Why this matters
Before asking how to build a website, it is worth asking whether a website is the right answer at all. Each medium can do things the others cannot, and picking badly wastes the whole effort. This lesson is the argument you need before the design work starts.
The idea
| Medium | Carries | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| TV | Video and audio | Reaches many at once, appeals to sight and hearing, one-way |
| Radio | Audio | Hearing only, receivable almost anywhere and alongside other tasks, one-way |
| Newspaper | Text and images | Stays physically in print, readable with no internet, one-way |
| Website | Text, images, video, audio | Combines everything, updatable at any time, mostly one-way but two-way through forms and comments |
| SNS | Text, images, video, audio | Spreads fastest of all; users post and share, so genuinely two-way |
Websites are strong because they combine several kinds of information, can be updated whenever you like, are reachable from nearly anywhere, allow two-way interaction through forms and comments, and need only a browser.
They are constrained too: they normally need an internet connection, information does not arrive unless somebody chooses to visit, and how fast it loads depends on the visitor's device and network.
That second constraint is the important one. Every other medium pushes; a website waits. It is why a website is rarely used alone.
| Purpose | Suitable medium | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Inform many people at once | TV, SNS ads | Wide reach |
| Give detailed information | Website | No limit on volume, readable at any time |
| Reach specific people directly | Email, direct message | Delivered individually |
| Spread by word of mouth | SNS | Users share it themselves |
So media are usually combined: a TV advert sends people to a website, and the website gives them something worth sharing on SNS.
Picture it
flowchart LR T["TV advert: wide reach, one-way"] --> W["Website: depth, updatable, waits to be visited"] W --> S["SNS: users share it onward, two-way"] S --> W
Worked example
A school is launching a new after-school programme. Which medium?
A website alone fails on one point: nobody visits a page they have not heard of. It is still needed, because the timetable, fees and enrolment form have no length limit there and can be corrected the moment something changes.
Reach has to come from something that pushes. A local radio mention or a poster puts it in front of people who were not looking. SNS does something different again: parents share it with other parents, which carries trust that no advert buys.
And for families who already enrolled last year, email beats all of them, because it goes to exactly those people and nobody else.
The pattern generalises. Push media create awareness, the website holds the detail, and SNS spreads it. Asking "which one" is usually the wrong question; asking "which job does each one do" is the right one.
Your turn
Try the practice questions for this lesson. Judge statements about what each medium can do, match each purpose to the medium that fits it, and identify a real constraint of websites.
Take it further
A local library is promoting a new programme. Should it use one medium, or combine several by purpose?
- Collect data. Survey ten classmates or family members: where do they actually notice local announcements, a printed poster, social media, messaging apps, or local radio?
- Analyse the audience. For a family with no home internet, a student, and the librarian, note one benefit and one drawback of making a website the main channel.
- Decide. Recommend a media plan and justify it from your survey and your table.
The first group is the test. A channel that reaches everyone who is already online is not the same as one that reaches the community.
Recap
- TV, radio and newspapers are one-way; SNS is two-way; a website sits between.
- Websites combine media, update any time, and allow interaction, but need a connection and wait to be visited.
- Match the medium to purpose and audience: reach, depth, direct delivery, or sharing.
- Real campaigns combine several media rather than choosing one.