Redesign Home Page and Add New Features for Tempo.co News-Reading App

11 min readMar 31, 2022

Background

Tempo is a media that has been present in Indonesia since 1995 to answer the public’s need for news that is easy to read and can be trusted. In 2018, Tempo was released as a mobile app that can be accessed on a smartphone by downloading at Google Play or App Store.

As an active newsreader, I realize the importance of updating the latest news quickly and accurately. To achieve this goal, we can take advantage of technology, one of which is using a news-reading app. However, I want to make plans to find out that Tempo.co is one of the news reading apps that can be fulfilling our need for daily intake of information. I focus on the Home Page of the Tempo. co application for further application development in Indonesia.

Objective

Understand user expectations and pain points when reading and accessing news using the Home Page and find some opportunities to improve Tempo.co app

Explanation: Home Page is the main application page where users can access news that has been presented based on various categories and topics that the user selects when signing in to the application.

Methodology: Qualitative Research; In-depth Interview.

“A qualitative research method; to explore deeply respondents’ points of view, experiences, feelings, and perspectives based on a Human-Centered approach.
In-depth interviews are a qualitative data collection method that allows for the collection of a large amount of information about the behavior, attitude, and perception of the interviewees.”

Criteria

Active users from Tempo.co App or competitor applications
Have accessed news through the application at least 3 times in the last 1 month
National Scale (Nationwide)
Male/female
21–45 years old

Data Collection

Execution date: February 21–23, 2022.
Gained 5 relevant respondents who use Tempo.co and other news reading apps daily.
Data was collected through in-depth interviews by online interviews.

Respondents Profile

Here’s What I’ve Found…

Advantages

1. More Efficient than Print Media. News reading applications are considered more practical than print media because users can access various news at any time.

2. Already Many Topics are Categorized. In the Main Page view, news has been raised based on the topic selected at the time of initial signing into the application.

“Electronic media such as the news reading app is easier than having to buy print media, especially for young people as gadget users.” — Luqman.

3. No ads in The App. 3 out of 5 users complain that there are too many ads when opening applications or news sites. However, in the Tempo.co application, advertisements do not appear.

4.) User Can be Setting the Text Size of News or Articles. In the Main Page view, news has been raised based on the topic selected at the time of initial signing into the application.

5. ) Simple User Interface (UI) App. When compared to several news reading applications owned by users, the Tempo.co application is relatively simpler in terms of design.

Note: Design and microcopy are too rigid.

Some Drawbacks of Tempo.co App

What Are the Main Challenge of A Newsreading Application?

4 of 5 respondents said that news-reading app is not too important for them. Users prefer to reading news on online news sites or news portals (such as tribunnews.com, Detik.com, Compas.com, etc.) Some users also get or search for news through social media such as (Instagram, Twitter, or Tiktok). Social media provides fast news updates, but sometimes the information is not so complete. Therefore, a few news accounts on social media direct users to read the news links provided.

“News reading apps are important for certain circles, for example for students. But for the general public or people who are already working, it’s not important, because people usually read news through other media such as television, social media (Twitter, TikTok), or the internet.” — Dede
“For now, news reading app it’s not really that important, because when people want to find news, people still often run to the website.” — Luqman

No add feature “Search” in The Tempo.co App

The search feature is very important in various applications, but this feature is not available in the Tempo.co application. Users have difficulty if they want to find news or articles with certain keywords.

“Because I can’t search with keywords, I must to scroll the application to the bottom, or choose news based on topic” — Luqman.
“For example, looking for news on Kompas, I search manually in the searching feature. It’s easier than having to search manually.” — Dede
“If there is no search feature like in the Tempo application, it will be difficult for me to find or find the news I want.” — Setya

The Characteristics of Tempo Media are Not Showed in The Application

Each media company has its characteristics or characteristics that distinguish one another, such as diction or language style in its content, illustrations, etc.

Users Can’t give any feedback to The News or Article Published

In some applications or online news portals, some features allow readers to provide feedback in the form of ratings or comments.

“Tempo is famous for its characteristic, namely investigative, explores events in more depth, and displays illustrations such as caricatures. But in the application, these characteristics are not shown” — Luqman

What We Can Improve?

Add“Search” Feature on Home Page. This feature is very important according to users because it will make it easier for users to search for news or articles based on the desired keywords.
Add a “Like & Comment” Feature on News or Articles That Already Read. This feature can be an improvement for the application so that users can provide feedback on articles that have been read.
Provide Statistical Information about Published News. Due to a large number of articles with similar content that are presented, users need supporting data that can help them decide which articles are the most worthy of reading. Therefore, users can be given information or statistical data on the articles or news they read, such as the number of readers, the number of “likes”, and the estimated time needed to read the article. (copy example: “30 views”, “5 min read”).

Usability Testing

Redesign Home Page and Added “Search” as The New Feature in Tempo.co News — Reading App

Background

Mentioning the research report that I have made in March 2022, I have found that users have difficulty if they want to find news or articles with certain keywords because the “search” feature is not available in the Tempo.co application. Users also can not be giving feedback for articles that have been read.

