Website Analysis and Inspirations

The Task:

As part of our project in promoting our band, the Fergies, we had to look at other artists websites in order to get inspiration and also analyse how we can make our own one as good, engaging, interesting and easy to navigate for the bands Niche. In looking at other artists websites, we will be able to make our own website (when it comes down to it) just as appealing and engaging, so that way the artists Niche will be able to approach/communicate/support the artists in various ways.

 

As mentioned before, the band shared a similar look to early elements of Ellie Goulding, and I decided, that in order to create our website, we would need to look at some artists who had a "similar" look to The Fergies, and Ellie Goulding was one of them. Her website is unique, and easy to navigate around, with frequent updates and a lovely colour scheme, that matches that of her most recent album cover. The background also features an image of herself, which is larger than the other images of her, and may remind the viewer that they are there entirely for her. Moreover, there is a bar above the main part of the website which has various media related icons, that young people would usually use in their day to day life. Ranging from Deezer, Twitter, Instagram and many more, this indicates that Ellie Goulding not only appeals to young people, but she knows and is aware of what young people use, and uses that to her advantage in order to garner her own fans. Furthermore, in her being involved in more "new" Social Medias for young people, she is getting directly involved in their likes and dislikes. 

Lana Del Rey's on the other hand, is more Sophisticated, and seems to appeal to a more older audience due to its design, and lack of  other "functions". Because of the dull colours and simple text, there is not much of an appeal in her website in comparison to other artists. Moreover, the colour scheme does not seem to match that of her album cover "Born to Die", but rather creates a new scheme that is totally different. However, a noticeable difference is the use of the wide screen on the first page of the website. This screen is used to play the songs the artist had made, and is unique in its largeness, moreover, it allows fans to instantaneously play any one of her songs due to the menu bar underneath, and is easy to navigate. This is good, in that it acts as reminder to the viewers that they are here for her music rather than what she does on a daily basis, something that completely differs from Ellie Goulding's and shows more focus on the music side of things, rather than her image. In other words, making Lana Del Rey seem like a true artist.    

On the other had, Cimorelli (a recently signed band) have an interesting website, but it is terribly bland. This may be because they are rising stars currently, so their website may not reflect the work they do, and is in this state possibly due to it being under "construction" or their lack of skills in creating a suitable website. They have the basic necessities needed for it, and it can be argued that since they are new, this is what is to be expected from new artists. 

One Direction on the other hand, have a more engaging and unique setting. Their website is noticeably cute and well decorated, and is similar to Ellie Goulding's, only that it looks attractive to young teenagers (12-15) rather than it looking like it is for all teenagers. They have included their daily updates, videos etc in their opening page, and is decorated simply to have a unique appeal, that is neither bland, nor overdone in comparison to other websites. This creates a simple yet solid look that appeals to young girls as One Direction mainly attract such, and shows a knowledge on who their target audience is.

Although Conor Maynard's music and image is completely different from that of the Fergies, and other artists presented, by looking at the way he presents himself, and his website, he puts on the image of  "typical" young person or teenager, especially in the video of his first song 'Can't say no'. Similarly to Lana Del Rey's website, the viewer is given the immediate choice (though on Lana's site the music came on instantly) whether or not to listen to his music. But unlike hers (or more like Ellie Goulding's) his image is the first thing that is noticed,  and presents the idea that he is there for the female audience to look at (female gaze) or for the male audience to aspire to. Furthermore, it gives the assumption that he is image conscious, and may focus more on that than his music. On the other hand, he seems very sociable and fashion aware, as his website includes a shop of items related to him, and various social medias, that is more than Lana Del Rey's but less than Ellie Goulding's.

The Fergies, on the other hand, have their own website for their fans to look at and actively contact them on. Their own website seems similar to that of Cimorreli's and One Direction's. In that it is simple, yet it serves its purpose, in the case of Cimorreli, and in the same instance One Direction's, it is quite cute, as the image of the four siblings above stresses their closeness as group, and shows unity. They have a separate bar that shows their fans where else they can find  them, but it is noticeable that it is not as well equipped as Ellie Goulding's, but further stresses that they are not as image conscious as her or Conor Maynard, further suggesting the idea that they prefer to focus on their music, much like Lana Del Ray. 

In conclusion, this task has allowed me to look at and gain information on both my own artists website, and others. This task will help us by inspiring us to create the perfect website for The Fergies Niche, and will be able to allow their fans to visit their site, that will both build their fan base, and engage with them more than their original one. By looking at all of the positives each artists uses in their own website, we can use this as a blueprint in creating the site, and give the Fergie's a site that their Niche will benefit from and they will also.

Ownership:

This task was done by Deborah Akinkuolie, as I felt that I could do this task effectively and efficiently, also because we wanted to divide work equally between us.