3. When looking at home pages for the research of making my own product I looked at the daily mail website.
Colour
I really like that they have used the same colour palette for the website as they have done for the newspaper as this allows readers to relate the
newspaper with the website and vice versa.
I like that they have used the blue in most of the website as this is the main colour but if I were ton create a product I would have used the blue
to attract readers to specific places of the website rather than use the blue for all the elements of the website.
Composition
The composition of this website of the website is very cluttered and in your face as there no empty space as even the space beside the website
which is where a advertisement has been placed they have placed a bright orange advertisement.
I suppose they have thought about their audience as they have used full use of the space of the website but they have made a cut off point
because so the page is a4 portrait because when you create an mage over the a4 so that it is the width of the page the information on the page
doesn’t get registered and so the reader becomes disinterested.
Layout
I like that they have placed the main stories at the top of website and they have also used a big image beside to attract people into the main
story. I don’t particularly like that they have put the search engine part way down the page as when you want to search for something you want
to find it straight away however they have probably done this so that you read at least the main story.
I really like that they have placed the masthead at the top of the page and especially at the left as hen looking at pages you always read from the
left to the left and so by placing it at the top left it lets readers know straight away what and who they are reading.
4. Image/Video content
The mail online have used a lot of imagery to appeal to the audience and they have even used images for the videos to show
parts of the video. They have also used a variety of different shot types for the different stories. For example the main story
they have used a medium close-up and medium shots to make the story feel more personal as you get to see the person closeup as if you were talking to the person yourself.
Content
I don’t particularly like that they have used a ‘femail’ section for the female readers to look at as it is too patriarchy as news
should be for all not focused towards one particular gender.
They have used a very emotional story of a young woman and how an illness has ruined and her life and how her family
thought it was a ‘just post-natal depression’.
This newspaper website has a variety of stories to appeal to the reader from celebrity news to nature and I think that this is
the best thing to do story wise as you will be appealing to a wider audience by putting stories of a wide variety and with it
being on the website you will have a wider audience than just your local community.
I would like to use images however I would like to use a more simple and clean lined layout as when I looked at this website
I felt that the top of the page was very cluttered and there was only real order with the stories along the right hand side and
when creating my product I would like to create something like this as I like the order of the image to the far right and a small
extract from the story.
6. Main image
The main images are situated in a different place to the images that were on the home page for this website which doesn’t give continuity throughout the
website however they have used images in the same place but they are advertisement images and when looking at the comparison between the homepage
and the news page you can see that there are a lot more advertisement on the page and I think that they have done this to give the impression that there
would be minimal advertisement in the website because if you have too much advertisement on the home page it will put the readers and the audience of
the newspaper off because they want to focus on the content as this is what they have went onto your product for.
Content Text, style, font and size
They have used a conventional font as newspapers tend to use font without any curls or tails as when a reader reads this it would take them longer to process
the writing and so they only use curls or tails for the mastheads as they are only short. When looking through the stories I have noticed they are bold in what
they say as they say things matter of fact and make you believe every statement they say as they report it rather than comment on what they think for the
exert of the story.
Colour
The blue is used for most of the text however it seems to be more organized in this page as they use the blue for the main text and then if you choose to read
more into that particular story they have used black to give different colour for different elements of the page.
Layout
Even though they have used a lot of images to appeal to the audience I feel that they use a lot of writing and in my opinion I think it looks to be more text
orientated because of the layout and this is even more apparent just under the main headlines (shown in the middle image below), I think they have used a
lot of text underneath the main headlines as they need to use as much content in the pages as they need to appeal to as many readers as possible so using a
lot of content will be the best way to guarantee that the audience is satisfaction. Even though they have used more advertisement on this page I think the
layout of the page has been well designed as the black background of the page helps to frame the page of the website and the same advertisement follows
you as you scroll down the page.
8. Colour
I really like that they have chosen to use a bright bold colour for this particular hyperlink as showbiz and television have a more happier outlook
on the world. They have also used the colour pink as their audience for this particular hyperlink is going to be stereotypically geared towards the
female audience because of the amount of fashion, celebrity and gossip that would interest female audiences. They have also used a lot of pink
to appeal to the female audience but they also needed to keep in with the colour palette so that reader’s would recognize their website with
newspaper as they have use the white background, some black text and some blue text about mid way down the page shown in the images
below. I feel that they have used the blue for several reasons, one to keep in with the colour palette of the magazine, also to appeal with the
male audiences and too much of one colour can make everything blend in together.
Images
The main images that go with the main story for the website match the colour they have chosen for this page and after looking days after I had
taken the images of the website I have found that this is just a coincidence as the clothing Rochelle Humes matched perfectly the colour of the
website colour of choice. I really like the images that they have gone for one of the main stories for this website as some websites can make fun
of celebrities and can purposely/accidently take mug shots of celebrates however this image shows both a long angle shot and a mid angle shot
of what the celebrity is wearing and so the article content is probably geared more towards the fashion rather than how late was she out last
night. For the rest of the other images they have used on the page they have used medium shots and the purpose I think for them using this is
because you get to see more of the person and it feels more personal, as if you were having a conversation with the celebrity rather than just
looking at them from a distance. For the sizes of the images they vary as you can see from the first screen shot of the web page you can see
there are two images of Rochelle, bigger than the other images beside her, the other images beside show other main stories and the Mail Online
has decided to put these smaller as they are going to change in a minute to the size of the Rochelle’s images and the purpose of this is because
if the fist image/story does not appeal to the reader they still want them to carry on reading the web page and so change the main image so that
they have a bigger chance of appealing to the target audience.
