Friday, 7 May 2010

Website Research

For my ancillary task I have been asked to create a website with two hyper-link pages for my newspaper. Before i created my own I thought it would be helpful if I researched other local newspaper websites and student websites to gain a better understanding of what I need to produce.

The sun

This website is very bold and full of different stories and links on the homepage. The logo is large and the first thing you see when viewing the site. Stories that appeal to a targeted audience, mainly the working class, are highly advertised such as the general election. The white background and red and white colour scheme throughout the page is the same as the colour scheme found within the newspaper. Overall, the page is easy to use and clear as to what stories you can find within the newspaper. However, when considering my website I feel that this type of layout would not particularly appeal to my targeted audience, it would need to be more colourful and bright. Nevertheless, I would like to incorporate the easiness the site and wide range of stories within mine as it is a good way to attract a lot of readers.



Varisty - The Independent Cambridge student newspaper


This website and newspaper it is advertising are specifically aimed at students in the local area of Cambridge, in particular students attending Cambridge University. Due to this it has a high focus on the university concerns such as 'Oxford clinch Varsity match penalty shoot-out'. However, the website seems dull in my opinion with a simple white background and the use of simple fonts. This may appeal to Cambridge students but 'The Epic' is aimed at students in the local area of Southend with an emphasis on South Essex College and as this is a media and arts college I feel that it is important to use brighter and bolder colours as it will probably appeal more to this audience as well as younger teenagers.