Difference between digital magazines and online magazines

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There seems to be much confusion these days on the difference between what a professional digital magazine is compared to an online magazine.

Besides the fact that both are online, other factors differ enough to warrant a full understanding of what each can do for you and your business.

What is a digital magazine?

Firstly, we need to find out what is digital? Digital refers to electronic technology that can generate, store, and process data.

To take the concept of a magazine into the digital world has become much easier these days. While the actual magazine content remains, it is often altered, allowing for interaction by the reader.

For instance, here are a few ways digital magazines differ from traditional print and more static online magazines:

  • Digital magazines offer the ability to add animation, links, videos, and social plug-ins, making it an enhanced reader experience. YouTube videos can be embedded, as well as image galleries, which allows you to show several different images on a page.
  • Costs associated with printing are eliminated, and instead, magazine creation software is now available.
  • These types of magazines require less advertising than traditional magazines. However, advertising in digital magazines can provide an advantage to those who do because it can be linked back to the advertiser’s own webpage, generating more traffic for them.
  • Digital magazines can be read on multiple platforms, including tablets and mobile phones.

So, one way to remember how a digital magazine differs is to consider it as an interactive experience for the reader.

Why are digital magazines beneficial to companies?

Companies who only have a print edition of a magazine, or none at all, are missing out on the wave of the future, some say. Offering a digital magazine can be beneficial for several reasons, including:

  • Branding capabilities, providing links to your website, social networking sites, and contact information embedded throughout the magazine
  • Social plugins, allowing integration of your social content within the magazine, which is automatically pulled in and updated
  • Multiple platforms, offering accessibility on multiple devices such as smartphones and tablets.

What is an online magazine?

The term “online magazine” often lumps together any and all magazines available on the internet. Yet, not all magazines have the bells and whistles of a digital magazine.

Many are available online to read and provide an experience much like that of their print counterparts.

Although online magazines can be replica versions of print editions, they can also be created specifically for online readers.

Online magazines come with less features than the digital magazines described above. As a result, are easier to format and faster to get to market.

Examples of online magazines include:

  • Online replicas of print magazines (basically PDFs formatted for tablets and other devices).
  • University Alumni magazines.
  • Association magazines.
  • Online Journals for special subjects such as science and medicine.

Why are online magazines beneficial to companies?

There are many benefits for a company to have its own online magazine. A few of these include:

  • Provides more exposure for your company.
  • Helps establish you as a thought leader in your particular area.
  • Provides value to your clients and potential customers as they go about making decisions and solving problems.

As the world is moving more and more into the digital age, professional online magazines and digital magazines are becoming more popular.

Younger generations who became computer savvy at a young age will continue to expect evolving digital products, accessible across all their devices.

Professional design for your magazine

If you have a WordPress site and you are planning to create a magazine then we have some great designs for you:

As many are seeking greener options these days in an attempt to save the environment, online and digital magazines will only continue to rise in popularity and demand.

The move away from print has long been in process, and as it accelerates, companies will want to be ahead of the curve.

Now is the time to consider the different online and digital options.


2 responses

  1. Venessa Avatar
    Venessa

    Hi there!
    Thank you for your article.
    I was wondering about opting for a digital magazine, it is possible to do it with wordpress? Or is it only for online magazine?
    Thanks.

    1. Taras Dashkevych Avatar

      Hello Venessa,
      Thank you for reading the article.

      Yes, I believe WordPress can be a very useful when opting for a digital magazine. Also, there are a lot of 3rd party plugins available to extend a functionality of a WordPress site. Moreover, WordPress now comes with the Block editor which provides more flexibility when talking about creating the content on your site.

      With WordPress, you can distribute your content online, communicate with your audience, monetize your magazine, and grow it along with your brand.

      Kind regards,
      Taras