Website Analysis - Ed Sheeran

Website Analysis - Ed Sheeran

The first page that comes up supplies the audience with a list of dates for Ed Sheeran's upcoming tour. His tour is clearly what the artiste holds most central to his success, since every website visitor is presented with his tour dates before they can even access the official artiste site. In fact, the user physically has to scroll to the bottom of the list of tour dates in order to click to the official site, which could possibly entice them to buy tickets. For fans and listeners of Ed Sheeran, it is likely that their main reason for visiting his site is to buy tickets straightaway. In terms of webpage design, this is a useful technique at meeting the visitors' requirements in a simple and direct manner; with merely two clicks, a fan or listener can book tickets (the easiest and most effective way for a band or artiste to earn money). 

The colour scheme of the tour dates page is the same as Ed Sheeran's branding for his album, 'Divide'. The continued use of branding helps people to identify the page and information with the artiste himself, reassuring that they have reached the right site and can buy tickets from the page knowing that it is trusted. The use of space on this page is also effective, since the information presented is much easier to comprehend without it looking cluttered. The colours are simple and not overwhelming, making the official site easy to navigate to.  

The official website's main colours, unlike the tour dates page, is much simpler with the use of plain white for the background and black for the text and tabs. Again, this keeps the page from appearing overwhelming and difficult to navigate. Its easy navigation means that the website is appropriate and easy to use for the whole of Ed Sheeran's demographic (presumably younger children through to middle-aged adults, but mostly for young adults). The font chosen for the artiste's name, tabs and buttons is all the same, which again adds to the website's simplicity (which is aesthetically pleasing nonetheless). The artiste's name copies its international branding, giving the page instant identity. 
The centre of the page features the most recent addition to the artiste's music videos, keeping the visitors updated to what is being promoted most currently (this is particularly important in order to help raise record sales for the new song). It is also likely that a visitor has come to the site to watch the new video only; in which case their requirements are quick and simple to get access to. 

Everything that the viewer may want access to is presented right at the top of the webpage with the tabs, which are centralised and equally spaced. This efficient organisation is essential for easy navigation for visitors. While hovering the cursor over the tab titles, the writing fades into the blue theme colour featured as an accent throughout the webpage design. This simple feature makes the website more interactive and modern, thus keeping a contemporary feel to the website and keeping it more interesting for its visitors. 

Just underneath the featured music video is a section for social media. All types of social media that the artiste can be followed on are available to click on, using icons instead of text. The use of icons is a lot more aesthetic, especially since the icons are used widely on the internet nowadays. They retain their interactivity (as seen above) such as in the tab titles; an attractive feature for the site's visitors.