Medscape: Next Gen First Peak Free Gating Widget
Increased conversion rate of Anonymous traffic to logged in/registered users by 10%/5%, respectively by revamping the First-Peak-Free widget experience
Former content gating widget (left)
Revamped version (right) - allows users to have an inline registration and login experience.
The How
Instead of redirecting users to a separate registration or login page, I introduced an inline experience directly within the article view. This reduced friction, improved user experience, and minimized the steps required to register or log in.
My Contributions
Discovery: Identified key drop-off points in the legacy registration/login funnel.
Design: Conducted competitive and UX research to inform the new inline experience.
Delivery: Defined user stories and product requirements, and managed the full product lifecycle through to launch.
Context
Medscape’s monetization model depends heavily on logged-in users, enabling more targeted advertising. Our core success metric is the number of U.S. physicians registered on the platform—this user base represents a significant competitive advantage in the healthcare media space.
Problem
Although anonymous traffic remained steady, we saw a decline in registration and login conversions. Specifically, users were dropping off at the First Peak Free (FPF) widget, which gated content and prompted sign-up or login.
Opportunity
Data analysis revealed that the friction was caused by the redirect flow. When users clicked the CTA on the FPF widget, they were taken to a separate page to register or log in—disrupting their reading experience. Returning to the article didn’t unlock the content, causing many to abandon the flow.
Action
We overhauled the FPF experience by introducing an inline registration and login module directly within the widget. This allowed users to create an account or log in without leaving the article, preserving context and reducing bounce rates.
Results
5% increase in anonymous users converting to registered users
10% increase in logged-in user sessions
Significantly improved user experience and retention during the content gating flow
