WeChat Reading App Product Disassembly

Reading on mobile phones is a way for many users to pass their time, so competition in the field of reading apps is also fierce. This article analyzes the WeChat Reading app from the aspects of product functions and product structure, hoping to be helpful to everyone.

1. Product Function Overview

The WeChat Reading app mainly enables users to find books, read books, and socialize.

1. Find books: Check the bookshelf, and there are four ways: user search, friends reading, and system recommendations;
2. Reading: You can set the reading page to personalize your reading style; the reading page restores the texture of paper books and emphasizes exquisite typesetting; you can underline, write ideas and share while reading, focusing on a carefully polished reading experience;
3. Social: This is achieved through friends’ reading books/book collection recommendations, sharing/comments/likes/team building, personal homepage settings, reading time competitions, etc.

2. Product Structure Overview

The APP contains 4 pages: Reading, Bookshelf, Discovery, and Me. Among them, the reading page mainly realizes the functions of finding books and participating in activities, the bookshelf page mainly realizes the function of reading books, the discovery page mainly realizes the functions of socializing and participating in activities, and the my page mainly realizes information viewing (personal information, purchase information and reading information) and settings.

The specific product structure is as follows:

3. Structural Decomposition and Analysis

3.1 Reading

Reading is the homepage of the app, and it mainly provides the function of finding books. It is divided into four modules: search module, reading history module, card information flow module, and welfare field entrance. The search module, reading history module, and card information flow module are arranged on the page in sequence, and the entrance to the welfare field can be entered by pulling down the reading page.

The functions of each module are as follows:

(1) Search module: including search bar, bookstore entrance and category bar

• Click the search bar -> the keyboard pops up and displays popular searches and guesses you might like
• Click on Bookstore->Enter the Bookstore page
• Slide the category bar left and right -> display the category bar
• Click on a category in the category column -> enter a category page in the bookstore

(2) Reading history module: including reading time module and recent reading module

• Click Reading Time->Enter the Reading Time page
• Click Recent Reading->Enter the book reading page and locate the last reading position

(3) Card information flow module: This module contains several card information flows. Through the sliding operation, the card information flow is used as the carrier and is divided into three themes: activity operation, reading recommendation, and welfare field.

Through 15 types of cards in 3 categories, WeChat Reading enables book information and activity benefits to reach target users more accurately, achieving the purpose of book recommendations and increasing user activity.

(4) Welfare field module: This module is accessed by pulling down on the reading page and displays event details in the form of a card information flow.

The card contains the activity name and activity entrance, including 8 activities in total: daily answer, team up to draw a lifetime unlimited card, invite WeChat friends, collect likes on Thursdays to get a 12-day co-branded card, TOP 200/surge sharing to get a 1-day unlimited card, flip it over, unlimited membership day (every Monday), and reading team. The activity mechanism allows users to obtain unlimited cards, book coins or free books by participating in games, inviting, forming teams, sharing, and liking, thereby using welfare-driven means to ultimately achieve the goal of attracting new users and promoting activation.

• Click Daily Answer->Enter the WeChat Mini Program interface
• Click to form a team to draw a lifetime unlimited card->enter the event introduction page, click to invite friends to join the team->enter the WeChat forwarding page
• Click to invite WeChat friends -> enter WeChat forwarding page
• Click on "Collect likes on Thursday" to get a 12-day co-branded card->enter the event introduction page, click on "Share to WeChat Group/Friends Circle"->enter the WeChat forwarding page and the Friends Circle page respectively
• Click TOP 200/Surge Share to get 1-day unlimited card->Enter the event introduction page, click Share->Enter the WeChat forwarding page
• Click to turn over -> enter the event introduction page, click any card -> pop-up window will pop up and you will get a free book
• Click on Unlimited Membership Day (every Monday) -> enter the event introduction page, click on Purchase/Lottery -> enter the membership purchase page
• Click on the reading team->enter the WeChat applet interface, which includes the activity introduction and activity entrance. Click on the activity entrance->enter the WeChat forwarding page

