Homepage
- The main feature of the homepage is three celebrity news headlines with pictures. These serve to draw in the audience, and get them interested, encouraging them to click the links to see the full story, and giving them a reason to stay on the website. If you scroll down, there is a list of the 10 most recent things added to the website, including new stories, competitions and fashion. There is a link to the archive as well. This immediately displays all the latest, making it easy for consumers to find and navigate to what they want quickly.
- To the right side of the page there is an advert for a beauty product, as this has a clear link with the magazine, and means the likely audience for the website are also the target audience for the product. Below the advert is a link to a showbiz pics gallery, again encouraging readers to click the links and interact with the website. There is also the opportunity to fill in a survey and win a goodie bag, which again encourages interaction, and shows that the magazine/website rewards loyal consumers. Below that is a question, with 3 possible answers that consumers can vote on. This is a third feature that encourages interactivity, and allows consumers to see if others have a similar mindset to themselves. From an institutions point of view, it acts almost as research, as the magazine can see which answer was most popular, and possibly use the results in future.
- There is a ‘What’s in New Woman now,’ box towards the bottom of the page, which gives readers a sneak peek, encouraging to buy the actual magazine for the full story. There is also the opportunity to ‘subscribe to New Woman now,’ with a special offer of 6 issues for the price of 5 if you buy online, and a free moisturizer worth £28. This makes consumers feel as though they are getting a special, exclusive offer, and earns more revenue for the company.
- At the bottom of the homepage is a competition where you can win a holiday to Jamaica. This again shows that the magazine rewards their consumers, and encourages active participation. Finally, there is a link to the horoscopes section of the website, which is a feature also found in the magazine.
- Overall the homepage aims to give an overview both of the website as a whole and also of the magazines content. It provides quick and easy navigation and encourages audience interactivity, as the target audience for the magazine is not the most computer-literate demographic, and so prefers ease of use to flashy graphics etc.
Celebrity
As a main focus of the magazine itself, the celebrity section of the website is comprehensive. All the stories are easily accessed, and are presented in reverse chronological order, with a stamp saying ‘latest in’ on the newest stories. This makes consumers feel as though they are getting the most up-to-date and exclusive information, which allows them to feel valued, and encourages brand loyalty. The section is broken into 3 sub-sections; Gossip, Galleries and Style on Trial, again allowing easy navigation instantly.
Style Stalker
The other key focus of the magazine, this section is also broad. There is the latest style news and tips, and the stories can be filtered according to whether they fall into the category of beauty, hair, fashion or celebrities. Consumers can post their own bulletins about style as well, which allows them to feel involved and active, rather than passive, consumers. From an industry point of view, consumers have to register before they can post bulletins, which adds them to the mailing list, meaning the company can send targeted emails. There is also a feature called ‘airbrush me,’ which has two options. Consumers can download the software for a free trial, or they can send their picture to the website and get a ‘celebrity makeover.’ Offering the software on the website will earn revenue for New Woman, while the consumer will again feel as though they are getting exclusive content.
Rate My Style
This is one of the most interactive sections of the website, with consumers rating the fashion taste of other consumers. This gets people involved on both sides, and allows them to showcase their style or voice their opinion.
Men and Sex
This section shows how broad the focus of the magazine is; it covers all areas, from entertainment to fashion to dating etc. The layout of this section is similar to the previous section, it seems they are all arranged similarly, which could be seen as boring, but also allows ease of use for the target market.
Entertainment
This section offers recommendations about where to eat out, what to do at work, what CD’s to buy etc. It makes consumers feel more involved, and also contains games and quizzes which encourage interactivity and also provide research about the target market.
Community
The community section consists of different forums to cover the different areas that the magazine covers. There is ‘Book Club,’ ‘Love Life,’ ‘Fashion and Shopping,’ ‘General Banter,’ ‘Health, Diet and Beauty,’ and ‘New Woman Magazine.’ This allows users to chat about shared interests and feel like part of an online community, while once again encouraging active participation.
Summary
The website seems to focus on interactivity and covering a wide range of subject matter and themes. It consistently provides ease of use which allows the consumers to find what they are looking for quickly and easily, a design suited to the target audience of women aged between 20 and 35. The design, while minimalist, also imitates the style of the magazine.
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