The document analyzes and compares the websites of three magazines: Living North, ETC, and Luxe.
Living North's website is praised as the most professional and well-organized with a clear layout similar to the magazine. It uses multimedia like slideshows and social media integration to engage readers.
ETC's website also uses multimedia and social media but is described as a bit boring in layout.
Luxe's website is criticized for being too basic and not providing much information about the magazine or how to connect with readers. It lacks features like search and has a simple, unengaging design.
2. I made the decision to analyse the websites for the
magazines Living North, ETC and Luxe. As I
previously looked in detail at the magazines
themselves I feel I have some knowledge of who
the target audience of each is and how they aim to
attract them. By looking at the quality of their
websites and the content, I am able to see how
they communicate with their readers via other
media outlets in contrast to that of their magazine.
Initial Inspiration for Ancillary
Website
4. The website for Living North Magazine was undoubtedly the most
professional and my favourite out of those I looked at. It is clear, concise and
well organised, and the theme of the webpage looks quite similar to the
magazine layout itself. The use of multimedia on Living North’s website is
extensive – a slideshow is used on the homepage linking to various popular,
current articles. A menu of hyperlinks runs across the top of the page for
different categories all linked to the magazine and its articles, for example
‘Health & Beauty’ or ‘Arts & What’s On’. This enables the user to quickly
find what they are looking for and allows them to explore. Their inte4gration
of social media into their website is also impressive – a sidebar shows current
updates from Facebook and Twitter, which highlights their connection with
their target audience on other platforms aswell. The masthead of the website is
the Living North Magazine logo, making it instantly recognisable to readers,
and a search bar enables users to further explore. I would like to try and create
a website of this standard for my own magazine – I feel it understands what its
audience wants and does so in an attractive, clear way.
www.livingnorth.com
6. www.etcnortheast.com
The website for ETC Magazine is also of quite a good standard.
Various multimedia features are used, such as a slideshow linking to
various articles, a menu providing hyperlinks to different web pages
and a search bar. This makes the website more interesting for the reader
as there is a constant stream of new pages to look at and gives them the
freedom to explore. ETC has also tapped in to the prominent social
media trend, showing the latest updates on the magazines Facebook
and Twitter accounts. Links are also given in a bar in the top right hand
corner to these pages, showing their connection with the target
audience on other platforms. This website is good and easy to use.
Personally I prefer the website for Living North, but that is mainly
because I think the layout of ETC website is a little boring. However, it
does give me ideas as to how I will represent my own regional
magazine website.
8. www.luxe-magazine.co.uk
Personally I was quite disappointed by Luxe Magazines website, as I do
not feel it represents the magazine well. The layout is quite basic and does
not actually provide all that much information as to what the website is
about and who it is aimed at. It does however have some positives. The
header at the top of the page has the magazine logo and a smaller picture of
the current magazines cover photo. This shows it is up to date, and the use
of the magazines slogan ‘regional, relevant and entertaining’ does provide a
hint as to the websites purpose. However I find the website quite basic,
especially in contrast to Living North and ETC. Little information is
provided other than about the magazine, so there is a limit as to how
connected it is with the target audience. Basic fonts such as Verdana are
used, which gives it quite a boring overall look. There is also no search bar
limiting how easy it is to navigate for the reader. I would hope that my
website will be better than this; I feel it is too simple and looks as though
little effort has been put into its creation.