Evolution of an Icon — Cosmopolitan.com — Then and Now
Cosmopolitan is notorious in the world of journalism for discussing topics often deemed “too scandalous” to be spoken aloud. The perseverance of this publication in an ever changing society has withstood the test of time, they continue to be one of the top women’s publications to this day. Like any great, Cosmopolitan online began just as the rest of the world did when the web first came into being. There was minimal knowledge of the inner workings of web design and content creation, but that did not stop people or corporations from creating their online personas. The very first snapshot of Cosmo online was barebones at best. There was a clear lack of color differentiation and a lack of loading content, but in 1998 it was still revolutionary.
By the time the year 2000 came around, web designers stepped up their game and were able to create a visual, mirroring the layout of the cover of the Cosmopolitan magazine. At this point, all the content is focused to one side of the screen, and has a short scroll-span filled with hyperlinked content. This left focused content did not last long, and by the year 2003, the content was centered and covered more of the screen. Interestingly enough, the content of the site is similar to what it is today, focusing on the woman’s interest in gossip, love, and beauty. More years pass, and the Cosmo site continues to evolve and change little by little, most of which are barely noticable. After 2007, however, the top link to a parent site disappears. This also means the URL for the site changed to be just cosmopolitan.com.
Up until 2008, most changes were to the basic layout such as color, spacing, and number of modules. After that, however, big changes to content began to come very quickly. 2009 was when videos were first streaming on Cosmo’s homepage, and they took center stage beneath the header.
The year 2011 brought a small but incredibly influential change to the site. In the very top right corner of the page, users now had the option to login with Facebook. Not even MySpace had had this honor.
The age of social media was beginning to take flight, and people now had the ability to share their every thought and action with all of their friends and family. The trend of social media connection to Cosmo continued into 2012 and 2013 when the option to connect with Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, email, and Instagram became available. The reader’s digital presence in their social media not only allowed publications to be shared more than ever, but it also gave the site an opportunity to get numbers for how many people were visiting their site and sharing it on a daily basis. This ability to share and repost opens up a whole new world of information sharing, and even publications that offer a great deal of jest like Cosmopolitan now have an opportunity to influence society through their readership.
Cosmopolitan’s online layout has continued to evolve, and so has their content. While they still maintain their playful demeanor, Cosmo has also taken their turns at handling serious social topics, such as politics. They have a large readership, which leaves them with a certain level of social responsiblity. Covering a hot topic, like the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare as they refer to it in the headline), and placing it as the buzz piece could impact their readers’ view of the subject. It also encourages their readers to become educated on what is going on in the world around them. Cosmo has also encouraged their readers to go out and vote. They promoted their #COSMOVOTES on their homepage during the most recent election in 2016, and even had an additional tab where readers could see articles and posts having to do with the election.
While Cosmopolitan does occasionally take a more educational and serious route, they seem to always fall back on their roots of love, beauty, and gossip pieces. In their most recent captures, cosmopolitan.com has veered away from having a lot of articles be the first thing that readers see, and instead the more you scroll, the more you get. A tactic which gives a lot of weight to those articles placed at the top of someone’s hompage.
