Vogue Website Analysis

In terms of the website, Vogue is has a clean and simple design that follows the same style as their magazines. The masthead from the magazine is the first thing the audience will see when the web page has loaded; again, this is the same style that is on the magazine so that the audience will recognise it immediately. The simplicity of the website makes it easy to navigate for all audiences so therefore doesn't limit it to a specific intelligence of audience. Featuring mainly links and imagery on the home page, the audience isn't overloaded with information and is less likely to get confused.

Other than the masthead and stories that also feature in the magazine, the design and layout of the website is quite different to the look of the magazine. Although this isn't really important because the audience can still see that the website belongs to Vogue, the website has to stay up to date with the styles and technologies that come into trend especially because it's a fashion company. It has navigation buttons on the left side which will take the viewer to different webpages that have articles and fashion advice similar to the ones that feature in the the magazine. Vogue also feature celebrity stories such as the one above about Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games. More important stories like this one are presented as an image with some text that animates the first time the mouse hovers over the image to add more visual and interactive interest.

The layout and colours on Vogue's website are both very simple and minimalistic so that all of the attention is on the images. It has sections like the 'latest news' on the home page that includes a lot of images, so the colour pallet has been kept to black, white and grey to keep it simple and professional. The background and text colours are used to separate different sections of information.



The navigation bar on the left shows the different sections and features of stories that are relevant to the latest issue and to do with the season. Each heading is a separate link that takes the viewer to different webpages. In terms of my own website, my navigation bar won't include as many links as Vogue's because my magazine isn't as popular and therefore won't have as much content. Also, because my website won't be updated, the content won't build enough to have a 'news feed' style home page like Vogue's.

It has become popular for websites to include moving image and audio content, which is something Vogue hasn't done a lot of on their website. Other than their interactive rollover images, there isn't much audience activity or interaction. If other websites with similar target audiences start to use more interactive features, it will age Vogue's website and it won't look up to date. When I create my own website, I will have to make sure it has interactive features so that it doesn't look old fashioned compared to similar websites.

In terms of stories, Vogue has included topics that it's target audience will be interested in, such as celebrity weddings and comparisons of the styles and fashion. I won't be able to include stories about celebrities because my magazine is regional, so I will need to make it more local.

As my website will be about my fashion magazine, I will need to include the same standard photography and similar styling as Vogue. I particularly like this photograph that they have used on their website for their Victoria's Secret advert. The style of this photograph is very natural because of the colours and styling of the model. The back drop that is used is very contrasting to the elegant model and clothing because of it's grey colour and grunge/cloudy texture. This is something I would like to consider in my own photography so that my images stand out. Because my magazine is also regional, I could use local settings and old buildings in the backgrounds of my photographs to help create a contrasting style with my model. I also like the use of text at the bottom of the image and the way the fonts compliment each other.

In terms of audience activity, Vogue's has a section on their website to show their likes and followers on social media websites. Because my magazine isn't known to the public, this feature isn't necessary for my website.

One thing that has become very important for up to date websites is the ability to view them on a range of devices. To do this, they have three different views; desktop, tablet and mobile. They all still need to be designed around the style of the website so that they are all recognisable as the same company. By having this responsive feature, it makes it easier for the audience to view the website when ever they please and stay up to date on the go on their mobile or tablet.

On the left is a screen shot from my Samsung mobile to show the mobile view of Vogue's website. By comparing this to the desktop view at the top, it's easy to tell that it is a different arrangement of the same content from the same company. This is something that I will have to consider for my own website so that I can make sure it won't look old fashion and would be able to compete against popular magazine websites such as Vogues.

As a conclusion, I think Vogue's website is a good design model to follow for my own website, although some features won't be necessary for mine because it won't have as much content or be as popular. I won't be able to use a 'news feed' style layout because I won't be posting new articles regularly, so I will have to find a layout that will suit my magazine better. However, I have got a lot of inspiration from Vogue's website through their styles of photography, fonts and colour which will help me to create a professional and successful website for my magazine.