Improving the online presence for a London-based print journal
The Modern Jetsetter
The Modern Jetsetter is a London-based journal about travel and lifestyle in the UK and Europe. It seeks to bridge the gap between past and present, modernity and tradition through enchanting stories and photography.
The brand’s aesthetic and style are: elegant and timeless with an old world sensibility.
The (amazing) client
Finally, pages on the website were not showing up on Google, which was limiting traffic (and potential readers) from visiting the site.
The main page for online articles was also very limited and just featured the most recent post; there was no indication that there were other engaging pieces to read. It wasn’t functioning correctly or aligned with the aesthetic of the printed journal.
The website’s homepage was limited in terms of content and information for visitors. It linked to the online shop, but there was little else for folks to do upon arrival.
The website was started with a template, but it didn’t quite match the business needs or brand aesthetic.
Challenges
To have a site that better aligned with the brand’s values and aesthetic
To sell more of the first edition of the journal via the online shop
To promote the journal’s online articles for reading between print editions
To build an email list
To improve visibility on Google and other search engines
The goals
The overall style and branding for The Modern Jetsetter website was going to stay the same, but we wanted it to more closely align with the aesthetics and feeling of the printed version of the journal.
The website also needed to be functional and better serve the potential needs of visitors, so I conducted a brief competitor analysis to see how this could best be done (and better than competitors).
As part of creating an improved user experience, I tested the contrast and readability of the existing colour palette. I discovered that the original cream colour - though lovely - was too dark to read paragraph text on. Similarly, the rich gold coloured text was too light on the cream ground. So we opted to lighten the cream colour and use a deep grey text to ensure readability and accessibility for everyone.
Once inspiration and insight had been gathered, I created a redesign of the homepage and main articles page. This included a revision of the top navigation to include a bold, gold button that directs visitors to the online shop. It also included more content on the homepage to help visitors learn more about The Modern Jetsetter and access the most recently posted articles. Non-intrusive popups were also added to help encourage people to sign up for the newsletter.
Some of the biggest changes were made to the main Chronicles page. I designed the hero area with a sticky section to draw attention to one specific article, which disappears when visitors reach a certain point on the page. I also added a section with featured articles, a category section with a search bar and an image of the beautiful print journal with an option to shop online.
Finally, to help get some of the missing pages indexed by Google, I submitted a site map (one had been done for the WordPress side, but not the Showit side). I also requested priority crawling of the missing pages and the newly redesigned pages. Having the articles posted on the site’s homepage and linked on the main Chronicles page should also help Google understand the site’s architecture and index the pages.
The process
And email list that's growing with new subscribers
The Chronicles page looks more like the printed journal whilst offering visitors a unique and impressive experience
It also better matches the brand and print journal’s aesthetic
A website that functions properly and offers a great user experience
The Modern Jetsetter now has...
The results
view the live site here.
— Kortney Greunwald, Founder The Modern Jetsetter
"I’m in love with it truly, so well done."
Kind words
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