Portsmouth News Website Analysis

Colour

The appearance of the

newspaper's web page is

the first thing that really

catches your eye. The

colours that are used for

the Portsmouth News

home web page are blue

and white. Both of these

colours could be linked

to the Portsmouth

Football club logo (as

the logo is blue and

white). The blue could

also represent that

Portsmouth is a coastal

area and link to the sea

,with the masthead

including an image of a

ship, representing

Portsmouth Harbour. The

text ‘The News’ is a

white colour, and has

used a big, bold font.

Layout

The newspaper’s

website doesn’t used

defined columns like

you would normally

see in a newspaper

when sorting different

articles or other

features into the

appropriate section. A

section bar is placed

above and underneath

the masthead, along

with a search bar and

symbols of social

media. The website

has chosen to set

most of the features

out in a landscape

style Like a normal

newspaper, the top

feature stories on the

newspaper’s website

homepage are made

to

This could have been

done as these sections

could be seen to appeal

made to catch the

attention of the

audience by being

placed right at the

top of the page, and

being made into

more bigger feature

stories than some of

the other articles on

the homepage. The

main focus of the

homepage is the

local and sports

news (which are

placed under the top

feature stories). Both

of these sections

have one top feature

story with all the

articles underneath

(either coming under

the local or the

sports news), sorted

into mini

columns. Advertisements

and social media content

are placed in a portrait

style on the right hand

side of the website

homepage. The websites

latest news videos, the

‘What’s On’ and the

Portsmouth

Recommendations

sections are all placed in

the middle of the

homepage, which could

be considered useful to

tourists. Some of the

section subheadings have

also been placed at the

bottom of the websites

homepage such as News’,

‘Sports’, ‘What’s On’

‘Weather’ etc.

news updates and

read about

‘Community View’

,where you can read

about what others

have to say on

certain topics. The

‘Crime’ section tells

you about all the

local crime that has

been going on in

the area. ‘Traffic

and Travel’ where

you can get all the

latest travel

information, and

see a map of all of

the highway

cameras for when

you are on the road.

The ‘Business’

section provides

news on the local

businesses, and

advertises a job

also look at the recent match

reports, listen to podcasts, and

read all about your favourite

Pompey players.

The ‘What’s On’ section targets

readers by offering a variety of

different things to do in

Portsmouth, that will each appeal

to a certain reader. This section

also tries to target different age

groups. The website offers the

trailers to the latest films that

have been released in cinemas,

which could be aimed at a young

teenage audience. A list of music

and clubbing events targets the

older teenage/young adult

audience. The National Museum

of the Royal Navy and the Royal

Marines Museum targets families

with younger children by

organising fun games and

activities for the children. The

website also shows it’s

to the public the

most. The websites

contact details are

found at the bottom

of the homepage.

Sections

The first section

along the section

bar is the ‘News’

section, where all

news articles are

sorted into the

appropriate

groups., The

‘Local’ subheading

allows you follow

the news and

events taking place

in places near

Portsmouth as well

Portsmouth itself.

You can also see

live local

section where you can

type in any keywords

that link to the job that

you are searching for,

and are available in

your local area. Other

sections include local

news about Defence

and Politics. There is

latest news and

information on Health

and Education, and

Campaigns. The

website also offers

other Regional and

National news.

The sports section is the

following the section

along the section bar.

Like the news section,

you can choose to read

the local Pompey sports

news, or the national

sports news. You can

particular subject.

A selection of photos

and videos are included

in the nostalgia section.

Videos and photos

include the ‘HMS

Vernon’s triumphant

cadets in 1956’, and a

photo from Cowes

Week from the 1960’s.

This could be done to

try and target the much

more older adult

readers.

Public notices are

sorted into three

columns for readers .

The three columns are,

‘Hot Topics’, ‘Local

Traffic News’, and

‘Local Issues’. The

Local Traffic news

could be aimed at

people who have

to work on the road a lot, and

the local issues could suggest

to be aimed at more stay at

home residents.