The page details structure is as follows:

• The page provides a book search entrance at the top, with three ways to search: enter keywords, search in the bookstore, and search by category. This part occupies a small proportion of the page;
• The upper middle part provides the reading time of this week and the entrance to the books read recently, which mainly allows users to quickly grasp their reading status and provides a quick entrance to book reading. The page proportion of this part is also relatively small;
• In the center of the page is a random recommendation card, which occupies the best position on the page, takes up the largest area and uses the largest font to focus the user's attention on it.

Through the design of the position and proportion of different modules on the page, it can be inferred that the WeChat Reading app is more inclined to display books to users through system recommendations, friends' reading, and event recommendations when users are looking for books before reading , to help them find books, rather than letting users search on their own.

The page layout structure is as follows:

3.1.1 Bookstore

The bookstore page mainly realizes the functions of searching books, searching for books by category, and recommending books. It can be divided into three modules: search module, classification module, and recommendation module.

The functions of each module are as follows:

(1) Search module: including shake function and top search box

• Click the search bar -> the keyboard pops up and displays popular searches and guesses you might like
• Click Shake->The terminal vibrates and a recommendation card pops up, showing the book cover, author, introduction, and "Read Now" entry.

(2) Classification module: divided into 8 categories (fiction for boys, fiction for girls, audiobooks, paper books, new books of the month, classification list, book list, free books)

Click on a category entrance -> enter the category details page

(3) Recommendation module: This module uses two banners to divide the interval and isolate three information flow echelons of recommended books/book lists.

• Click "Change a batch" -> Update the content in this submodule
• Click "View All" -> enter the submodule
• The submodule displays the next screen by swiping right

The page details structure is as follows:

The bookstore page uses banners to divide modules into three modules: search module, classification module, and recommendation module. The overall interface presents a general-specific logic, with the search bar and category bar occupying the top position and taking up a smaller page; the recommendation module consists of display boards of various topics, occupying the center of the page, and the page can be browsed by sliding down.

The page layout structure is as follows:

3.2 Bookshelf

The bookshelf page mainly provides five functions: searching books, logging in to the computer/ink screen, importing books, viewing and managing bookshelves/book lists, and reading books . It can be divided into the top function module, bookshelf management module, and book list management module.

The functions of each module are as follows:

(1) Top functional module: including search box, + key and partition selection

The search results for books are displayed first in the bookshelf, and then in the bookstore. The + key includes the functions of logging in to the computer/ink screen version, importing files from the computer/iCloud/WeChat, and the bookstore entrance. The partition selection includes a secondary selection, through the primary classification selection to enter the bookshelf or book list, through the secondary classification to enter a more detailed book partition

• Click the search box -> pop up the pop-up keyboard and display popular searches and guess what you like
• Click the + button-> a pop-up window will pop up to display the function entry
• Click on the computer/ink screen version->the scan code page will pop up
• Click Import from Computer->Scan QR code page pops up
• Click iCloud->Recently browsed files interface pops up
• Click Import from WeChat -> Enter the WeChat forwarding interface, click a dialog box/person -> Enter the file record page

(2) Bookshelf management module: includes functions such as bookshelf classification, book selection, and viewing personal homepage.

Among them, bookshelf classification includes 5 classification methods: default, update, progress, purchase, and classification. After selecting a book, you can read it privately, download it locally, add it to the book list, pin it to the top, group it, and remove it from the bookshelf.

• Click on bookshelf/book list to switch between bookshelf management module and book list management module
• Click Default/Update/Progress/Purchase/Category, or slide left or right, the bookshelf will display books in different categories
• Click Select-> to select books in batches and perform operations
• Click to view my personal homepage->Enter my personal homepage

(3) Book list management module: includes functions of book list classification, creating a new book list, and viewing personal homepage

Among them, the book list classification includes two categories: my book list and favorite book list.

