What is a Paywall?
A paywall is a barrier on a website that prevents visitors from viewing web pages unless the visitor makes a payment. Think of it as the toll-road of web sites. While some roads are free, some roads require a toll in order to use them.
Why do Paywalls Exist?
While you might think of the Internet as a free resource, someone has to write the articles, take pictures, and shoot the videos that we view on the Web. Those people have to be paid to create the content by the people or organization that owns the website. So how do these websites get the money for this? Usually through advertising.
News about Paywalls
A regional newspaper, the Orange County Register, was purchased by some investors with no experience in the newspaper business. The new owners promptly made the online edition of the newspaper a paywall website and invested in hiring over 350 staff members. Hiring new staff in 2013 is pretty rare in the newspaper business, but the new owners believe that people will pay for better content. Two other newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are also known for their paywall online editions.
Besides newspapers, there are many speciality websites that charge for their content. These websites typically have some unique or original content that people are willing to pay to access. In fact, my website, www.bobology.com, is a paywall, with some webpages visitors can access for free and others that require a payment.
Advertising and the Free Web
Many websites can be viewed for free because of advertising. Advertising is all over the Web and appears often on websites, usually as a few lines of text, as a picture, or an image that's an ad. Click on the ad with your mouse and a webpage appears that has information about the advertised product or service. Google makes most of it's money from Web advertising and many websites make money and support themselves with their ads.
Paywall Supported Websites
Some websites have a different approach to making money and charge visitors for viewing the website. When a website wants to restrict access to some or all of it's information, the website creates an electronic barrier called a paywall. Some of the webpages are free, and these are considered "in front" of the paywall.
Other webpages and content require payment in order to view them and are considered "behind" the paywall. It's up to the owner of the website what is free and what requires payment, and how much to charge. As a result, some websites with paywalls give visitors access to some webpages for free while other webpages are behind the paywall.
For example, if a website wanted to make some sample content available, the website may offer access to some articles so visitors can sample the website and try it before they buy it. Other free webpages could include a shopping cart, news, or contact information. It's up to each website owner to choose what is free and what webpages require a payment to view.
Different Ways Paywalls Work
It's not hard to recognize a paywall. When you access a paywall, a message usually appears on the webpage letting you know that access to the webpage is restricted and required payment. There are some common ways paywalls work, with membership sites, and individual articles being the most common.
Membership Sites
A membership site requires a visitor to pay a monthly or annual member fee in order to access the webpages behind the paywall. With a paid membership, the visitor becomes a member and obtains a user account with a username. When visiting the website, there is a form for entering the username and the user's password, which then unlocks the webpages behind the paywall so the member can view these webpages.
Some membership sites have more than one level of membership, with tiers at different prices. For example, one level might be $5 per month, while another might be $10 a month. Usually this means that there is access to additional sections of the website that are only available to the higher fee membership level. So while some of the webpages might be visible to one membership tier, others might require a more expensive membership. It's a matter of how much the site owner wants to charge and if the content is valuable enough for people to pay for it.
Individual Pages
The other common type of paywall is the individual article or page type. In this type of paywall, viewing a single webpage requires a one-time payment. Pay the fee for the article, and you can then read the article. Often the one-time fee includes the ability to download a copy of the article to your computer.
This type of paywall is common with newspapers and publications who sell back-issues and articles, and this type of paywall can also be used with a membership site. An example is a membership site where members can view the webpages or articles that are available for one-time purchase as part of their membership. If you were going to purchase a certain number of articles, it might be more economical to purchase a membership.
Will Paywalls Become More Common?
Specialty websites with unique information and content have been able to make money by charging and have been using paywalls for many years. If the information is good enough, there are people using the Internet who are willing to pay for it. Most often these sites have been focused on specific industries, occupations, or topics where interested people are willing to pay for the content.
Print magazines and newspapers haven't been the recipients of most of the advertising spending, it's been search websites. So the old idea of supporting a magazine or newspaper with advertising income isn't working for many traditional periodicals. If advertising can't support the business, the creators of content and information will find other ways to make money or go out of business.
Digital magazine subscriptions are available for popular devices like Kindles and iPads, and the subscriptions are usually at a higher subscription fee than a subscription to the print edition. While you will still be able to find a lot of information on the Internet for free, you're likely to see more paywall websites when you start looking for specialized information or content.