For a magazine enthusiast like me, the words 'online magazine' don't often conjour images of anything exciting. I like my mags to be little works of art. I'm a mag-snob, and I'm not ashamed to say so. Monocle might be pretentious, but I love it. I happily pay the premium for Wired (US) instead of the UK version as the American edition is much more fun, even if the design is a little reckless. Another current favourite is the quarterly M/I/S/C, edited by the brilliantly monikered Idris Mootee, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in the world of media and creativity. I especially love trawling the newsagents of Soho, looking for those enormous coffee-table busting magazines that boast gorgeous front covers and limited print runs. 

Online, things are often a different matter. Publishers, as a general rule, make bloody awful website versions of their magazines. They know what looks good on paper, but fail to translate that skill online. This is often because of a technology gap that requires the services of an IT department. Before you know it, a crystal clear artistic vision get trampled upon by HTML code and search optimisation creating flabby, ugly, inflexible content graveyards.  

Fortunately, things are beginning to change, thanks to the work of folk like those at SAY Media , the digital publisher and consumer engagement specialist. They have raised the bar for online magazines with the redesign of its international home interiors website, Remodelista.  The new publishing format makes it easier for editors to create beautiful, cross-platform media experiences, readers to navigate and discover relevant content and products, and advertisers to reach highly-engaged audiences. New features include better tools for writers and a modern content management system that creates an “art department in a box” allowing for richer content experiences for readers and advertisers.

New search and navigation tools allow readers to search Remodelista’s entire content library by room, colour and type of product, from bathroom fixtures to flooring. The site’s variable scrolling function allows readers to focus on featured content while easily accessing new content in a separate reference bar.

The new City Guide section features more than 1,000 posts on hotels, lodging and restaurants all over the world, organized according to location. Weekly issues give readers a quick means to browse back issues by theme and date, and enhanced sharing capabilities allow them to pass on relevant content more easily via Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

 Remodelista’s new design features a premium environment that gives advertisers a clutter-free canvas to engage a highly influential and specialised audience. Similar to Remodelista’s sister site xoJane.com the site features one large brand ad unit per page. The new adaptive scrolling technology increases brand visibility by lengthening the time the ad unit remains on-screen – an innovative approach to online marketing.

"Remodelista’s redesign brings many user-focused improvements, including the City Guides section that will give the editorial team an exciting opportunity to grow our audience here in the UK. City Guides are a natural development from Remodelista's keen interest in design from around the world." - Christine Hanway, London-based Executive Editor of Remodelista