Today in Mississippi Magazine

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GO-Live Date

January 27, 2023

Trusted Web Experts

Charlie Stanley Web Solutions Architect
Anna Stopa Sr. Designer & Layout
Caleigh Pickard Project Manager
Martha Stopa Content Integration
Mehran Aziz Web Developer
Kenneth Kimbrell DNS, Domain & Go-Live
Joanna Velasquez Content Revisions
Michael Confalone Technical Support
Leanna Thesken Training
Deanna Frimann Resource Allocation

Goals

Conform with Brand StandardsDesign RefreshEasy NavigationIncrease EngagementIntuitive DesignMobile-First DesignWeb Accessibility
Today in Mississippi Website

Services

Floor Plan

Blueprint

Overview

About

Today in Mississippi evokes the communal nature of the Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi through heartfelt storytelling. With the cooperative spirit at its foundation, the Magazine powerfully connects with more than 1.8 million Mississippians.

As the future of magazines transform from print to digital, Today in Mississippi prioritized an online publication that seamlessly transitions from a paper page to a web page. Together, Powerful and Today in Mississippi’s editorial and communications teams joined forces to develop a website that let their story shine.

The Power of Intention

The driving force behind intentional web design includes a thorough understanding of one’s website visitors. To fully understand Today in Mississippi’s  readership, Powerful needed to identify their audience’s top objectives to better anticipate their needs.

Powerful’s team of trusted web experts evaluated Today in Mississippi’s website visitor interactions, touch points, engagements, and responses. By analyzing their current website’s trends and conversions, these statistics gave a deeper understanding of the audience’s behavioral patterns and intentions. With detailed insight, Powerful created a design with readers’ needs in mind.

Enhanced Reader Experience

A positive reader experience begins with a frictionless website. A well-thought-out design allows visitors to easily navigate throughout the entire website.  Intentional design was achieved by choosing elements with a clear purpose. From the branding to the layout to the visual elements, everything tied together into one cohesive, functional website.

Challenges

The internet has changed the magazine industry in countless ways. In pursuit of adapting to modern technologies, Today in Mississippi's team was challenged to reform their content and assess the publication's priorities. Powerful undertook the challenge to create a natural extension of the high-quality print publication.

Solutions

To push back from the digital disruption in the magazine industry, Today in Mississippi collaborated with Powerful to successfully navigate the digital realm of publishing. Powerful dived into the problem and purpose of the work-- making Today in Mississippi's most important features accessible, engaging, and eye-catching.

Results

Today in Mississippi seamlessly transforms its publication from paper to digital. As a result of detailed collaboration, the publication highlights its most-valued content; including feature stories, events, recipes, and more. Readers can easily access and engage with content from any sized device. The welcoming platform reinforces Today in Mississippi's commitment to delivering authentic, high-quality communication. Overall, the intuitive design brings Today in Mississippi's stories to life.

The website looks wonderful! I feel like I’ve been waiting for a clean, functional, modern website for the magazine ever since I started here 3 years ago. I can now share links to our magazine stories electronically without feeling embarrassed.

You guys took care of everything for us and were so easy to work with. Your work is very much appreciated. Thank you to everyone on the team!

Steve Ward
Steven Ward

Editor, Today in Mississippi

award

Willie Awards, Award of Excellence

Statewide Editors Association
2023

Points for having the publication available digitally; including a search function for co-ops, and including recipes and events as a draw beyond the publication

In preparing for this project, it was insightful to jump into discovery of the readers of the magazine and other members of the cooperatives that distribute the publication. We performed research utilizing census data to understand the income levels, interests and types of devices most likely to be used, as well as understanding the percentage of those that have a disability.

A particular emphasis was put into faster loading interior pages due to a high number of site visitors having slower internet connections due to a lack of available high-speed options in the rural communities served by these cooperatives.

Providing a purpose-driven approach ensured this project was a success.

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Charlie Stanley

Web Solutions Architect

Current and past months of editions were brought over to populate the site. Custom made web apps that were created for "Recipes", "My Opinion", "Picture This", and "Stories" makes adding in content easy with pre-set fields. This ensures page layouts are consistent, responsive, and accessible, and will make adding in content easy for the client!

Martha Stopa

Content Integration Specialist

Translating a printed publication to the digital landscape can have its challenges, such as considerations for page load, fonts, imagery, and color contrast - all which impacts the way content needs to be handled. Today in Mississippi had several branded design elements featured in the recently refreshed printed magazine that worked well integrating into the website. This ensured brand recognition and cohesion between both formats for a truly seamless experience!

Anna Stopa

Sr. Designer & Layout

The Powerful team reimagined how site visitors engage with the content on the site. By building a site that is easy to navigate and understand, our team was able to humanize the site visitor experience and provide content that is accessible and easy to digest.

Michael Confalone

Techincal Support

Today In Mississippi was a joy to watch come to life! I love how creative and interactive the site is. Our training session was encouraging to watch as their team became confident in their content management system. When it comes to managing content on such a large scale like Today In Mississippi, it can seem intimidating but our system has made it simple to do so with some practice and getting used to. I'm so glad with how this site turned out!

Caleigh Pickard

Project Manager

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