Conventions of a Website

Logos are typically placed on the upper left of the page, as that is the first place that the audience direct their eyes, in a similar way to how we read. When there are multiple windows open on a user’s computer or a user is browsing through various pages on a website, consistently having the logo on the top left lets them know that they are on that particular website. Having the logo where the user expects to find it will help keep all the different windows in order. It also creates a sense of brand identity, following a house theme that directly links to the magazine itself, and a sense of familiarity with the audience. I will certainly be using a constant logo throughout all of my products in order to create familiarity and brand identity.

The Main Navigation should appear in a bar across the top of a website. If broken it may frustrate users. If navigation is too difficult or not there at all, users will become discouraged and leave the website. The navigation bar is simply there to make the audience's visit to the website easier and therefore, more enjoyable, encouraging them to revisit. I will definitely be using a navigation bar on my website in order to create easy access and navigation for my audience, encouraging them to revisit.

The Sub-Navigation Bar is a linked navigation bar that appears directly below/beside the main navigation bar. This sub-navigation can also often be found in drop boxes below particular sections of the main navigation bar and may link directly to the section of the navigation bar that you have selected/are hovering the mouse over. I will consider using a sub-navigation bar as it may be convenient for the audience's navigation.

Hyperlinks are pertinent to internet users. Therefore, these clickable links must be identifiable to users in order to prevent confusion, which may lead to them leaving the site.  A classic link appears as underlined text. Text in a different colour and underlined text can also signify links. This means I should not underline words that aren’t links, and avoid using different coloured texts for non-links. I will be using hyperlinks on my page and am considering using the colour blue and the underlining tool to make the hyperlinks clear to my audience. I will avoid using this style with any other text to prevent confusion.

Buttons are also a great feature on websites due to their 3D appearance and colour. This makes it evident to users that they are clickable, and therefore ensures that the website is easily navigated. A button that doesn’t cause anything to happen will be confusing to users. I will consider using buttons, especially next to the search bar, for example, 'Go' or 'Search.'

Icons are particularly useful because they provide a clear explanation without words. An envelope icon signifies email and social media icons signify social sharing. But icons only work if they are common enough that no explanation is necessary. Therefore, to use social media icons, I must ensure that the sites are popular with my target audience in order for them to be identifiable. As my audience is a considerably wide age range, there is a probability that some of my audience will use social media, therefore I will be using popular social media icons to link to my magazine's social media accounts.

The use of a search bar is frequent within magazine due to the ease it provides to the audience. The ability to directly search for a particular article/subject allows the audience to quickly find exactly what they are looking for and saves them time and effort. This creates a more enjoyable and relaxed visit to the website and also prevents them from leaving the website if they were required to search the entire site themselves.

The option to subscribe to the magazine is a feature often used by magazines, in order to maintain their readership, and ensure that the magazine keeps money coming into the company so that it can continue to produce further issues. This also provides great deals and often gifts for their readers and saves them having to repeatedly buy each issue due to their subscription allowing them delivery. I will be using the subscription option within my website, in order to maintain magazine readership.

The labelled example provides the use of a free gift with the subscription. This gift is tailored towards the targeted audience of the magazine, therefore guaranteeing that the audience will desire the gift, and often buy the subscription solely for the gift. It is also considerably frequent that the free gift will be worth a price higher than the subscription, causing the audience to see this as great value for money and encouraging them to buy the subscription, maintaining readership and flow of money into the magazine. If I were to use a free gift within my magazine/website, it would most likely be something that relates to my magazine, or it's particular issue. For example, I could provide a voucher for a discount at a make-up store featured within the issue, or even a free make-up gift, inspired by the current issue.

In relation to a magazine website, the feature of the current issue main article is frequently found on the home page. This provides insight to the main issue and often allows the audience to read a snippet of the article to a point where they must buy the issue to read on. This causes the audience to read and then buy the issue in order to read the article. I will consider doing this with my magazine, selecting alternate images to my magazine product. I will definitely be featuring this on my website in order to encourage users to purchase and read the magazine.