has remained the same: visitors and engagement. The more time people spend on a site or app increases the likelihood they will evolve from visitor to advocate. In turn, the longer a site can keep people browsing, the more ads will be served, seen, and converted.

Google’s higher-than-average retention rates are in many ways a byproduct of cards being at the foundation of their recent innovations. Cards help fix people’s desire to migrate across the web, as they shift attention quickly from one thing to another. They are shortcuts designed to fill immediate needs, saving time and providing information in an easily digestible format while keeping people engaged where they are.

In a world where people are suffering from information overload, cards are being used to reduce complexity. For example, Vox Media has developed Card Stacks, which simplifies general trending news stories and topics into an easily digestible set of articles. The design is simple, clean and intuitive, unveiling a different “layer” of the news with each card.

Through Card Stacks, Vox is able to increase engagement and retention. For example, instead of just reading one article and going to a different site, users can scroll through a reporter’s whole stack of articles on a certain topic by simply clicking on the arrow. This allows Vox to be a “one-stop-shop” for information on many topics, ultimately keeping readers on the site longer.

 For example, Acura’s recent partnership with Twitter allowed consumers to configure their 2015 TLX all without ever leaving the tweet. By keeping the entire interaction within a user’s feed, Acura doesn’t lose the 50 percent of users who would have dropped off if forced to click out to their website. Cards are making platforms more versatile, which is important for brands with a growing and diverse content repository.

The utilitarian role of cards is vital, as people face a deluge of content. Early pioneers like Facebook and Google have used them to simplify our lives and bring relevant information within a flick of our fingertips. Their success has already inspired advertisers and publishers looking to capitalize on the possibilities of cards.

This year, we’ll see cards begin to move from a relatively unknown technology to a cornerstone of mobile and web design. Soon consumers will be booking travel destinations, buying tickets to shows, and checking prices — all without ever leaving a publication, social site or app displaying that information within a card, ultimately transforming how we use the Internet.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/cards-transforming-web/?ncid=tcdaily