9. Layout/Move
The layout for this web page is conventional to all web pages in that there is the masthead head at the top, advertisement either
below or beside and then stories and images below. I don’t particularly like this layout that includes the advertisement at the top of
the web page as it gives a false representation of what my web page is going to be – full of advertisement. I like that they have used a
strip banner at the top of the page as this is going to be the main focus and the first thing reader’s will see when they click onto the
this page and so like that they have put thought into what to include on the banner as they have got the masthead in the left hand
corner, in the middle they have a selection of celebrities that they have probably researched that would interest and appeal to their
target audience and at the end they have TV & Showbiz in the right hand corner with fuchsia pink background and white text along
with flashes to give the impression it is camera flash's to make it look more showbiz than just mundane. I like that they have used a
bar along the top to show the different hyperlinks you could click onto for the website, they have also included more hyperlinks you
could click onto once you have clicked onto the main hyperlinks along the top. The purpose of this layout is so that it can give
reader’s more choice than just what is on that one page. I like that they have used a search engine and links to Facebook and Twitter
at the top of the page as this will entice reader’s to look for their articles because sometimes people will get disinterested quite
quickly if they cannot find the article they are looking for.
11. Colour
The colour for this page is a lot more neutral for the website as the previous website (mail online) was fuchsia pink whereas the mirror has used
red and blue which is a more neutral colour which will appeal to both male and female audiences equally. I don’t particularly like that the colour
for the advertisement look like the colour palette for the website because it is used so much and the actual colour palette for the website is
close to none existent except for the text they have used. If I were to chose between the previous website and this website I would have to
chose the previous as the colours are used to appeal to the audience.
I like that they have used red for the masthead of the website which follows the same style they have used for the newspaper. I like that they
have used a conventional format for the masthead as this allows you to relate between the newspaper and the website.
Layout
The layout for this website is quite disorganised as there seem to be stories just dotted all over the place and there doesn’t seem to have any
clear order. I like that they have a strip of stories to the left hand side of the page and then they have got the main story at the top of the page, I
also like that they have used a strip of stories for the main stories as this will appeal to more people.
They have used a lot more advertisement on the front page than other websites do and I don’t think that this is a good decision as this will give
the impression that all their products are going to be this way – full of advertisement.
Images
The images they have used are a lot more personal as they have used close ups and medium close ups for most of the images on the website
and the purpose for this is to make the reader feel more personal and more involved in what the stories are about.
Text
The text that they have used for this website has no tails or curls which makes the text a lot easier to read. The content of the text gives you
information of the news and on the odd occasion it will put words in your mouth/ make you think in a certain way for example ‘21 reasons why
we love Kate Upton in GIF form’.
13. Content
The content for this website is much better as there are far few advertisement and the subtle statement colour palette colours can be seen more easily than
on the home page. I wonder why they have went for such imposing layout for the advertisement on the advertisement as the only people who would be
happy with the amount of advertisement on the previous page would be the company the advertisement belongs to. The content for this website is a lot
more serious and sad than I would like to use for my product as they have stories that relate to tragedy, dramatic near misses, death and killers all through
the website where as I would like to create a product where local people can feel better about themselves and their community.
With all the website I have looked at so far all of them have this section of different hyperlinks at the bottom of the page so that if the reader has read from
the top all the way to the bottom the website can still offer more stories for them to read in different sections of the website.
Images
The images they have used are different from one to the next as the main image looks to be from a holiday photo album as the woman seems to look very
happy, the location is on a beach and the sun is out and then you read onto the story that relates to the image and it describes of how the woman has been
missing for 17 years and they have found ‘new clues’. Other images include more close ups of politicians, tax avoiding citizens and a young boy before he had
his asthma attack.
Audience Appeal
I think that they have appealed to their audience by using shock tactics as in all the stories I have described above they all use dramatic scenes to entice
people into reading about the story from debate to death.
I think that they have appealed to their audience by using colours using strong colours but only using them liberally on the page as they have only used them
on small amounts of the page where as other websites would use bold colours and have it all over the page for example – mail online.
Text
They have used the same font style throughout the website which is conventional when creating any product that you use the same font throughout. I like
that they have used a different colour of font for the main extract of the story and then underneath they have a more detailed account of the story in a
different colour.
