In addition to an enhanced home page that features style tips and Stylebook events, the site’s search functionality is greatly improved, directing users toward the appropriate entry even if the search term is entered with incorrect spelling or style.
The search display also shows more related content in a tighter space. Stylebook Online remains the same from a content perspective.
Additionally, the site offers a new e-commerce shopping cart and checkout, and a consolidated customer dashboard to keep track of purchases, subscription data and renewals.
“We started out with a fairly narrow focus: We’d outgrown our e-commerce order form. But once we began exploring how to improve checkout, we used it as an opportunity to ask how we would build APStylebook.com if we were starting from scratch,” said Colleen Newvine, AP Stylebook product manager.
She added: “That’s basically what we did. We rebuilt the site from the ground up, which will benefit not only Stylebook Online subscribers but also anyone who buys any AP Stylebook product on our website.”
The subscription-based AP Stylebook Online is updated throughout the year with new and revised entries. It includes all Stylebook listings, plus an Ask the Editor feature with more than twice as many entries as the book itself, a pronunciation guide with phonetic spellings and audio pronouncers, and topical style guides about news events. Users can add their own entries, make notes and get notifications throughout the year when AP's editors add or update listings.