Financial Times, Print Redesign, HTML5, Digital Strategy

I wrote a few days ago in Are Domain Names Dinosaurs that although the mobile web appears to be disappearing into a world dominated by native apps, all is not hopeless. A company that has successfully utilized a HTML5 mobile app in lieu of native apps, is the Financial Times (ft.com), which is launching a redesigned print product Monday:

Financial Times to debut big redesign Monday | Capital New York: "The Financial Times will hit newsstands Monday with its first major redesign in seven years. And between the lines (set in a new typeface, called Financier, developed by rockstar New Zealand type designer Kris Sowersby) it’s possible to read an idea that’s been inching forward among quality broadsheet newspapers in recent years: the primacy of digital for delivering hard news. Broadly characterizing the redesign of the paper as a “simplification” in a memo to staff obtained by Capital, editor Lionel Barber nearly makes the point: “It shows the market that the FT is confident in its print product and prepared to invest in it while pacing ahead with digital development at the same time. The newspaper's simplification enables us to shift our focus more into digital platforms and strike the right balance in our digital first newsroom.”..."

And indeed, the Financial Times has been leading the way with its Web App based on HTML5--no need to pay Apple or Google:

Financial Times: 'There is no drawback to working in HTML5' | Media | theguardian.com: "When the FT first switched from native to HTML5 on iOS in 2011, it was seen in some quarters as a snub to Apple. Although that was partly true – the FT and Apple disagreed over control of subscriber data – a more important reason was the desire to make porting and maintaining the app across multiple platforms and devices easier in the longer term. Two years on, Grimshaw says the strategy is proving a success. "I challenge anyone to tell the difference between our HTML5 app and a native app. There is no drawback to working in HTML5, and there are lots of advantages," he says."

see also: Building The New Financial Times Web App (A Case Study) | Smashing Magazine

domain name: ft.com

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