Men’s Health Website Review

Men's Health magazine's website

To borrow from the ‘60s and ‘70s theme of Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n' Roll, I'd say the theme for Men's Health magazine would be Sex, Vitamins and Grooming.

I'm reviewing the Men's Health website for the final review in our blog series on the websites of top magazines. What a contrast between my first review, of Parent & Child, and Men's Health. The Men's Health site's top navigation tells you all you need to know of this audience's cultural concerns: Fitness, Sex & Women, Health, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Grooming and Video.

Strength of Content: 7
With article titles like "Keep Her Interested in You—and Sex," "7 Ways to Rev Up Your Relationship," and "How to Last Longer in Bed," I pretty much knew what to expect. As it turned out, most of these titles led to tips and best-of lists.

Men's Health is definitely a young man's magazine. But articles like "Hunting the Female Libido" may resonate with a fairly broad audience. Part of the article is about people in long-term relationships and married couples. As many of us know, being married with children and working full-time doesn't give you a lot of time to spend on being a couple.

However, most of the site's content is about health and fitness. I really enjoyed "The Rock is Cookin'," about Dwayne Johnson. Yes, the article is about celebrity, but it's also about how the Rock's career has had as much to do with his success in the gym as with his success on film. The topic is health, but the story is about a man's journey.

Social Media Sophistication: 5
RSS, comments, Twitter, blogging, YouTube: Certainly all of the social media fundamentals are covered at Men's Health. But being there is not the same as being present. Of the articles I read, I did not see any engagement between readers and writers. I also did not see references to other blogs within blog posts. Social media is as much about actual engagement as it is about setting the stage for conversation. You may write a great article, but do you also take the time to converse with your readers?

Ease of Use and Navigation: 10
This aspect of the site is really very good. I enjoyed the navigation design, and I thought it was easy to move around the site.

Design and Layout: 8
The site's design is OK. There's a good mix of pictures and text. I was slightly confused when linking to an article that had a different name than the link. But what the headline promises, the content always produces. The pop-up menus for each of the main navigation sections are good—filled with tips, expert advice and more.

Use of New Technology: 6
I loved this web infographic from the grooming parlor. I thought the site's search function could have been a little heavier in substance. Overall I didn't see a lot of new technology to excite me. And there are lots of pop-up ads that have to batted down with a mouse, which is enough to annoy anyone. I was actually really sold, though, on some of the ads within the pop-up menus on the main navigation.

Overall Rating: 36 of 50
I discovered through my site review that Men's Health is probably not a magazine for me, given that I spend my free time singing songs to my 4-year-old rather than pumping iron. But I can say that the magazine is hiring good writers to put together good stories, not just tips on sex and fitness. And in the articles I did read about fitness routines, I enjoyed the use of video to illustrate and bring the text to life.

Posted By: John Cass