• Click Create a New Book List to name, describe, and add books to the book list.
• Click on bookshelf/book list to switch between bookshelf management module and book list management module
• Click My Book List/Favorite Book List, or swipe left or right to display the book list
• Click New->Enter the New Book List page
• Click to view my personal homepage->Enter my personal homepage

The page details structure is as follows:

The bookshelf page is mainly divided into the navigation area and the book entrance. The navigation area mainly helps users to quickly find books, search for books, import books and other pre-reading preparations, and complete the function of entering the reading page. The book cover also identifies books with different characteristics. Books that have been read have a "Complete" logo in the upper right corner of the cover, and books that are read privately have a "Mask" logo in the lower left corner.

The page is as shown:

3.2.1 Reading Page

The reading pages of a book include the title page, other information pages (copyright information, message...), the main text, and the completion page . It mainly enables users to understand books, read books, and rate books.

(1) Title page

It mainly introduces information such as book name, author, recommendation value, number of readers, and word count.

(2) Other information pages

For published books, pages such as copyright information, greetings, and introduction are provided.

(3) Main text

It provides four main functions: underline/view popular underlined sentences, write ideas, share/share bookmarks, and page display settings. Other additional functions include viewing chapters, searching, entering circles, listening to books, etc.

• Underline/View popular underlined sentences: As most of the books in WeChat Books are published books with high quality, it matches the underline function and the function of viewing popular underlined sentences that other reading apps do not have. In addition, this function completes the note search and batch copy functions on the My Page, completing a good logical closed loop;
• Write ideas: This function acts as a comment;
• Share/Share bookmarks: As WeChat Reading is a social reading app, it has added the functions of sharing to WeChat Moments and sharing bookmarks (pictures). Sharing to Moments only requires one step, and the sharing operation is simple; the bookmark has a black background with gold letters, and the style is simple and elegant, which increases users' desire to share. This function has completed the social function well;
• Page display settings: Page display settings mainly include adjusting reading progress, whether to turn on automatic reading, reading background, page brightness, font size, margin spacing, font, etc. Among them, when adjusting the reading progress, automatic reading speed, and page brightness, the progress bar is dragged (instead of customized grading) to enable readers to find a more matching "degree" and create personalized reading.

(4) Read the complete page

Provide reading record information and other people's book reviews. The reading information includes the completion date, the reading time, and whether this book is the Xth book the user has read. The reading achievements can also be shared in the form of pictures.

The page details structure is as follows:

• The page settings of the reading page restore the texture of paper books, including the book copyright page, color illustrations, text layout, etc., to improve the user's reading experience.
• The functions of the reading page are complete, the key points are highlighted, and the pages are clear.

The bookshelf page is shown as follows:

3.3 Discovery

The main functions of the discovery page are socializing and participating in activities, which are divided into social module and activity module.

The functions of each module are as follows:

(1) Social module: By viewing friends’ ideas and small circles, it can be used to benchmark acquaintance social networking and stranger square social networking.

a) Friends’ ideas: mainly realize the functions of publishing ideas, browsing friends’ ideas, and interacting with friends (forwarding, commenting, liking). The page contains the idea posting button and browsing area in the upper right corner;

b) Small circles: mainly realize the functions of searching circles, publishing ideas, browsing ideas and interacting.

Interaction within the "small circle" module:

• Click on the small circle->enter the module
• Click on the idea to publish -> enter the idea page
• Click on other people's ideas->enter the idea details page
• Click on Circle Universe->Enter the Circle Collection Page

(2) Activity module: including free book collection, welfare sessions and WeChat audiobooks

• Click on Get a Free Book->The page you enter is the same as "Read for Free" in the card information flow on the reading page;
• Click Welfare Field -> Enter the page which is the same as the "Welfare Field" module dropped down on the reading page;
• Click on the WeChat Audiobook card -> Get free audiobook programs -> Enter the page which is the same as the "WeChat Audiobook Library" in the card information flow on the reading page;

It can be seen that this activity module selects the individual card information flow promoted in the reading page and sets a separate entrance.

