Digital agency Line has redesigned the Fringe website to provide a more user friendly interface and a more robust online ticketing platform, after the online box office became dogged with problems in previous years.

A key failing of the original site was an inability to cope with sudden surges of simultaneous bookings, the new site circumvents this issue by employing a wider range of external servers which can be switched on and off in line with demand.

A second update is scheduled to complete in late August whereupon online festival goers will be able to access show reviews, a video channel, enhanced searching and a real time event “departure board” of immediate showtimes.

Ross Laurie, Managing Director at Line, said: "Creating a new site for one of the world's most important and influential cultural events is a challenge in and of itself, but when you combine that with a requirement to build in a ticketing system capable of coping with the Fringe's vast programme and pattern of highly intensive demand it puts the task on a whole new level.

"Historically that's created a set of unique conditions that have made the job particularly difficult, but we're satisfied that we've put in place a tried and tested solution that will prove up to the task."