Website ResearchBy Larelle Benjamin-Forrester

What is a website?A website is a set of web pages that relate with one another that contains content such as text, images, video, audio etc. A website is accessible via a network such as the Internet making it accessible worldwide. However, some websites are accessible via a private local area network. These websites have an internet address known as a Uniform resource locator constitutes (URL).

The websites that I have explored have been made on behalf of various music artists. They have been made to showcase the artist through pictures, videos and most importantly their music. The key to having a website is to keep fans aware of current and future events that are taking place, that are in association with the artist. It is probably one of the best ways to keep track of your favourite artist and is very popular. On a music website it usually consists of the following pages:

• Home Page • Biography• News• Music• Videos• Tours• Connect/Interaction

Some times there is also an enter page and store page if the artist sells merchandise or has a label.

News

Biography

Music

The News Page consists of the most current event that has taken place and a video of what actually happened. On the side of the web page there is links to the ‘Latest Headlines’ and when it was posted. Beneath the latest news, there is a comments section with a number of posts from fans and viewers.

The Biography page is very

basic yet very clear. It contains a picture of the artist, a lot of information as

well as an ‘external links’ to LMFAO sites. This consists of

their store page,

booking/manag-ement, party rock clothing

and people etc.

The music page features all of their albums and singles that you can once again post comments on. Also their is a link to ITunes and Amazon MP3 in order for the customer to purchase the items.

VideosPhotos

Lyrics

The Videos page has the same layout as the news

page which shows the consistency of the

website. On the right hand column there are a

number of videos for the viewers and fans to view as well as a comments

section whereby they can post messages about what they think of the

video.

The Photos Page is very limited and probably

could do with some more work. This is due to the

fact that there is only one picture and one album. On the side of the page, the

online community ‘Badgeville’ is present as well as the latest activity

on it. This is effective, because it enables

viewers to interact on numerous pages.

The lyrics Page is fairly simple also. On the side of the page, their is a list of songs from A-Z which is a link to the lyrics of all the

songs.

Tours

Store

The tour page consists of a clear, easy to read tour schedule. There is also links to Facebook and Twitter in order for the viewer to share this information with their friends and family.

Throughout this website their is a consistency of background, fonts, pictures and headers. The layout on each page is also the same reflecting that overall this website is very basic and straight forward. On a number of pages on

this website, the following are present:

The store page immediately links to another website called ‘Party Rock Clothing’. This site is very bright and vibrant like the other website however, it looks much more interesting due to the fact that its not very simple and structured.

MadonnaMadonna’s website is very attractive and sophisticated. This is due to the professional photographs that she has as a background on each web page – they also change through transitions. The layout throughout the website is very consistent however, each page has its own special features as well as the consistent features on every page.

The Madonna Official website consists of:- Home Page - News- Exclusives- Music- Media- Tours- Books- Film- Community- Store

The homepage immediately draws in the viewer through a video of

a very live and loud concert whereby the crowd is singing her

newest single. On the side of this five categories

of videos as well as a scroll down bar of the

video listings.

On the top of the page their is

a number of online sites that you can interact with the artist

via. These consists of: Facebook,

MySpace, RSS Feeds etc. There is also an icon to Join or Login to

her online community –

another interactive

feature.

The colour scheme (pink, purple, green and blue)is very stylish and contrasts

well with the text. It is obvious that there has been some editing used to give the pages a metallic and

smooth effect.

This page features the latest news which is

good because it enables the viewer to

become aware of what's going on

immediately as they access the website,

rather than having to explore the website for

themselves.

On the right hand side of the Home Page there

are various links such as :

- Joining the Newsletter- Viewing Madonna’s Official Online Store- ITunes Link to Download her newest single ‘Turn Up the Radio’ (Remixes)

News

Exclusives

The news page is fairly simple however, its very clear. The news article column has a number of posts on it of her events. Beneath each post the viewer can connect with them via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and MySpace.

On the side of the web page, there is a number of links which consists of:

- Joining the Newsletter- Icon Headlines- Download Madonna App- And More

The Exclusives page has a similar structure to the News Page. It enables the viewer to Register or Login to her community which is called Icon. It also gives viewers the oppurtunity to Login via Facebook. On the right of the web page there is additional information on her Online Community called Icon – which allows people to Get the icon live pass.

Music

This page features the album details, playlist,

tracklist, lyrics pop up and additional information

such as Buying the Songs off of Itunes and Amazon. There are links to go on

each of these.

On the Madonna Icon page which is her online community, the whole

entire layout changes. On this page, there is a icon

board that has posts, topics and comments on

it.

Above the icon board, the viewer can view the forum,

blogs, other members and the gallery.

On every single page (excluding the community

page) there is a section on the right side of the web page with

a range of links which is effective because the viewers

can click on it at any time. This consists of: Download

Madonna’s App, Itunes Link to download her new single,

Madonna’s Store, Online Shop at ‘Material Girl’ and ‘Hardcandy Fitness’.

Once again Madonna uses the same layout in terms of the main picture and links on the side which consists of two extra links such as ‘Hard Candy Fitness’ and shop online at ‘Material Girl’

Media

Tour

On the Media Page, there are three sections which consist of pictures, videos and goodies. When you click on each one,

there are even more categories (for example photo albums) that appear,

which I have displayed below.

Madonna has lots of videos

and photos which is the reason as to

why there are numerous links

of the page numbers. This is shown on every page

and allows the viewer to go from page to

page.

The tour schedule is in the form of a

table, which is very detailed and clear. It is also sectioned off

through headers which tells the

viewer what country the world tour will

be in (as well as the year). Overall, this page is structured

and organised.

Films The film page follows the same layout and features a small amount of information. On the right hand column of the page, there is the consistent links

section in order to adveritse. An additional feature to this links section is the pictures of each film. This

allows the viewer to view all the films as well as view the film cover one by one – which is done through a

pop out. The picture on the left hand side is very seductive and portrays Madonna in a sexual way. It

also, changes throughout the time spent on the page.

On Madonna’s Store Page, it gives the viewer an option to shop in different currencies. This is

beneficial for the viewer and shows that Madonna is targeting people in more than one country. Compared to the other pages on the website,

Store

This web page has a different layout which consists of more colour and a range of fonts. The store page appears to be very well structured and clear which is as an advantage to viewers as they

can work there way around it without any confusion.