The page details structure is as follows:

The discovery page mainly consists of the top navigation bar and the card entrance of the page. The navigation bar includes a shake function, and the card entrance includes interactive entrances such as friends' ideas, small circles, and activities.

The page is as shown:

3.3.1 Friends’ thoughts

The page contains an idea posting button and a browsing area in the upper right corner. Its main functions are to write ideas and browse friends' ideas and interact with them . This module belongs to acquaintance social networking. Through the acquaintance effect, it increases users' willingness to learn about a new book and improves user stickiness.

(1) Write down your ideas

• Scenarios for writing ideas: including underlining while reading/underlining + writing ideas, rating after reading/rating + book review, writing ideas on a friend's idea page, and writing ideas on a circle page to synchronize with friends' ideas;
• Functions for writing ideas: writing text, adding titles, emoticons, citing books, and organizing text format;
• The permissions of the idea: public, visible only to people you follow, private;

(2) Page interaction

• Click Write Ideas->Enter the Write Ideas page
• Click on other people's ideas->enter the idea details page
• Click on the book cited by others -> enter the book reading page

The page details structure is as follows:

The page uses gray bars to separate friends' ideas, and ideas that are too long will be abbreviated.

The page is as shown:

3.3.2 Circles

Circles is a new feature for stranger social interaction, similar to a community. The topics for establishing circles are quite broad and not limited to books. Each circle is composed of circle owners and members. The ideas in the circle include four elements: user nickname, text, pictures, and topics.

The circle module includes a top navigation area and a browsing area, which mainly realizes the functions of discovering circles, joining circles, posting ideas, browsing ideas and interacting.

(1) Navigation area: The navigation area contains three functional areas: the View Circle button in the upper right corner, the Write Idea button, and the My Circle entry bar at the bottom.

• View circles: This function key allows you to view all circles, circles I have joined, and posts I have made;
• Write idea button: You can add topics to the circle ideas and select the circle;
• My circle entrance: provides a quick entrance to my circle, and arranges the posts in the circle according to the most recent update time.

This module displays all the circles that the user has joined by sliding left and right.

(2) Browsing area: Browse the ideas and hot topics of the circles you have joined, and you can forward, reply to, and like other people's ideas. The recommended sorting weight of the browsing area is high comment > high praise > recent

• Scenarios for writing ideas: entering a circle, creating new ideas;
• The function of writing ideas: add topics, add circles, and synchronize ideas with friends;

Interaction:

• Click on the avatar of the person who posted the idea -> go to their personal homepage
• Click on the idea -> enter the idea details page
• Click Share->Share to WeChat and Moments
• Click on the topic -> enter the idea page of this topic (not limited to circle topics)
• Click Change->Change 3 hot topics

The page details structure is as follows:

The page navigation bar is used to find and enter circles. The browsing area serves the function of viewing ideas and finding suitable ideas.

At present, the circle function has been online for a short time, and there is still much room for improvement in function logic and user experience, such as:

• The only way to discover circles is to discover recommended circles, and users cannot search.
• The scenario in which users post their ideas in a circle is only created after entering the circle. This scenario requires users to have a high willingness to post. Multiple scenarios can be connected, such as underlining and bookmarking while reading, to reduce users' thinking costs and posting time.
• Currently, when users write their ideas, they rely entirely on their own abilities to complete the content of the ideas. Appropriate methods such as text recognition and image recognition can be used to recommend circles and topics that are suitable for the users.

The page is as shown:

3.4 Me

My core functions are to view or change my personal homepage and settings, and to view purchases, interactions, and reading results. It mainly includes five modules : top navigation bar, personal homepage module, purchase module, friend interaction module, and reading results module .

(1) Top navigation bar

It mainly includes messages on the left and settings on the right. Messages allows you to view received reposts, comments, likes, and private messages. Settings can set reading pages, permissions and login status.

