Website Analysis - Taylor Swift

By Anna Wylde

This is the homepage of Taylor Swift's website. The first thing I noticed is the natural coloured background photograph, which contrasts with the bold pink lettering. This represents the star well because although she is a 'pop' star (like Katy Perry, whose website I have also studied) she has a more 'natural' and wholesome image, a less manufactured and 'plastic' image the likes of Katy Perry or Nicki Minaj have. The photograph of her in front of a tree represents her 'country' and 'folk' roots, and the bold pink lettering represents the 'pop' aspect to her image.

Direct link to Youtube for her new music video.

Clear and easily accessible links to her social networking sites.

A very clear link to iTunes - the fact it is used right on the first page is to really try and persuade consumers to buy her music.

Following on from her release of her new single is the release of her music video, therefore the homepage of her website at this time is mainly focused on promoting the music video (which is what my own website will be like). However, of course there is access to all types of info that fans may wish to access through the website. There are clear and easy tabs to direct people to what they wish to know.

There is a newsfeed/twitter feed along the bottom of the page, to show fans what the latest news/twitter message is everytime they visit the website.

Rather than clicking from the first page (which is shown on my previous slide) to the second, the website does it automatically. However, viewers can go back or forward a page by using the arrow at the sides of the pages.

This use of automatic transitions shows how modern and up to date this website is.

The first page was solely dedicated to the promotion of her new music video and the second page is all about advertising her latest tour.

The use of photograph (her performing) is very relevant to this specific page and may work as a trigger to cause people to want to see her perform live.

The layout itself of the page is the same as the first, this keeps a sense of regularity and makes the website easy for users to navigate.

Again the main tabs remain at the top to direct users to each specific section.

Once the user clicks on 'view all tour dates' this appears. It clearly displays all the upcoming dates and provides links to each specific date if the user wishes to book tickets.

Taylor's promoters/management are trying to cause excitement for fans by offering them the chance to book pre-sale tickets.

This is a method used purely to generate sales

The third page is dedicated to promoting her upcoming appearance at the famous Grammy Awards. This page is very important for artists as is displays the fact that she is very successful and talented. This page makes it very clear that she is up for 3 nominations - suggesting that he is very popular.

This in a way is free or could be considered 'word of mouth' advertising because if someone who does not usually listen to her music hears that she is up for 3 nominations at the Grammys, it might cause them to consider that she must be talented and that her music is worth checking out, leading to the recruitment of new fans.

The designers of her website have again used a relevant photograph. It makes sense to show her playing her instrument as this reinforces to the viewer that not only is she a singer but she is also a musician. This supports her 'worthiness' of a grammy award.

Following on from the announcement of her nominations, there is a link for viewers to use in order to vote for her to win the nominations.

This link also appears on all the other pages which is done to cause the user of the website to notice it and, hopefully, use it.

This page maintains the news/twitter feed, constantly keeping users of the site up to date on news/gossip.

The fourth page on the 'stream' of transitions on the website is focused on her new album. This page is very clear and simple with not too much to look at which keeps the users attention focused on the purpose of this page, promoting the album.

It clearly shows what the album artwork looks like so that if a fan was to look for it in a shop they would know what to look for.

The album cover itself is very simple yet its use of bold lettering is very effective in grabbing consumers attention.

The colouring of the pages, especially the writing (pinky red and white) correlate with the album name and cover, this causes the customer to create a visual link between the album and the website, therefore making the website and the artist more memorable.

There are bold and clear links to iTunes where consumers can purchase the music.

Additionally to this, there is information on where the actual CD can be purchased. This is a very clever idea of Taylor's management as they are aware that despite music downloads etc, some people still very much like to have a physical copy of the music.

Therefore, they have provided info on where to go to buy the actual CD, this broadens their scope for sales as it does not reduce them to only digital downloads. It also prevents the risk of alienating fans who do not use/like digital downloads.

The past 4 pages I have looked at are all technically part of one page because it all works as a stream that automatically moves from one to the other (as I explained earlier). After this you are able to scroll down to look at specific pieces of information, for example....

News and articles about what she has been up to recently, as well as photos from her latest photoshoots. This is particularly appealing to avid fans. A video/photo

gallery of all sorts of behind the scenes insights/video diaries from Taylor herself as well as photos from the shoot of her videos and various different interviews and TV appearances she has attended recently.

A unique part of this website is the 'My Life' and 'Journal' Section, these provide a more intimate connection between the star and her fans. It also gives her a sweet and caring image. It makes her relatable to her teenage girl fans as they often keep diaries and so this makes her fans feel as though they are just like her and that they know her on a personal level.

Just like all artist's websites there is a main part of it - merchandising.

Despite nice personal touches and an intimate feel to Taylor Swift's website the ultimate point of them is to make money by 'selling the star' in as many ways as possible, this includes merchandising.

The use of 'deals' such as 3 t-shirts for £30 acts as a method of persuasion to lead the customer to think they are getting a good deal for their money, making them more likely to make a purchase.The site has a wide range of items to peruse such as

clothing, jewelry and accessories, gloves, posters and more - all to appeal to all possible fans.

The store has sub-categories in order to divide up all the variety of products on offer...

This consists of; CDs, Karaoke, Vinyl and song books

Tour t-shirts, Vintage t-shirts, Sleepware, etc..

Bags, headbands, perfume, accessories.

Keyrings, lightsticks, ornaments and more.

There is an abundance of products for fans to choose from to make them feel part of the Taylor Swift 'fandom.

Conclusion...From looking at both Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's websites I have learnt that a decent website for a recording artist should include clear and separate categories:

-An 'About' page (info on the star)-News-Events (upcoming and past)-Tour/concert info-A journal or message from star to fan-Info and accessibility to the music-Communication links (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc...)-Store (to offer all type of merchandise)

I personally prefer Taylor Swift's website compared to Katy Perry's, this is because it is more simple (has a less hectic/messy background and theme). I also like the more personal touches on Taylor's site such as her mini-biography and journal and this makes her appear that she cares about her fans and wants to come across as 'one of them' and this makes her seem like a very humble artist. Because the star I am promoting is more like Taylor rather than Katy I will be using these ideas when it comes to making my own website!