How to Design an Online Newspaper
Readers come to a newspaper website for one thing: to find news content they want to read. Bear this purpose in mind as you create your news website, whether creating an online news source from scratch or converting an existing print publication to digital format. To rival online successes such as the New York Times, The Guardian and MSNBC, create an online newspaper that helps readers get the information they need with speed, efficiency and style.
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Instructions
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Set the text and background colors for your website. Black or another dark color, such as navy blue, on a white background is the most common and practical design for an online newspaper.
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Set fonts for the website, focusing firmly on legibility. Fonts chosen for style over readability often suffer from being hard to read when converted in users' browsers. Arial and Georgia are two common, simple typefaces that read well online.
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Design a banner as the header for your website, comparable to the masthead in a print newspaper. This brands the website, giving it a unique identity that users recognize and respect immediately. It is especially important if the website is a carry-over or online version of a print newspaper that readers already know.
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Add a navigation bar underneath the main header or a navigation menu in the sidebar. Just as with a print newspaper, readers want to know immediately where to turn to find their favorite sections. Examples include "Headlines," "Features," "Letters," "Classifieds" and "Sports."
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Use a grid, column or tab system to organize content on the main page. The style and format should give readers visual clues of the importance of each item and where to read first. Leading stories should appear in a prominent place with larger headings, for example, or in the default tab, with options to click tabs to access less-important stories and articles.
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Integrate advertising wisely, with readers in mind. Most online newspaper websites have little advertising on the home page, just as the front cover of a print publication rarely carries ads. They distract readers and detract from the main focus of the website -- news content. Ads on other pages should be unobtrusive, subtle and in keeping with the style of the newspaper.
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Create an RSS feed so users can subscribe to your site and read the latest articles through a news or blog reader. If you use blogging or newspaper-design software, RSS feeds are automatic. Otherwise, see Resources for websites that can help you create an RSS feed.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit NEWSPAPER image by huimin from Fotolia.com