15. Content
This content is similar to the previous page and I like that they have tried to use the same colour palette for both hyperlinked pages from the
main home page as it is conventional to what people use when creating a product. I like that they have also used minimal amount of
advertisement on this page as well as the other hyperlink page as I think if you put too much advertisement on the website it will send out the
wrong message – that all of your product will be full of advertisement and reader's will focus more on the advertisement rather than the actual
content of the product. I also like that the dark advertisement is around the edges of the web page as positioning it here will help to frame the
product inside, but looking through the website I have noticed that haven’t followed this trend all the way through which lacks consistency for a
product as there is a Snickers advertisement in the middle of the page in between stories, however looking at the way it has been placed I think
they have actually thought about this as using advertisement helps to section off the stories which makes the reader not get disinterested with
the amount of text. They have also got a Sky advertisement at the bottom which help mark out to the reader that it is the end of the stories.
Images
The images they have gone for tend to appeal more towards a younger audience because of the amount of young people they have used apart
from the few exceptions from Coronation Street and a film critic but the context of the two stories will most likely appeal to the audience. As you
can see the main image they have used for the web page is a clip from Geordie Shore which is a programme for younger audiences 17-35 year
olds.
Font
The type of font they have used is the same they have sued for both the home page and the previous hyperlinked page which makes me realise
that using the correct convention for a website is important when creating a successful product.
17. Content/Layout
I really like the layout for this website in particular the banner for this website as the banner follows on from the page and then extends out
further to the end of the window. I don’t think that the whole layout works the best however I do like certain aspects of the website as I like that
the masthead stands out more than the advertisement above it. I also like that they have used a changing main story as this will appeal to more
reader’s as the stories change every few seconds and so if the first story you look at on the page doesn’t interest you the next story might. I also
like that they have a main story underneath that and several other stories underneath that with images beside it but I don’t like the layout for
the page as nothing seems to align up right and if I were to create a product I would like everything to align so that the reader could understand
the layout.
Text
The text that the Sunderland Echo have gone for matches the style of font they have used for the masthead and I think this helps to give
continuity throughout.
Colour
I really like the colours they have used as the white background and the black text makes the text easy to read and they have also used red to
highlight different parts of the page and I would like to use a bold colour to highlight parts of my product as I think this will be conventional for a
newspaper website. I like that they have used black strips on either side of the masthead as this makes the masthead stand out and by using the
black as a border strip they have also used the white text for the different hyperlinks and just within the masthead you can see what the colour
palette for the website is.
19. Content/Layout
The first hyperlink from the main page looks very similar as the home page for this website the main information the website wants to give you
is about the news and essentially the main headlines. I like that they have gone for similar layout from the first page as it keeps the reader
interested and it doesn’t confuse the reader as they will be familiar to the layout from the first page and s by completely changing the layout will
not only confuse the reader but could even loose their interest. I like that they have used ‘Picks of the day’ as these are specially designed stories
that will get reader’s interested. I also like the bottom of the website as there is a little black box full of little links that would interest readers and
I also like the layout of this box as it is positioned at the bottom of the web page because if it was positions at the top some readers might just
click to the part of the site they want to read but by putting it at the bottom this lets reader’s scroll down to the bottom which could intern
interest reader’s to a story they might not have came across. I like that they little random thing along the side of the page that would interest the
reader for example job searches and this breaks the page up as well as a giving other companies advertisement.
Colour
I like that the website has chosen to colour co-ordinate the different sections of the news for example they have used green for property and
blue for announcements. I like that they have used a bold colour to highlight different elements of the text/articles and I also like that they have
chosen to use different colour tones of red because by doing this it stops the page from just blending together and by doing this you are still
using the 3 colours from the colour palette but you are getting more out of it.
Image
I have also noticed that the images that they have used for this news page they are a lot smaller than they were for the home page and the
reason why I think that they have done this is so that they can fit more stories and articles and also the home page sets a standard for the
website and the home page is the greeting page, the first page people come to, and so they don’t need to use as many images and have them as
big as they have already seen some of the articles that are available.
21. Content and Layout
There is a lot more going on in this page than on the news and home page and I think the reason for using a big advertisement is because this is
the last page that the Sunderland Echo has full control over as the other pages either takes you to another site or it advertises things like cars on
the whole page and so to make money on loosing parts of the website they need to use a big advertisement on at least one of their pages. I like
that they have used the same layout from the home page all the way through until this page as I said earlier it makes things easier for the
audience to read if they already know where to find certain things as they are in the same place as the home page. The style and layout is
practically the same as the news hyperlink on the previous page and it is only the content that separates the two. As the content for the news
page was similar to main home page as the main home page needed to tell reader’s about the news and so took articles from there onto the
home page.
Images
The ‘What’s on’ page looks like it would appeal more to the older audiences, at the top of the page, as it has older people in the image and after
reading the articles that go along side the images I can say for certain that this page is going to appeal more to the older audiences as it talks
about old-fashioned board games etc. but when looking at the articles below the main articles it would appeal to the younger audiences as it
talks about ‘meet the chart toppers of the future’ and I am not sure the older generation of reader’s would want to read about things like this. I
then move even further down the page and it talks about the theatre and then I come to the conclusion that the audience age range for this
page is going to be an eclectic mix with a mixture of both young and old from the content I have seen along side the images. The images they
have used match with the rest of the website as they have gone for close ups and medium shots of people and the purpose of this is to give a
more personal image so that the reader feels a closer connection with the person in the story.