• Reading page settings: including lock screen, horizontal screen, hiding other people's ideas, indentation, page turning method, dark mode, aiming to improve the user's reading experience;
• Permission management: includes management of privacy, youth mode, notification, and cache.

(2) Personal homepage module

It mainly includes avatar, signature, self-introduction and personal homepage entrance. The personal homepage provides detailed personal information, including personal information, interactive information, reading information and comment information.

(3) Purchase module

It mainly provides account and unlimited card information management and purchase entry, as well as shopping cart and order status viewing.

(4) Friend interaction module

It mainly displays the reading rankings and WeChat friends’ attention.

(5) Reading results module

It mainly includes summaries of medals, notes, reading records and subscriptions.

• Medals: Awarding indicators include reading days/duration, number of books read/completed, number of likes and number of ideas published;
• Notes: The main function is to quickly view and export the underlined sentences during reading . The function is implemented by searching keywords and classifying by book-chapter, which can realize batch copying.
• Reading records and subscriptions: quickly locate books through detailed classification. For example, books are divided into reading and subscription, reading records are divided into browsing history, likes, reading and completed, and subscriptions are divided into subscribed books and subscribed authors.

The page details structure is as follows:

The information on the page is presented in the form of cards. By integrating information cards with similar themes (purchase/interaction/reading) and rationally planning different partitions, users can visually separate the pages. This method makes the page display a lot of information and entrances, but the overall page is simple and elegant, and users can use it quickly.

The page is as shown:

3.4.1 Personal Homepage

The personal homepage is a section where users can selectively display personal information, reading information, and commentary opinions to other WeChat users through permission settings . It is also a section for users to review their reading results , meeting their social needs and satisfaction needs.

The personal homepage consists of a top navigation bar, a personal information module, a reading information module, and a comment information module.

(1) Top navigation bar: sharing function

• Sharing form: 4 categories

a) Connect with WeChat, including sharing to WeChat conversations, WeChat Moments and synchronizing WeChat status;

b) Save to the photo album;

c) Share with fellow readers on WeChat Reading;

d) Share to other apps.

• Sharing content: 3 types

a) Personal information, including profile picture, nickname, and self-introduction

b) Reading results, including the number of books completed, the number of likes, the cumulative reading time, and the number of ideas output. It also transforms the abstract data of reading results into specific units in life, which is vivid and interesting, and stimulates users' desire to read and share.

c) The latest books read, including recent updates, reflect the immediacy of user interaction, making users more willing to share in order to find book friends who are reading at the same time.

(2) Personal information module

Contains avatar, nickname, signature, self-introduction, reading time, number of likes, number of followers, and medals.

(3) Reading information module

Contains bookshelves and book lists. Different from the bookshelves and book lists on the bookshelf page, the content here only displays public books. This design makes it easy for users to create homepages and protect their privacy.

(4) Comment information module

Contains comments and thoughts.

The page details structure is as follows:

The page is as shown:

IV. Conclusion

By breaking down the four main pages of WeChat Reading, we analyze the three main scenarios of users looking for books, reading, and socializing.

• Find books: Based on social (friends reading), historical data, and activity operations, recommend books/book lists in the form of card information flow to better provide users with suitable books;
• Reading: Provides exquisite book layout and allows you to accurately customize reading settings by dragging the progress bar. It provides the function of underlining and batch copying underlined sentences, which better restores the formality and reading habits of paper books, and the operation process is simple;
• Social: It has created social scenarios such as checking what friends are reading, writing down ideas, posting to circles, competing for time, participating in activities, and sharing dynamics on WeChat status, which increases user interactivity and user stickiness.

In general, WeChat Reading provides a complete set of book recommendation functions, reading style customization functions and social functions. It has a smooth user path, clear functional logic, and can provide a high-quality reading experience.

Author: Wangzai9795

Source: Wangzai9795