2.3 The Web is not Print

In September 1999 Cosmopolitan magazine (shown right) used a homepage that looked exactly like a magazine cover. This strategy is ineffective because the two mediums are different: "A magazine cover must grab people's attention--it must stand out in a crowd of other magazines. A homepage does not have to stand out. Rather, it must convince people to do something" (Nielsen, Designing 384).

The redesigned homepage, shown above, is better--it is starting to look like web site rather than a magazine cover. A navigational bar and small summaries under the headlines help users choose what to click on.