Killswitch Engage Website Analysis

Killswitch Engage Website Analysis

This first thing that jumps out on this homepage is the large leopard head on the left side of the page which looks to be sprayed upon an old crumbling wall. This alone gives across the impression of the genre of this music, as spray painting is associated with the breaking of rules, which is also tied in with the heavy metal or a sub metal genre. The reason why you focus upon the leopard first (although you may not necessarily see it first for what it is) is because it’s a brighter color than the rest of the page. This leopard is the bands logo which brings the site alive making it more appealing and attractive. The background to the homepage is a plain and simple rough gray colour which looks like a common street wall.

Looking deeper into the webpage you will find that it looks a lot more formal than other metal homepages, this is partly because of the colors used and the format of the page. The colors are grays and faded blues which run either side of a standard scroll down website. This website seems to conform to the more regal websites out there and shares a lot of its properties with other sites such as “Facebook, Bebo and similar sites” and is therefore easy to understand and use as a common computer user.

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The Font used is in a large yellow/golden font, which looks damaged as if paint is peeling off it or the crumbling of a wall. This is effective and really stands out because its color differs from that of the other text on the page (white). The rest of the text is written in a standard white font, which stands out on the dark gray/blue background and therefore, is more appealing and friendly to read.
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Scrolling down the webpage, you will find that it breaks off into a news section which flows to the bottom of the homepage. There are several stories and articles going down. Each article is separated by blue scratched effect bars which really does help break each article from the next.


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There are also “youtube(.com)” videos of the band and their songs within the news section, which makes the site instantly more interesting. Beneath the videos it also allows you to leave a comment, this helps the community come together and share their views and verdicts of the band and their work. And if someone feels that they are part of something (be it a community) they are more likely to be a custom to it and bring the site more popularity attracting bigger audience, breaching out from friends.

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There are hyperlinks located at the very bottom of the page which direct you to other pages within the website. Which are also in a white font, however, these are bolder and underlined where as the main body text is not. These hyperlinks are of the menu at the top of the page and are labelled clearly, "Tour Dates, Biography" etc.

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On the left hand side of the homepage is an image gallery, which shows all the latest images of the gigs recently played. This is a good idea because it brings color to the webpage and makes it more eye appealing. Beneath the photos are several linked sponsors, such as twitter and gives the option to follow them on twitter. Sponsors make the webpage look more professional and make the band look good, because why would you sponsor someone if they aren’t any good at what they do? .

The feature above, which is situated on the left hand side of the home page allows members (of the site) to recieve latest news by email. To sign up for the mailing feature, simply input your email address in the field provided and click submit. Although this feature looks simple enough to understand, its a bit too simple and you dont truly understand what its purpose is. "Mailing list" - is this to send mail to Killswitch Engage them selves? You dont know what the feature does until you enter a letter and press submit. Once you've pressed submit a screen is brought up which reads "Invalid Email Address" which is when it dawns on you, that its your email address for a news letter.

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At first glance, its soon you realise that there isnt a midi-player on the website that allows you to stream their music. However, just under the menu hyperlinks there is a small logo and within the logo are the words "(((KSE RADIO)))" . Hovering over the logo, you realise this is a hyperlink. After pressing it, you get moved to another site which allows you to stream their music. This isnt a very practical method of listening to music and looking through their homepage, because you cant do both at once unless you open another brouser or an additional tab.

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This is another section on the left hand side of the homepage labelled "Upcoming shows". It gives information on all the latest tours and if you want an additional information on that tour simply click on one, and the page will reload to display the information.

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Overall, this is a simple yet effective homepage and gives us an idea of what our site has to achieve. It’s the small subtle things that make a webpage look and feel good.