Website DeconstructionsThree Website

Deconstructions

Lakeshore RailroadAlthough this is not a magazine or magazine organisation website, this website, made by myself, does give me a lot of inspiration for my magazine website pages. Through various comments I have had, I have found that the first visit is always important and needs to be eye catchy, hence the effective photo banner when you first enter the website. The title is then on this banner to allow it to be read easily. Separating the banner from the main body of the website is the menu bar which is clearly marked into sub categories for clear and easy navigation. Each of these buttons drops down into 4 or 5 separate tabs with page links. A strong colour theme has been established with three main colours of dark green, maroon and white. This conforms with the business itself and shows a house style should be adopted between magazine and other texts. The home page is key in this layout as on first visit it provides essential information such as opening times, location and wider social media links which is always very useful for external promotion. News is also displayed here so visitors can know what is happening easily as well.

Narrow Gauge WorldNarrow Gauge World is a railway heritage orientated magazine who do not have their specific own website but have a large subsection of their publishing house’s, Atlantic, website, clearly shown through the website heading which has links for the main website. The structure is very formal with a main banner of imagery advertising the current issue, with the magazines masthead appearing throughout the page with white backgrounds, creating synergy with the magazine. A menu bar for the NGW website section is provided on the left hand side with a number of useful pages such as subscriptions and back issues, allowing readers to easily get past issues or become a regular reader. Essential information, like Lakeshore, is easy to find, being displayed on the home page among screenshots and tester page links to see if you would like to read the magazine or not. All in all, the website is not lavishly decorated and but structured. This is very functional which is key but on the other hand does not promote a return visit due to the blandness.

National TrustThe National Trust do not have a separate website for their magazine but instead do an incorporated blog style website for all of their services, carrying the same theme as the magazine, allowing clear recognition. A tool bar takes the centre spot at the top of the page allowing easy navigation with minimal tabs that drop down for 4 or 5 options. A search facility is available above this to search for specific features, such as magazine subscriptions. Imagery takes a key spot in the web design, creating an attractive page layout that has plenty of imagery and articles to look at, instantly giving reason to come back, in contrast to the NGW website as there is much more to explore than just essential magazine information. Titles are easy to read on the white background in a plain font and formal register, not making it specifically regional.