Get Gold with magazines

My usual ramblings this month are joined by what I hope is of some interest to some of you, an outline of how we arrived at the new homepage we launched recently.

Get Gold with magazines

And coupled with our all new home page came a fresh footer which gives you direct access to sections on the site and a tweaked magazine front page too.

Why do we have 2 homepages of sorts? Well the actual homepage is all about showing you the breadth of what the site has to offer, support for doing Arts Award and access to key content items within our magazine. So then our magazine front page shows you more with the editors top picks, the latest blogs, reviews and events, and also a set of our series collections. So it's a bit like the front of a magazine you pick up in a shop - headline items and a taste for the regular content sections.

So, what if you wanted to go about making your own magazine site? Here are a few key points to remember:

1. Know what you want

Having a clear aim for who you're targeting and what type of content you'll produce is essential in planning your requirements for how to present your magazine online.

2. Know who can deliver

This could be you! There plenty of free site offers out there. You can try places like wix.com or even tumblr.com but I'd recommend WordPress.com for the DIY route. You could also take a loom on Google for local companies who can help, or try looking in the footer area of some of your favourite sites as it may have a 'site by' link. Our own site was originally made by Maltpress.com And is now supported and further developed by the team at cloudartisans.co.ukwho are also Arts Award Supporters.

3. Be clear about what can be delivered

So you know what you want and who you want to do it. Now you might need to find a compromise. Were you too ambitious for your budget or capabilities of your chosen platform? Or are there more features available to you for an even richer site! Try not to let the technology limit you but work to find a good solution that meets your and the users needs.

Realistically the process is much the same as any project set-up. This is where Gold awards come in really handy, learning to plan, do, review a project can be transferred to the delivery of any type of project you need to undertake - whether that's a show, a group work task at college or even your own life decisions like buying a house! Project management is a collection of key life skills and understanding aims, time, money and people management will help you get far.

Have you tried making your own magazine or other pub!location on or offline? We'd love to hear about your thoughts and feel free to tell us what suggestions you have for anyone embarking on a similar project.

Author

Emrys Green

Emrys Green Voice Team

Emrys is the Business & Projects manager at Upstart who runs Voice.

Alongside managing Voice and its related programmes of work Emrys manages web builds and live events through his own pursuits - with a wide encapsulation of the arts sector. Theatre, Dance, Circus, Spoken Word and a combination of contemporary and shakespearean work would all be in his wheelhouse.

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