If you have a go to team full of skilled designers and experienced developers and you have an unlimited budget to issue exactly what digital magazine you need, then that’s great and you have a head start. But for the majority of business owners and magazine publishers, budgets are limited and resources are stretched. Learning how to create a digital magazine in a few steps is certainly achievable and you don’t necessarily need exceptional design or technical skills to develop something professional – just an easy to use online magazine maker.
Online subscriptions to digital magazines are growing so there is plenty of scope to create a magazine for free for your audience and apps such as the Newsstand created by Apple are an excellent way to get your publication out there in front of those that matter. However, with all of these new apps and places to market your magazine brings problems with it; the capacity of hardware, different operating systems, memory specifications and the different features and functionality of each app all present a headache for those hoping to branch out into the digital world.
If you are interested in creating a digital magazine app, please read my article about this topic.
Such page flip publications facilitate a wide distribution by sharing them on social networks, like facebook twitter. Moreover, there is magazine software out there which let you create ezines that support all kinds of mobile devices.
How to create a digital magazine with the right magazine software
There are hundreds of tools available for website owners, publishers and content managers, all of which can be used to make professional digital magazines. Some programs can be used directly online, so there isn’t even a need to download them. Every editor has different features and a different pricing. Therefore, researching well before starting with making your own, sometimes free digital publication is key here. The following tools will help you to learn how to create a digital magazine or more precisely how to create your own magazine.
Google – With drag and drop functionality it enables publishers to make a number of different sections and then preview the magazine on a number of different operating systems such as Android or Apple. Articles can be easily imported from Google Docs and information can be taken from a Google+ page to include in the magazine. A great place to begin if you are working with a limited budget and need a design quickly but don’t really want an interface which offers a lot of styling options, this is a great choice for designing each page step by step.
Treesaver – Based on JavaScript technology, this software allows you to develop a magazine using HTML5 and CSS3 functionality. With swiping to move to another page being much easier than scrolling, readers can quickly browse through the magazine contents. It also has a responsive framework so the magazine will adapt to different devices as required.
Baker – This software is built around a similar format to an ebook and uses HTML5 functionality. The magazine is created using a combination of HTML, JavaScript and CSS as well as your main image files. It also allows you to then create an app. There are many magazines already in the app store which have been created using this software so you can see that it works.
Kindle Periodical Publishing – Although it is still in beta, this is an easy to navigate system and transforms content into a .mobi version which can be offered free on your website or for a fee through the Amazon marketplace.
Adobe – The creative suite by Adobe allows users to issue a number of interactive publications specifically for tablet devices. However, some of the programs can be difficult to navigate and they do take quite a while to master so that you can publish something that is of a professional standard. Furthermore, the creative suit is mainly aimed at professionals due to the high pricing.
If you feel confident about your design skills, then there is no reason why you can’t create a magazine from scratch using HTML5. If not, use the templates that are available on the internet, some are even for free. Once you have the basic structure set up using desktop publishing software you can then begin to put together the sections of the magazine, integrating colour schemes, setting up the typography and creating pages with features, fillers, letters and contents. This guide has only covered a fraction of the available tools on how to make a digital magazine online and there are different types of tools from the complete beginner through to the seasoned designer. Understanding how to create a digital magazine properly is really important so that you can make a publication that is not only popular but appealing to readers too.
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