Homepage Refresh
A smarter, friendlier gateway into daily puzzles
From static list to discovery hub
The Challenge
The old homepage undersold Telegraph Puzzles
The old page was functional but uninspired. It lacked personality, hierarchy, and context. New users often had no idea where to begin or what each puzzle involved. Even loyal users struggled to explore beyond their usual games. Important features like the puzzle archive were buried. Subscription messaging felt heavy-handed, focused more on restriction than discovery.
The brief was clear:
1️⃣ Lower the barrier to entry
2️⃣ Make the archive easier to find
3️⃣ Lighten subscription messaging
4️⃣ Encourage deeper interaction
Before — The old homepage lacked structure and clarity
Archive access issues
A valuable feature hidden in plain sight
The puzzles archive was a unique benefit for subscribers, but in the old experience it was deeply buried. Users had to open the hamburger menu, navigate to the puzzle index, and scroll to the bottom to find the archive calendar, which meant many missed it entirely.
Research findings:
42% of surveyed users didn’t know an archive existed
67% of those who knew found it “inconvenient” or “frustrating” to access
Frequent requests for “a quick way to play yesterday’s puzzle”
Three steps just to find the archive. Most users never made it this far
Research & Insights
Understanding user needs, expectations, and friction points
Before touching the layout of the homepage, we needed to nail the building block of the experience: the puzzle card. Every decision about the homepage’s structure would flow from how well a single card could inform and entice a player. We ran a card-sorting study using real puzzle metadata to uncover what details mattered most when choosing a puzzle — and what could be removed without hurting decision-making.
🎯 What users prioritised first:
1️⃣ Name, description, and difficulty were the top decision-makers
2️⃣ Puzzle ID and popularity rankings were ignored
3️⃣ 65% said nothing crucial was missing — only clarity was the game-changer
Impact on designs:
These insights directly shape the “perfect” card structure — keeping the essentials upfront, rewriting vague descriptions, and removing distracting metadata. This became the foundation for the rest of the homepage.
Design Exploration
First homepage iteration comparison test
Building on the insights from the card sorting study, we tested an early homepage iteration (Version B) against the existing design (Version A). The goal was to see if the new card structure and layout improved clarity, discovery, and overall preference.
What the results told us:
1️⃣ Tasks were completed faster and with fewer hesitations
2️⃣ Users valued the clearer descriptions and visible difficulty
3️⃣ Archive links were easier to find but still not fully obvious
Key Quote:
“It looks a lot easier to find older puzzles, with the archive option.”
Version B prototype that introduced colour-coded tiles, clearer archive access, and larger text
Descriptions usertest
Validating the clarity of puzzle descriptions
After refining the designs internally, our next step was to validate the puzzle descriptions. Card sorting had shown they were a key decision factor, and competitors like NYT leaned heavily on them. With limited copy space, we needed to test if our wording was clear and concise enough.
The test showed strong clarity on familiar puzzles but exposed issues with Sorted, Kakuro, and Panagram
The results were clear:
🟢 Clear hits: Quick Crossword and Sudoku (rated very clear by almost all participants)
🟡 Mixed clarity: PlusWord, Mini Crossword, Codewords Tough, Panagram
🔴 Poor clarity: Sorted and Kakuro caused the most confusion
We rewrote and simplified unclear descriptions, focusing on plain language. This ensured even lesser-known puzzles had enough context to encourage trial without confusing new users.
Moderated testing
Validating the near-final homepage on desktop and mobile
With the visual and copy foundations in place, we then moved into moderated usability sessions to test a more refined homepage iteration. We recruited 10 current subscribers (7 desktop, 3 mobile) to get feedback grounded in real puzzle-playing habits.
Overall ratings:
4.5/5
Overall satisfaction
4.5/5
Comfort finding familiar elements
4.6/5
Helpfulness of archive access
Key Quote:
“I could find everything fine, but I’d prefer my favourite puzzles at the top so I don’t need to scroll so much.”
Key insights from testing:
1️⃣ Users were unclear about “Most Popular” labelling → removed
2️⃣ Mobile users struggled with the login icon → changed to labelled “Log in”
3️⃣ Users wanted less scroll and suggested a “favourites” row at the top
4️⃣ Menu worked in both scrolling and dropdown versions, each with different strengths
Key Design Moves
What the research led us to change
Findings from the moderated testing shaped the final round of changes. We fixed friction points like confusing labels, hidden archives, and login discoverability, while doubling down on what worked — clearer puzzle cards, stronger colour cues, and visible depth. These became the core design moves that defined the refreshed homepage.
Smarter game cards
Cards were redesigned to focus only on name, description, and difficulty — the three decision signals that mattered most to users. We rewrote unclear copy and removed clutter like puzzle IDs.
Mobile Considerations
Small changes that made a big difference
On mobile, friction points were amplified. The moderated testing revealed that users struggled to find the login button, felt the scroll was too heavy, and wanted quicker access to their favourites. We focused on light but impactful adjustments:
1️⃣ Replaced the login icon with a clear “Log in” label
2️⃣ Collapsed and reordered sections to cut down scrolling
3️⃣ Adjusted spacing so puzzles felt closer at hand
Replacing the login icon with a labelled button improved signposting on mobile
Outcomes
Validated improvements in clarity, usability, and discovery
The refreshed homepage shipped in April 2025, delivering measurable improvements across clarity, usability, and discovery. Users were able to find puzzles more easily, archives became a visible feature rather than hidden depth, and the clearer card structure encouraged exploration beyond familiar favourites.
Key outcomes:
Participants successfully found the archives, fixing one of the homepage’s biggest usability gaps.
+12%
Archive visits grew in the first month post-launch, proving that surfacing links in cards encouraged
more exploration.
Trial starts increased as the redesigned homepage created a clearer path from play to subscription.
4.6/5
Users rated archive visibility as one of the most helpful improvements in the new design.
Reflections
Balancing familiarity with clarity
The biggest challenge was making something better without making it unrecognisable. This wasn’t just a homepage facelift — it was a shift in how we present the puzzles product. We made it more discoverable, more useful, and more human.
Key Quotes:
“The new homepage just makes more sense. I can see the puzzles laid out clearly, the descriptions actually help, and it’s easier to find things like the archive. It feels a lot friendlier than before.”
