Website Analysis

Analysis - 'More Magazine' - part a

For this task i am going to analyse the website for 'More' magazine. It is one of the most well-known and popular magazines for young women and covers a range of topics relevant to women's lifestyles which is also reflected through the website.

http://www.moremagazine.co.uk/message_chat/

Structure: In my opinion the website is structured very well as it encourages interaction and is full of interesting hyperlinks to keep the website exciting for the user. The opening page of the site is full of bright colours and numerous different sections to keep the user busy. The colour scheme is mostly pinks and whites which is stereotypically 'girlie' colours which keeps to the demographic of the magazine. As well as all the different sections on the open page there are numerous adverts directed to the user. These adverts are mainly make-up related and its main brand seems to be 'Rimmel'. The adverts are also hyperlinks so when the user clicks on them it directs them to a 'Rimmel' website where they can buy the make-up that is being advertised and even get a free sample if they follow the directions on the site: http://www.rimmellondon.com/UK/promotions.aspx?id=235

Down the left hand side of the home page there is a list of the different sections you can visit on the site, such as 'Celebrity', 'Fashion & Beauty', and even a 'Single Men' section which suggests that the target audience for this site prioritise the need for finding a man as well as looking and feeling good. This list of sections are hyperlinks that the user can just click on and be sent to the certain topic they are interested in. This increases the interactivity of the site and allows the user to become 'producers' and create their own experience of the website. There is also a Search bar at the top of the page so that the user can just type a key word in and be sent straight to that topic in the site instead of trying to look for it.

There are different boxes spread around the home page which create more functions of the site and to keep the user entertained for longer which decreases the chance for them to just 'surf' and not stay on the site. There is a 'Hot Topic' section with the week's most interesting stories which tells the user that the site is up-to-date with the newest topics and makes the site seem innovative.

There are two big boxes in the center of the page with a 'Message Board' hyperlink and a 'Chat room' hyperlink. The Message Board has lots of different subjects from 'Music and TV' to problem-page style topics called 'Get it off your chest'. http://www.moremagazine.co.uk/message_chat/messageboards.asp
There seem to be lots of comments on nearly every topic which suggests that this site, and especially the Message Board section, is very successful and popular with users. It is easily laid out and simple to use which will encourage people to post a comment. However, to go onto the Chat Room section you have to become a member of the site and register before you can become involved with the chat, so this could put off some users as it is time-consuming so they may just stick to using the Message Boards which you can use without becoming a member.

An extra hyperlink of the site which i thought was very innovative is the user can click on a link that shows them a webcam of the More Magazine office. I found this very interesting and haven't come across this sort of function on any other site. It makes the user feel more involved as they can actually see the staff working on the magazine and the website. Has anyone else come across this sort of thing on a website before?