WashingtonPost.com Splits Homepage

Posted Friday, July 15, 2005 12:00 am

By: Jay DeFoore WashingtonPost.com has launched separate home pages -- one for local users, and one for its national and international audience -- in an effort to make the paper more relevant to readers and advertisers.

The homepage will offer a different mix of articles depending on the Zip code readers submit when they register at the site. Much of the content will be common to both versions, but lead stories and photos will be the most obvious differences as well as targeted ads.

In a WashingtonPost.com article announcing the decision, Tim Ruder, vice president of marketing for Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, said about 80 percent of the site's 8.5 million monthly unique visitors are from outside the Washington area. Local readers tend to return more frequently and stay longer, Ruder added.

The decision to split the home page is part of a broader effort at the company to counter a decade-long circulation decline and make the paper more relevant to readers. The Washington Post reports that its current average weekday circulation is 750,000, down 2.7% from last year.

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WashingtonPost.com Splits Homepage

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