PEOPLE vs INSTYLE

People.com VS Instyle.com

·       Sponsor- Both People Magazine and InStyle domain’s keep true to their company name. They do not add any other words to their original company’s name, which are both very well known. For example People’s website is “People.com” and InStyle magazine is “instyle.com”. This is effective because it makes the website easily searchable and easy to remember.

·       Verifiable Information- Both sites provide documentation about the source of their information. In both websites links to articles are provided that directly bring you to the article. At the bottom or top of each, the author of the article is listed and so is their position in the website. I found that People did  a better job listing the author’s credentials. I found it harder to locate the author or editor’s name and credentials on InStyle’s website. InStyle would head an article with something like, “Find out what shoes our editors think will be trendy this Spring!”, instead of actually listing their names.  Both websites listed the date and even time in which the article was published.

·       Authoritative information- I think both websites made it clear whether or not the information reflects the official organizational information or the opinion of one person. For example going back to when InStyle published an article, “find out what shoes OUR editors think will  be trendy this Spring!”, this clearly lets the reader know they are providing what they think. Another example, on People’s website, they published an article on a specific nutritionist’s opinion on how to get in shape before the spring.  They made it clear that it was not how People thinks you should get in shape, rather this nutritionist.

·       Up-to-date information- Both People and Instyle strive off of their up-to-date and current news for their readers. Both websites did an outstanding job with up to date information. Both websites were kept current. Each article I read was published that exact day, and listed the date. People even had a section that flashed saying “BREAKING NEWS!”. I was impressed with both sites on their up-to-date information.

·       Comprehensive information-Both websites aim for their target audience. They both provide a range of information about topics that are relevant to their potential users. People is more of a human-interest and celebrity news. They provide links at the top of their page to make it easier for their users to navigate throughout the site, depending on what they are searching for. For example, at the top of People’s website they provide links for; Home, News, Style, Red Carpet, Royals, TV Watch, Babies, Pets, Your turn, Celebs, Video, Magazine. InStyle does the same. It provides links for their readers to navigate through their website based on what they are looking for; Celebrity, Fashion, Shopping, Hair, Makeup, Hollywood makeover, Subscribe. As you can see both websites have different target audiences. Users visit People magazine for different reasons then they would visit InStyle. Both websites are aware of their audiences, so adjust their links accordingly.

·       Audio-Visual elements- Both websites STRIVE and RELY on their pictures and video clips. I was actually shocked on how much both websites used audio and visual elements.  Although I usually believe audio-visual elements to be extremely effective in websites, I found them to be quite confusing and distracting in People’s website. I thought it was too clustered and crowded with pictures and videos. In fact, on their homepage I counted 57 pictures.

·       Quick loading features- based on school computers, both websites had very quick loading features. Nothing had a problem loading. All images, videos, links, and downloads appeared quickly.

·       User Friendly- Both were a little much, especially People. Although they were clustered with a lot of information, I found it easy to navigate throughout their site. Instyle was slightly easier to navigate through, especially on their homepage. I think if People took a few things off their homepage it would be more welcoming, and in turn help the user navigate through the site.

·       Accessibility- I found the websites to be accessible. But, I did not see any translations for other languages or links for those who are hearing impaired or handicapped. In the text it states that some websites conform to guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but I do not believe either of these websites are.

·       Cultural consideration- I did not think this was relevant to either website. It does not deal with any cultural issues.

In conclusion, I preferred Instyle’s magazine to People. Both served certain purposes. I believe both websites have more of a dominant purpose to provide information rather than advocacy. But, both do have some promotional aspects to it. I found that in many cases both websites talked about “trendiness” or “what’s popular”, although this is information, it also promotes certain products or clothing items and where to buy them. Instyle is more promotional in that case than People. People provides human interest stories and news, while Instyle leans more towards fashion, products, and clothes. As a visitor to the site I found both websites to be very effective. Being an active reader of both magazines, the websites basically parallel the magazines and do a good job portraying it-even adding more information than the magazines. After going through the websites I found myself enjoying the website more than the magazines. I thought both websites are prime examples of how to effectively navigate your visitor through your website, and textbook examples of having your website aim at a specific audience.