I want to make users be able to search articles and or news based on the desired keywords. Therefore, I am adding “Search”, “like”, and “comment” features. Users know the number of readers, the number of “likes”, and the estimated time needed to read the article.

Research Objective

To find pain points and understand user behavior when using Tempo.co news reading App
To identify whether the “search” feature has made it easier for users in the Tempo.co
To check the new features and design test is usable before implementation

Methodology: Qualitative research: In-depth Interview — Usability Testing (UT)

A qualitative research method; to explore deeply respondents’ points of view, experiences, feelings, and perspectives.

Purpose of Usability Testing (UT): knowing whether the design is made according to user expectations and performing evaluation.

Research Tools

The design and the prototype were made using Figma. Usability Testing also uses Figma, Figma Jam Mobile App, and Zoom video conference

To see the prototype new features and Homepage interface in the Tempo.co app n, you can try here: https://bit.ly/3unFpf0

Mockup

Scenario

“Bayangkan kamu adalah pengguna aplikasi baca berita Tempo dan ingin melakukan pencarian berita menggunakan aplikasi Tempo, serta ingin memberikan feedback berupa komentar maupun like. Silakan gunakan fitur “search”, “like”, dan “comment” pada aplikasi.

Task

Login aplikasi Tempo
Membuka Homepage dan mengakses berita atau artikel
Melakukan pencarian berita dengan fitur “Search”
Mengirim Feedback berupa komentar maupun like.

Benchmark List:

User berhasil masuk ke aplikasi Tempo
User dapat mengakses dan mencari berita atau artikel
User dapat menggunakan semua fitur baru yang ada di aplikasi Tempo
User dapat mengirimkan feedback berupa like, komentar, save, dan share.

Discussion Guide

Menurutmu seberapa bergunakah fitur ini? Jelaskan alasannya
Menurutmu bagaimana tampilan baru aplikasi ini?
Dari 1–10 (dari segi design dan fitur) seberapa mudah tampilan dan fitur baru aplikasi Tempo.co digunakan ? Berikan alasan kamu memberikan skor tersebut
Menurutmu, apa saja apa kelebihan dan kekurangan fitur dan tampilan Homepage aplikasi Tempo.co ini?
Berikan feedback atau masukan untuk mengimprove fitur dan tampilan baru Homepage aplikasi Tempo.co ini.

…Here’s What I’ve Found…

I did IDI to five users regarding the Usability Testing of Tempo.co App and focus on:

New design of Homepage in the Tempo.co app
New features in the Tempo.co app (search, like, and comment)
Statistical information about published news (estimated time to read, number of people who like and view)

Overall Evaluation

All respondents said that the “Search” Feature is Useful. This feature is important and useful because it will make it easier for users to search for news or articles based on the desired keywords. It also can help users find the appropriate news, which is not shown or that has been buried.

“Very useful, for example, I want to find accident news, I just search with these keywords. So I don’t have to scroll down or search in those subtopics.” — Irfan
“Useful and easy to find news that is not displayed.” — Siti

Based on the results of Usability Testing that have carried out with five respondents, They can be understood and complete tasks in an average of four minutes. From 1–10 points (1 point for very bad and 10 points for very good), respondents gave a score in the range of 8 up to 10.

Average Score: 8.2 / 10*

Note: layout or template is still too simple.

Advantages of New features

3 out of 5 respondents said that statistical information about the number of readers and the number of people who liked the news is useful because it could determine people’s interest in the news. From Tempo’s perspective, this feature is also a plus point for the application so that people know how many people are actively using the application based on the number of views.

“Useful, because it can see the interests and opinions of news readers.” — Ichsan
“Neutral, doesn’t really matter to me. Because the features or data displayed are not a preference for me when reading the news.” - Irfan.

Like and Comment Features

All respondents said that the Like and comment feature was useful because readers became aware of other people’s responses and views on a news story. The like feature is also useful for people who want to appreciate authors or writers.

“Can be useful as appreciation and support for news makers.” — Ichsan
“Likes and comments feature are useful too, so readers know what readers think, how many liked the news, and what’s trending in society.“ — Luqman

Advantages of New Design

The positions of the like, comment, save and share buttons are well placed at the top, so that it makes people interested in reading and the reader can know in advance that the reader or user can provide feedback
The writing (copy) and icons are bigger than the old display, so users can easier to see and read
The new design is less monotonous than the old Tempo application. Trending appears at the top to make the appearance more attractive. The topics displayed are also interesting and easy.

”It’s less monotonous than the old Tempo application. Better appearance because Trending appears at the top. The topics displayed are also interesting and easy.”- Siti

But There’s Some Drawbacks…

Drawbacks of New Features

No news feature with the video format. In some news reading apps or sites, any news in video format
There are two “save” features, namely on the homepage and in the article section. This is considered less efficient in terms of design because there are the same features in different places.

“The color combination on the homepage is not pleasing to the eye” — Ichsan.
“In the homepage, there is already a save feature, then when the news comes in there is a save feature again. So for me double” — Irfan

Drawbacks of New Design

The design is still too simple. The color combination on the homepage is less pleasing to the eye, and the design has not made users feel at home using the application in the long term.