[showcase]
Background
At BBC World Service, we deliver web experiences for over 40 language services, including regions with limited connectivity or crisis conditions like Africa, India, Russia, Somalia, and Myanmar. To keep vital news accessible, we soft-launched a Lite Site in December 2024 — a fast, lightweight MVP focused on essential text updates, removing rich media to support users during critical times.
What does ‘Lite’ mean on BBC World Service pages?
However, creating a "lite" version wasn’t just about stripping things down. We faced key questions:
How might we onboard the right users to this new experience and help them find it easily?
How might we guide users to switch between the full and lite versions based on their needs and circumstances?
Project
This case study shares how I supported the team in addressing these questions and shaping the experience for the right audiences. The MVP launched first on the Gahuza service with light promotion, and was later extended to other services.
One meaningful outcome was during the 2025 Myanmar earthquake, when the Burmese Lite Site helped people in low-connectivity areas stay updated with critical news — a powerful reflection of our public service mission.
My role
I collaborated with Senior UX Designer in the team to review research and identify markets best suited for a lite experience. I then led UX for the project, with key responsibilities including:
Evaluating and refining the existing code prototype for usability and trustworthiness.
Mapping user journeys for onboarding, navigation, and discovery of the lite site.
Designing the lite site promotion and information banner with ethical messaging and clear pathways back to the full site.
Defining scope with the PM and working closely with engineers to implement key components.
I’m currently supporting the next phase, exploring how to reintroduce low-resolution media and improve onward journeys while maintaining accessibility and inclusivity.
Features
Key research insights
Only 63% of the world’s population was online in 2023.
In 2017, only half of the world's population was online — and by 2024, a significant portion still remains offline. In regions like Africa and parts of South and Central Asia, internet penetration is particularly low, with some areas seeing just 20–30% of the population connected. Relating to the BBC World Service, we have more than 10 services in both Arica and South Asia, like Hausa, Swahili, Hindi, Tamil etc. which leading us a direction when thinking about lite site launching plan.
Why user would choose a lite experience?
Impact of Political/Environmental Disruptions
Wars and disasters disrupt internet infrastructure, causing widespread outages.
BBC Monitoring, UN Global Connectivity Report (2022)
Connectivity and Infrastructure Challenges
Limited internet and power availability hinder access, especially in rural areas.
World Bank, ITU (2023)
High Data Costs
Mobile broadband costs significantly more in low-income countries.
Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) (2023)
User’s expectation and potential problem space
Problem space
How might we guide users to switch between the full and lite versions based on their needs and circumstances?
How might we onboard the right users to this new experience and help them find it easily?
Not everything starts with a perfect design. The Lite Site project began as a 10% time initiative from one of our engineers, allowing users to access a lightweight version of the site by adding ".lite" to the service URL. This created a basic way for users to switch between the main and lite experiences.
However, this approach was not intuitive for our audience. Unlike BBC audiences in the UK, BBC World Service users often encounter us as a secondary news source — meaning a large portion are first-time visitors. Expecting new users to understand how to navigate out of the Lite Site without clear guidance created usability risks.
Mapping user journey and project phasing
Therefore, the UX team stepped in. I collaborated with our Senior UX Designer, Eva, to explore how we could better onboard users to the Lite Site, clearly communicate what it offered, and provide an easy, visible way to switch back to the main experience. Drawing from our research insights, we mapped out different user scenarios and journeys for entering the Lite Site.
We also identified and proposed phased approaches for the product team to reference, ensuring a more thoughtful and user-centered rollout.
[Phase 01]
Lite site to main site
October, 2024
We haven’t widely promoted the Lite site yet, but users can currently access it by adding ‘.lite’ to the end of the main URL. While traffic to the Lite site is still low, we’re concerned that users who land on it may not understand where they are, and could mistake it for a broken or incomplete website.
Therefore, our phase 1 goal is to ensure users have clarity and control when accessing the Lite site, we aim to:
Add a clear message indicating they are on the Lite version of the site
Provide a simple and visible option to switch back to the full site if they prefer
Journey behind the scene
Main site to lite site: promotional banner for soft launch in Gahuza
After we prepared the lite site information banner, we’re launching a lite, data-saving version of WS, starting with a soft launch on Gahuza.
To introduce this new option, we propose to promote the lite site on our main platform using a message banner. This will encourage users to check out this new feature.
Main site to lite site: exploring always-on promotion
December, 2024
As we prepare to roll out the Lite Site to more services, we're exploring ways to help users discover and access it more easily.
I tested different placement options and discussed the pros and cons with the team in a workshop, raising concerns around accessibility and usability. I invited feedback from the wider cross-functional team, which helped shape the discussion. I then worked with our PM in a follow-up session, and we decided to move forward with the 'easy access' approach, as it raised the fewest concerns across disciplines.
Main site to lite site: CTA under H1
Earlier this year, we finally had the capacity to revisit the Lite Site initiative. Building on the exploration I did last December, I helped the team refine the ‘easy access’ entry point into an always-on promotional feature. This allows services to actively promote the Lite Site by enabling a call-to-action just below the article headline (H1). We chose this placement because around 90% of users land directly on article pages. It also preserves the H1 as the first semantic element, ensuring screen reader users can still easily identify the main purpose of the page.
Journey behind the scene
Lite Site Impact: Validation and Next Steps
A key moment was during the 2025 Myanmar earthquake, when the Burmese Lite Site helped people in low-connectivity areas stay informed — a strong example of our public service mission.
We first tested the Lite Site on the Gahuza service, but saw little impact. When we launched it on the Burmese service, we noticed users returning, which showed the approach had real value. We also ran MVT tests to understand which wording encouraged people to click through, helping language teams better explain what the Lite Site is for.
After seeing the impact on Burmese service, we rolled the Lite Site out across all services and enabled self-service for editorial teams. We've since seen more users accessing the Lite version. There's still work to do — both in improving the experience and continuing validation, which are what I’m continuing supporting the next phase.
Weekly data (28/4/25-4/5/25)
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