The New Republic is a broadly acclaimed American magazine of commentary on politics, environment, and culture established in 1914. The publication uses its online presence to provide users with progressive and challenging opinions through the use of new and innovative web design trends.
The purpose of news websites is to influence the way people think and improve general knowledge. But for users to come to their site in the first place, the site must be accessible, easy to navigate, and appealing. The New Republic incorporates user experience design elements into its platform to attract new readers and turn them into advocates/returning users. The New Republic uses solid white frames of white space and minimalistic navigation to accomplish this. Each new story is bordered by white space to show visual separation. With the use of large photos and minimum text, users can easily prioritize stories and navigate to stories they find most interesting. On the side menu, users can explore more stories under categories.
Compared to other news sites like CNN.com, The New Republic approaches with a cleaner and more minimalistic look to providing news. CNN overwhelms users with heavier use of text and less use of images. Also, The New Republic is available on mobile devices through the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. On the app, users can perform and use all the features (read articles, share articles, use bookmarks, view newsletters) available on the website but compatible with mobile devices and tablets. As of late, customers have been taking to the review section to complain about the app functioning slowly.
Another major difference between The New Republic and other news outlets is that they capitalize on social media to drive young users to their website. One of my favorite things and the reason I was drawn to The New Republic was their Instagram page. Similar to their website, users can find eye-catching images related to news stories published on the site. Although the captions only provide a short snippet of the full story, users interested are redirected to their site. Using social media to drive traffic is a great way to attract younger audiences like me.
With the younger generations looking to social media to get information on what is happening in the world, it is important that news sites like The New Republic go to where people are looking for information in order to maintain a well-informed society. The New Republic’s effort to innovate their website as society changes make them a great news website.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobilesrepublic.appy&hl=en_US
Martin, N., Ford, M., Hettena, S., Farwell, M., Roth, D., Bittle, J., … Marsh, L. (n.d.). The New Republic. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/
Team, 99designs. (2019, December 11). The 8 biggest web design trends 2020. Retrieved from https://99designs.com/blog/trends/web-design-trends/#6
