24 Apr 2018 501 LIFE launches refreshed website design
To coincide with the 10th anniversary of 501 LIFE, co-owners Sonja Keith and Donna Spears are giving readers a gift this month — a completely re-imagined website design for 501lifemag.com.
Now, the content that readers enjoy online will come in a much prettier and more intelligent package.
“Celebrating Greater Central Arkansas through print and digital media has been our strategic plan from the beginning of our business launch in 2008,” said 501 LIFE Publisher Donna Spears. “Many things have changed and we are thrilled to share a newly designed and updated website that we think readers will find very appealing and easy to navigate. The site is chock full of photos and stories. It is also the go-to place for events in the 501 area.”
“As we begin our second decade of publication, we wanted to introduce a new, more vibrant website,” said 501 LIFE Publisher Sonja Keith. “We are very excited about the new site and the incredible work of our talented team that created the new site.”
501 LIFE worked with Allen Winkler and his company, WinkCorp Concepts (winkcorp.com), on the new site. “The 501 team was such a joy to work with. They had a vision for what they wanted the site to look like and we were happy to deliver on those expectations,” said Allen. “I’ve read through 501 LIFE for years. It’s a part of Conway and it was such an honor to work with Sonja and Donna on their new site.”
Modern design
When 501 LIFE launched in April 2008, web design principles were very different than today. Sites designed as blogs put more emphasis on simple structures to focus on the text, giving smaller, more constrained areas for art.
“Ten years ago, our computer screens were at such a lower resolution that you didn’t need big, high-res art,” said Levi Gilbert, associate editor. “The blog templates were designed more for making navigation easy and less about highlighting art. HD-resolution screens on laptops just weren’t common then, let alone things like Apple’s Retina screens or 4K.
“Our new site gives us more flexibility with our story templates, giving us the ability to equally highlight our quality written content and our art. Now the online versions of our stories will pop on the screen just like they pop on the pages of our magazine every month.”
It all starts with the new home screen. A new home page slider fills the screen with rotating top stories.
“Before, we really struggled with how best to feature content on the home page,” Gilbert said. “All we could really do is load up the home page with a handful of stories, but this required our readers to keep scrolling down to see more. Now with the slider, we can truly feature our trending content, and this slider completely fills your browser. It’s beautiful and simple. Strong lead art with a simple headline.”
Scrolling down the home page past the slider reveals two things: a new card design and a floating navigation menu.
“In the early days of the magazine, we only updated the website once a month when a new issue published,” Gilbert said. “But that quickly changed a few years in when we launched our two weekly newsletters. With 501 LIFE Extra and 501 Sports Extra, we were producing more and more content each week — a lot of it exclusive to online and not in the magazine. Our new card design gives us so much flexibility to surface content both from the magazine and exclusive to the newsletters. We’ll be able to feature the various categories of our magazine in a more visible way rather than relying on readers to click through all the categories on our site.
“And with the floating navigation menu following readers as they scroll through the site, it’ll be easy to dig deeper through the site without a lot of scrolling and clicking. With easy access to the search bar and a hamburger menu wherever you are on the site, there’s a clearer path to navigating the site, which makes for a much cleaner experience.”
Highlighting art
The most obvious change in the new design is how art is featured. The old site kept photos constrained to small sizes, but the new site features incredible hero shots.
“Again, screen technology was so much different in 2008 when the original site was designed,” Gilbert said. “Standard computer screens have such a higher resolution now, and this new site design enables us to highlight what is really a core strength of 501 LIFE — our amazing photographers and their amazing art.
“One reason that our magazine is such a great read is because it’s just beautiful. The high-quality stock of the paper combined with amazing photography and design is stunning, and now our site will be able to deliver a similarly inspiring experience with our art.”
Mobile friendly
The new site also brings with it a mobile friendly responsive design.
“When 501 LIFE launched, the iPhone wasn’t even a year old yet,” Gilbert said. “Mobile friendly sites were barely even a thing yet. Like most sites, the majority of our traffic comes from mobile devices, so we are very excited to be able to deliver a better experience for readers who are visiting our site on smartphones and tablets. No more having to double tap to zoom in on our online stories.”
Easier sharing
It will now be easier than ever to share stories.
“Just like with responsive design, share buttons weren’t a thing in 2008 either,” Gilbert said. “Back then, the only button you really had on a story was the print button. A few years in, we added some share buttons through a third-party tool, but with the new site, we’ll be able to do this natively, which will improve the experience of sharing articles from the site.”
Flip through LIFE from anywhere
For the first time, readers will have a digital option for consuming monthly issues of 501 LIFE.
“The magazine has always been available for free through our advertisers and other select locations, but now readers will be able to get it right from their phone at any time on the Issues page on the site,” Gilbert said. “The new site felt like the perfect time to launch a digital option for our readers. We’re always looking for new ways to add value to our readers and our advertisers, and this is a win for both.”
“Our readers love having a printed copy in their hand and we will not be taking that away,” said Donna. “We are adding extra value for both the reader and our faithful advertisers that make our publication possible. With the new technology at the click of a button, go to the ‘Issues’ tab and you can read the complete magazine. If you prefer the print version we will still be in more than 700 locations for your convenience.”
As with the printed magazine and other 501 LIFE offerings, readers are invited and encouraged to share their feedback via email ([email protected]) or by phone (501.327.1501). “We hope that readers will let us know their thoughts on the new 501 LIFE website and share their ideas,” said Sonja.
