Examining Magazine Web Sites
These thumbnails were taken in April 1999. Since that time, most redesigned, and as of 2007 two of these magazines no longer exist, and Chatelaine has changed owners. — C.S.
These four examples are only of a print magazine's Web site; webzines are listed at the bottom of this page.
Marked as a purple line about two-thirds of the way down each screen capture, is the 480 pixel mark — indicating the “fold.” Each graphic links to the illustrated site.
Level 1: Online Because We Have to Be
The New Yorker launched a Level 2 Web site almost two years after this piece was written. A critique of that design is available, although the following will be kept as illustration of an extreme Level 1 site. — C.S.
The New Yorker, published by Condé Naste, has an extremely minimal Web site. This is an extreme version of a “Level 1” site.
It does provide subscription information on a sub-page, and does have a picture of the cover. It’s too bad they didn’t take them time to at least include the table of contents.
The New Yorker site is not a good model to follow for a print magazine’s Web site.
Level 2: Doing More Than Putting Our Content Online
Saturday Night’s Web site was redesigned with the magazine, and now offers excerpted content from the magazine and interactive features.
Its a step up, and design-wise is fairly strong. The major information is above the fold, carries ads in a separate frame, and has a consistent, crisp design.
Saturday Night’s site is a good example of a print magazine putting content online. Though they offer forums, and related links in stories, they don't completely embrace the medium. A perfect Level 2-type site.
Chatelaine Connects is the Web site for Maclean Hunter’s Chatelaine magazine.
The site is not crisply designed, and the essential information falls well below the fold, but Chatelaine Connects is a good example of a magazine embracing the medium.
The site knows its readers, and presents a more roomy site — with forums and topic areas — while matching the feel of it’s parent magazine. It’s a Level 2 site striving to be a Level 3.
Level 3: The Web is a Whole New Medium
The grand-daddy of magazine Web sites, Wired’s site was launched in 1994 as part of the Web’s first commercial webzine, HotWired. It still retains the look and feel of the other sites within HotWired, despite the fact it is now owned by the same company as the New Yorker, Condé Naste.
I am a big fan of Wired Digital’s work, and they helped build and design this site. Not only does it maintain a consistent “Wired” look-and-feel, it offers all the essential information above the fold. Archives are listed lower down, with a thumbnail of the cover. Related sections and e-commerce ventures are easily available throughout the menu bar, which makes navigation much easier.
The site is not afraid to use the medium’s weakness (limited colour; poor screen resolution) to its advantage (bright, vibrant colour; crisp, limited text). And it’s quick loading (having used almost no graphics in the overall page template).
This is a prime example of a good Level 3 site (as one would hope from a magazine like Wired).
Shift’s Web site is a hybrid. A cross between a print site and a webzine. It’s low-tech, and hi-tech. It’s the Web, it’s multimedia.
By using vector-based Flash animation, Shift has created an engaging and fast loading multimedia site for its leading-edge readers. There's regular online content, distinct from the magazine; there’s information about the magazine; and, of course, archives of the printed version.
The site is a good example of knowing your readers, and embracing the medium on both the design and content sides to create a unique product that exists only online, but whose ancestry is obviously the hard-copy Shift.
Webzines
If you want to see some good webzines, try: