Fairfax Media’s weekend newspapers will move to the compact format already used for weekday editions within weeks.

Fairfax has announced the weekend editions of the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) and The Age would adopt the smaller size as of Saturday, March 1 – a change the company had previously flagged.

Weekday editions were moved to compact size in March, 2013.

The company’s Australian Publishing Media managing director, Allen Williams, said the change was a continuation of a format change that had been well-received by readers and advertisers.

“While the shape of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age weekend editions will change to a more convenient format, our commitment to quality, independent journalism and providing our readers with a depth of content, will not change,” Mr Williams said in a media release.

Under the changes, the Saturday Sydney Morning Herald and Age will have sport on the back of the main news section and a colour-coding system will be introduced.

The Good Weekend magazine will be redesigned and the “GW” logo changed back to “Good Weekend”.

The SMH’s Private Sydney gossip page will shift to a double-page internal spread that also features Column 8.

The Saturday Age’s Life&Style section will take on the Spectrum title used by the SMH.

Fairfax said the Sunday Age would receive a new design and masthead logo and incorporate new features: a “My Place” feature where readers share secret, inspirational places, and a “Sunday Explainer” in-depth news item.