Website Research

After half term I plan to begin working on my website, so I have been studying newspaper websites in more detail. I have taken screen shots of websites I like.


'The Guardian': http://www.guardian.co.uk/

I like the use of colours in this website, and the font and blocks of colour are coherent with the newspaper and the advertising posters. My only criticism would be that there is a lot of text on the page, but the Guardian is aimed towards a different market to my publication, so I think this is appropriate for their market.


'The Sun': http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage

I like the way this website has the masthead at the top of the page as it appears on the newspaper because it is instantly recognisable. I think this website has a better balance of text and images, and this is something I will consider when designing my own. I do think, however, that the menu down the side of the page looks a bit out of place; I prefer the menu along the top of the page like on the Guardian website.


'The Daily Echo': http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/

I actually have many criticisms of this website, but I am pleased because it means I also understand what I DON'T want my website to include. I think the page is too plain, and I don't like the colours.. the red title stands out well but the grey/blue colour is dull. The menu is confusing, there are too many links and two bars which I don't like. I do like the idea of having a search engine on the page though, to make navigation simpler, and I like the interactive video and weather widget. As web 2.0 is so popular and up and coming, I think including interactive things will be effective.