# Why the Homepage to Article Page

The Salt Lake Tribune in connection with Reynolds Journalism Lab is building a toolkit to help optimize article pages, improving reader engagement and support. Scroll down to learn more about why this is an important evolution in how news organizations display their content. You’ll also find a step-by-step guide that offers details on how your newsroom could make the homepage-to-article-page transition.

<figure><img src="https://2743660580-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FAg47xFgiTFDln3AgqHlZ%2Fuploads%2Fjv6JypvznzlJmekpFkRl%2Farticle-homepage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=60c01c28-29f4-4ca5-8763-d356228b0300" alt=""><figcaption><p>Redesign illustration of what we plan to achieve in the article as homepage toolkit</p></figcaption></figure>

Studies show that homepage traffic for newsrooms has been steadily declining as readers increasingly access articles directly through search engines, social media, and aggregators. For instance, the [Northwestern University Local News Initiative](https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2024/08/29/do-news-homepages-still-matter/) reports that only 22% of readers now identify news websites or apps as their main source of news, down from 32% in 2018. Additionally, [Nieman Lab](https://www.niemanlab.org/2012/08/coming-in-the-side-door-the-value-of-homepages-is-shifting-from-traffic-driver-to-brand/) notes that many major publications, including The New York Times, see most of their traffic bypassing the homepage entirely. This trend underscores the critical importance of optimizing article pages to maintain audience engagement and drive revenue.