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Posted by admin on September 14th, 2009

This is a term that may be unfamiliar, but in essence it’s a  feature of a website where users can access specific pages, services or information if they become  subscribers. It’s often used by magazines or newspapers as an online business model trying to claw back income from readers who have abandoned buying paper copies of their titles.

As conventional media continues to suffer from falling revenues this is now being looked at by other businesses and websites. A typical example is where a website offers basic information for free, but requires you to subscribe to get access to more detailed information, archives or reports.

The increase in interest has led Google to recently announced a paywall service by creating a “micropayment platform” – an advanced version of the Google checkout.

So does it work? It’s fair to say that views are mixed. Some claim that this provides the website owner with a valuable new regular income stream, and the subscriber with added value information that is of interest and easily available to them. This may well be of benefit to those looking for specific information on a regular basis.

But others point out that an upfront subscription may put potential customers off right at the start, losing nor gaining income for a website. It could also be a deterrent for people wanting the information on a one-off or infrequent basis.

However, with Google now throwing it’s weight behind the idea it will be interesting to see if paywall becomes a successful strategy.

Harpreet Seehra

Search Engine Optimisation Engineer

Studio 2 Online – Web design Leicester