The GHM publisher magazine web design was created based on a UX and magazine revenue strategy with the capabilities of the Drupal 7 CMS as the publishing software system. In addition to the key magazine content optimization which we feature in each magazine website design for topical taxonomy leverage and readership usability, we also focused on the impressing image and photography from this publishing design project.

Magazine Web Design Strategy

Website design strategy focused on the publisher interest of featuring both audience photos as well as key magazine niche artist works. A dual website design and social optimization process was created for these two separate content types. In additional to publisher article content web design, these design galleries also play a significant part in terms of the advertising revenue capabilities of the site beyond traditional display advertising and magazine publisher resource directory revenue.

Drupal Magazine Theme and CMS Software

The magazine CMS utilized was Drupal 7 and the Drupal magazine theme design (see magazine publisher CMS software comparison) has been customized to allow for several main website navigation channel views to provide a unique experience to magazine subscribers and digital audience. Drupal Magazine CMS is a leading open source software platform utilized today for magazine publisher web CMS solutions because of this ability to create custom content types and design a specific interface workflow for the publishing group and staff to easily add unlimited website pages and content with this publishing software system.

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View Live Site: Consumer Magazine Website

The Adobe Digital Publishing team has also teamed up with the The Association of Magazine Media MPA (formerly the Magazine Publishers of America) for an event.

In this Adobe Meets MPA session, learn about new functionality in tablet apps that allows you to merchandise content to your customers. Through a custom, in-app storefront, you have flexibility and control over how content, products, and services are displayed for purchase, and can design the shopping experience to reflect your meticulously crafted brand. More

Adobe®’s Digital Publishing Suite Software

The digital tablet magazine publishing software makes it possible for publishers to choose an edition that fits their needs for a cross media and app software solution. The professional software edition (starts at $495/mo.) steps a user up from a single Apple app store application to sell Apple and Kindle Fire Digital App Newsstand single and subscription issues.

Sell multi-.folio applications through the Apple App Store and Amazon Kindle Fire Newsstand payment system — single-issue or subscription purchase

Digital Publishing Suite Buying Guide – Detail

Apple Digital Magazine Newsstand
The digital magazine newsstand from Apple(TM) in iOS 5 provides the proper app based usability to iPod, iPhone, and iPad mobile and tablet devices. The newsstand app brings publication subscription functions to a managed newspaper and magazine applications shelf allowing for convenient access & visibility to the most recent publication issues.

Open Digital Publication Newsstands
Digital magazine distribution will grow quickly during the next 4 years and by 2015 all modern magazines will need to have a position in the digital magazine newsstands applicable for the major mobile and tablet reader devices. We expect to see continued value from cross platform magazine app development tools and magazine design solutions. And just as digital magazine software providers begin to promote digital newsstand issue updates as value added services, we will see traditional magazine fulfillment vendors recognize this digital newsstand as a market space where they are well suited to augment their print services.

Digital newsstands will provide opportunities for accelerated fulfillment and new value to readers and advertisers.   Publishers can track magazine ad performance and readership interaction with the latest news, content, or community at the magazine publication website.

And now, even traditional magazine newsstand locations have begun to focus on promoting their tablet magazine edition newsstands.

We hope to see open digital magazine newsstands flourish where shelf space is not limited to the largest magazine titles.

Our magazine website redesign for existing publications is focused on leveraging print magazine strength for multiple digital brand extension elements.  The magazine web redesign should occur annually at a minimum as the publisher’s technical audience and advertisers will notice older design standards and usability.  With both the publisher core business strategy and a “redesign for revenue” philosophy we seek to create a website design that can be properly maintained for readership value and one that offers advertisers multiple options to interest and engage the right audience for their products and services.
 

View Live Site: Holistic Health Magazine

Group publishers with both industry and consumer audience segments that span multi-publication brands and channels require both a web design and user experience that can differentiate the title in a group as well as elevate the magazine’s website above other online destinations within the brand niche.  As the number of group publisher brand extensions grow, so too does the need for simple and clear usability for new and return audience personas to the website portal.

Website information architecture for city, state, and regional guide magazine web designs seeks to provide utility to the target audience for which the publication to focused as well as the vendor group participating in each guide.  The proper website architecture and interactive design can provide value to magazine advertisers with direct display ad programs to multi-channel lead generation tools.  Publication directories and multimedia allow the publication advertisers to travel beyond the typical yellow pages experience as they qualify leads and website referrals.

Magazine Website Design Considerations

For publishers evaluating mobile and digital magazine publishing options it’s also important to consider how the multiple magazine formats will be presented from the magazine’s brand hub -the magazine website. Magazine publishers can begin their magazine website redesign projects with consideration for how additional emedia and brand extension elements will dramatically evolve over the next few years.

For most magazine web designs, we seek to utilize the 960px grid system width to optimize the magazine website presentation for iPad and other mobile and tablet devices. This general portrait magazine website design also allows for a controlled and highly optimized homepage presentation to support brand aspects of the print magazine design.

The overall publishing business model will drive how publishers position and promote their mobile and digital brand extension elements from the magazine website. Premium and paid content elements (or apps) drive direct incremental publishing revenue but circulation and audience development digital strategies appear to build longer term integrated media advertising revenue capabilities.

We view the website as the magazine brand core for most consumer and B2B titles, even if the majority of revenue is still derived from print magazine revenue today. Increasingly the magazine audience and other visitor profile groups seek value and entertainment from their visit to the magazine publication website. Delivering a website user experience that provides a unique brand style impression and delivers value should be paramount to the revenue projection of a micro conversion (or paid content) strategy. There’s value in website visitors even if they aren’t print magazine subscribers yet.

Organizing relevant brand extension communication channels to the core magazine niche audience from the website will give your visitor the option to connect on their terms. Allowing these readers to choose how they interact with the magazine, via enewsletter, social media, website, digital edition, magazine apps, and yes, even the print magazine edition will enable the publisher to develop the magazine digital audience on engagement terms appropriate to the specific user choice and their personal technology adoption phase.

Modern Magazine Digital Publishing Tools
Here are some examples of digital magazine design tools and the modern magazine editions that are now changing they way readers receive their magazine issue.

WoodWing Tablet Publishing for iPad and Android

Adobe Digital Publishing Magazine Workflow

As we watch these and other innovative digital magazine design tools develop for the magazine publishing industry, we encourage publishers to also consider the magazine website design strategy that will be the online foundation for presenting these digital editions. We design the magazine publication website to be memorable & valuable, and position the new brand extension revenue generating elements as the next step for the visitors that have achieved this trust and value from the magazine website visit experience.

Here’s the News+ newspaper tablet concept by Bonnier.

The new tablet editions are built upon the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. More