Research conclusion from looking at other websites

All the websites that we looked at have set up the pages in the centre using blank spaces on either side. The echo and the daily mail left this space white which makes the articles and borders seem to just stop in the middle of the page.

However, the Wigantoday used a gradient tool to make the background and the articles separate from each over. Furthermore, the sun uses a block colour and a shadow around the articles to make it seem off the page and not just a flat screen. We think this looks better and makes the website more professional then the others.

The Sun also uses adverts to the minimalist so it doesn’t distract the reader from the articles, making the website easy to read. When designing the website for the newspaper we will use The Sun as a guide to make ours look like an expert page and specialized.

Website Research: The Sun

Overall this website looks more professional with a clean layout compared to the others, it also uses colours associated with the town it is based in. It displays the main stories well and uses adverts in a way that doesn’t distract you from the articles. We really liked the use of a shadow and a different colour background The Sun uses. It separates the main page from the background really well making it stand out. Also it makes the website seem more in depth and not just flat and boring.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/

Website Research: The Echo

The layout of the echo website looks very similar to the website of Wigan to today. Adverts on the right and above the articles. However the echo has a main story thats shows a bigger picture with a bit of text to the left, whereas Wigan today didn’t have an obvious one. The Echo looks very basic and it is the simplest out of the four other websites. Its background colour is the same throughout the page making it look flat and boring. Furthermore, it looks unorganized and clustered, as if not much thought went into designing it.

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/

Website Research: The Mail on Sunday

The mail on Sunday has no adverts on its main page at the top whereas the three other web pages do. It concentrates more on the stories and there are no flashing pictures to distract you from the articles. There are adverts further down the page but very limited ones. The Mail on Sunday is a bit more complicated then Wigantoday. It uses three columns, the on the left and middle used for main story headlines and the right column for smaller stories, specifically for females. However, with this layout it looks messy and unorganized as there are articles all over the place which makes it confusing for the reader where to look first.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/mailonsunday/index.html

Website Research: Wigan Today

When you first look at the website for Wigan today there is no obvious main article. The news stories that are posted are just in a single column, listed downwards. They also use a lot of big adverts that take up half the page which can be very distracting if you just want to read the news. The adverts are displayed on the right hand side of the page and along the top. This leaves the articles a small space, compared to the adverts, to be read. Wigan today use a gradient effect for the background which separates the page from the background and makes the information on the website stand out more compared to the daily mail and echo news.

http://www.wigantoday.net/