A Brief Guide to Digital Edition Platforms
Written by Matt Clement
December 3, 2014
When deciding to publish a digital edition, companies are faced with a myriad of questions: Do I want my digital version to look just like my print? How much time do I have for a redesign? Am I irrelevant if I don’t think “mobile-first”? Which is more important, what my readers want or what my advertisers understand?
While answering these questions requires conversations with a partner who has been in the industry and understands how to match your goals to strategic action, there are tools available to help you understand some of your digital publishing options. For instance, this presentation, Today’s Digital Edition Options, runs through some of the definitions, benefits, and disadvantages associated with various digital publishing solutions, including replica, replica + extras, optimized and responsive design publishing. View the presentation embedded here, or view it on SlideShare.
This presentation outlines the basic features and benefits of each platform, but it’s important to remember that the benefits are relative to your needs, resource availability, and goals. Partnering with a team that has been in the industry as it moved from print to digital will give you a competitive advantage in understanding what each platform can do for your particular company with your particular assets.
Another valuable resource for new arrivals to digital publishing is our Digital Edition Cheat Sheet. This guide is meant for anyone still considering how to approach digital editions and provides helpful definitions for terms of the business, an introduction to digital editions and their features, things to consider before purchasing, and the difference between a digital edition and a website. You can view the cheat sheet here or by clicking the image.
Feel comfortable about your digital edition platform and provider by doing your research first. Talk with someone who’s in the field and learn from their experience before starting your next project, and you’ll launch a digital edition you can be proud of.