The Reader Panel is designed

to seek responses from the

readers of the Portsmouth

News. By filling in a

registration form to join the

reader gives the readers a

chance to share their thoughts

on a news article, what their

opinion is on a particular

columnist, or how they would

suggest to improve a

particular area or section of

the website. Readers who

decide to join the Reader

Panel will get the chance to

see the responses other readers

have to their views. Other

benefits of joining the Reader

Panel include being rewarded

freebies

it’s top

recommendations for

places to eat out,

whether it is a romantic

meal for two or a

family meal out. You

can also look at the

website for a day to

day update on the

events that will be

taking place that day.

The announcements

section allows you to

see all of the recent

memoriam, anniversary

and birthday notices.

Above is a search bar

where you can type in

the persons/peoples

names that you are

looking for.

Under the life section,

the public

have decided to get

involved with the

newspaper’s website, by

submitting articles and

photos for other people

to have a read or have a

look at. Popular topics

include ‘Homes and

Gardens’, ‘Food and

Drink’, ‘Fashion’ and

‘Travel Reviews’. There

is also a feature video

section and the ‘Chipper

Club’ for children,

where the Chipper the

fish blog is updated

frequently. There is also

the ‘Opinion’ section,

(which in some ways is

like the ‘Life’ section),

where people can

submit articles about

their opinions on a

Adverts

There are a few adverts that

feature on the website

homepage, which seem to

frequently change. For example,

advertisements for Thorpe Park

and ‘Kelly’s of Cornwall’ ice

cream and ‘Avis Cars’ all

featured on the website

homepage during the summer. .

All of these advertisements are

associated with summer, people

go to buy ice cream to

The website also

offers a ‘Shop’

section. You can

either use the search

bar to find what you

are looking for, or

you can look under

the appropriate

headings. The

The newspaper’s store targets

more than one audience with it’s

products with headings such as

‘House and Home’,

‘Gardening’, ‘Technology’,

‘Outdoor and Leisure’, ‘Book,

Music and Film’, and ‘Fashion

and Jewellery’. Readers can also

keep up to date with the latest

shopping offers and discounts

by signing up.

and gifts, for taking

part with the

newspaper. This

gives the chance for

the readers to feel

more involved with

the newspaper,

knowing that their

voices are being

heard.

A selection of E-

Mags have been put

together on the

website. Each E-Mag

tries to target a

particular audience.

For example, the E-

Mags such as

‘Educational

Features’, ’, and

‘Guide to Education’

would be aimed at

families or people

with children. ‘Visitors

Guide for the South’

and ‘Days out in the

South’ would be aimed

at tourists, and the

‘ETC Magazine’ would

be targeting a woman

audience.

You can now buy

pictures/prints from the

Gallery section. All of

the prints are sorted into

the appropriate sections.

‘Events and Community

Features’, ‘School

Proms 2013’, ‘Aerial

Pictures’, ‘Pompey’,

‘Latest 100 News

Photos’ and ‘ The Best

Selling Pictures Over

The Last 28 Days’. The

reader can choose any

photo

from each section that

they choose, with

photos dating back to

2004. There is also a

‘Buy News Pictures’

section. A search bar

along the top of the

screen allows the

person to search for a

certain photo/s, by

either typing in a name

or image number, or

search by date range

and keywords

associated with the

subject.

Jobs

have in the hot

weather and Thorpe

Park is a great place

to take children out

in the summer

holidays. And also

people , particularly

large families would

need to hire a car to

take all of their

belonging with them

whilst they are on

holiday.

Advertisements are

also found along the

section bar. There is

a dating section

where you can sign

up to the ‘Two’s

Company’ dating

website. There is

also an option to

view other member’s

profiles before

‘Two’s Company’

dating website. There is

also an option to view

other member’s profiles

before signing up. A

Bingo site is also

advertised , which

could be aimed at more

older adult audience. It

offers a list of different

Bingo games such as

’90 Ball Bingo’, ‘Deal

or No Deal Bingo’ and

‘Joker Jackpot’.

A range of different

holidays are on offer.

These type of holidays

include, ‘Rail Breaks’,

‘European City

Breaks’, ‘Ocean

Cruising’ and ‘Walking

Holidays’.

The ‘Love Your Local

Shops’ advertisement

offers lots of advantages

to people, in attempt to

get them to shop at their

local shops more. Some

of these advantages are

saving you time and

money on fuel, products

are sold at reasonable

prices and you are

considered to be more

valued. Some of the

sponsors include

‘Twyford Homes’, ‘The

Nature Denture Clinic’

and ‘Marriotts

Furnishers’.

The ‘Portsmouth Jobs

Today’ section has an

endless list of jobs

featured on the job section

main page By registering

with Portsmouth Jobs

, you can select what types of

job/s you are interested in and

upload your CV, so you can be

kept up to date with the latest

job vacancies. You can also

enter the type of job you are

looking for in the search bar at

the top of the page, along with

your location. Although, there

is another way of searching for

a job ,at the bottom of there is a

section called ‘Other ways to

search’. You can either click on

the sub headings,

‘Location’‘Sectors’ and ‘Public

Sectors’(all of these sub

headings provide you with a

list instead of having to search

for them).The ‘Training and

Advice’ section provides you

with a list of useful tips on

particular matters, such as CV

advice, interview techniques

and public

Directory

skills. The site also tells

you which companies

are recruiting on the

right hand side of the

page, and featured jobs

are on the left hand side

of the page.

Motors

This section includes a

search section where

you can search by

clicking on the different

headings ‘Makes and

Models’, ‘Body Style’,

‘Age and Mileage’ and

‘Running Costs’ , or

you can use the free text

search. You can also

search for a car by

seeing how far away it

is from your actual

location by entering

your postcode. There is

also a price bar

where you can lower

or higher the cost of

the car that you want,

a fuel type list and a

transmission list,

which will help you

to narrow down your

search. The motor

section gives a list of

car dealers in

Portsmouth. This is

useful for people so

they can check out

the car dealers and

find the deal that is

best for them.

There are also

advertisements for

new cars such as the

new SEAT Mii

Ecofuel, and an

advertisement to sell

your own car. There

is other car news, as

well as car reviews.

There is

the option to read

through the car reviews

in an ‘A-Z’ style.

Property

With the Property

section, you have the

option to look at buying a

property , or looking to a

rent a property. Both of

these options able you to

look at the ‘Min Price’,

‘Max Price’, ‘Property

Type’ and the minimum

of bedrooms (with the

rent option also having

the ‘Price Type’ option).

By using the search bar

you can search for

properties that are your

current location or are

closer to your workplace

or maybe closer to

schools etc. The list of

different

properties (for both

properties to buy or rent) can

be sorted by highest price,

lowest price, most recent and

most reduced, along with a

preference search. The

preference search helps you

to be specific about what

type of property you are

looking for. It includes

searching for the right

location, the minimum/

maximum of bedrooms that

you would like and the price

range. The property section

also looks at property values,

new properties and includes

an A-Z list of estate agents.

The website also includes a

business directory. You can

type in the name of a

company, or a keyword

relating to the topic that

you are searching for,

along with the

location.

Active Audience

The split up of the

different sections of

the website allows the

audience to instead,

click on a particular

section without having

to flick through the

pages to find what you

were looking for , like

you would be doing

with a newspaper.

This applies to all

newspaper websites.

Social Media

Social media features

on the mast head with

the symbols for

Facebook and Twitter

Next to the symbols there

are the words ‘Like us ’

for Facebook and ‘Follow

us’ for Twitter. The latest

tweets from the

Portsmouth Local News

Twitter account feature on

the website homepage.

Other Twitter users can

then reply to the tweet, or

‘retweet’ (share with other

followers) certain tweets

that they choose to share

from the Portsmouth Local

News account. Once

people have finished

reading an article that they

particularly liked, they can

like the article with

Facebook, tweet about the

article, or share the article

with Gmail and email with

other people. By using

social media shows that

the website is targeting

an audience that know

how to easily access the

internet.

Interactivity

There is a

Portsmouth News

App for IPads and

IPhones, where

people can keep up

to date with the

latest news, without

having to be near a

computer. The app is

also useful when

people are on their

way to work or

dropping the children

off at school etc.

Subscribe

By subscribing to the

website, you can

save money on

every issue of the

Portsmouth News and

have free access to a free

tablet app.

Mast Head

The mast head includes

the daily weather

forecast, the symbols for

social media, the ‘Place

your Ad’ and the

‘Subscribe’ heading, and

the login and register

option.