Adaptive Organization of Tabular Data for Display

Tabular representations of information can be organized so that the subject distance between adjacent columns is low, bringing related materials together. In cases where data is available on all topics, the subject distance between table columns and rows can be formally shown to be minimized. A variety of Gray codes may be used for ordering tabular rows and columns. Subject features in the Gray code may be ordered so that the coding system used is one that has a lower inter-column subject distance than with many other codes. Methods by which user preferences may be incorporated are described. The system optionally may display unrequested columns of data that are related to requested data.

Losee, Robert M. Journal of Digital Information (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Personalization

Adaptive Web Sites: An Introduction

Broadly marketed Web sites face an increasingly diverse and demanding audience. Each visitor may be searching for something different, and each may have unique needs or concerns. Traditional, 'static' Web sites can try to serve these diverse users by aiming at generalized types of user. However, generalizing the audience may cause an information designer to overlook users who do not quite fit in a category. A more effective way to reach diverse audiences might be adaptive Web sites that customize content and interface to suit each individual. This paper will discuss basic concepts behind adaptive Web sites using Amazon.com, the Internet bookseller, as an example.

Wei, Carolyn. EServer (2001). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Anonymous Personalization: Part I

Personalization versus privacy. It's not a question of which will ultimately prevail. But rather, how can we have both?

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization>Privacy

Anonymous Personalization: Part II

Personalization doesn't always require that you obtain personally identifiable information about a visitor -- many times you can personalize your Web content by only knowing their interests and preferences.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Applying Personalization to the Purchase Decision Process

The idea of personalizing Web and e-mail content is becoming well accepted because most of us already personalize the person-to-person communications that we use every day. However, planning a personalized web site has proven to be more of a challenge than many marketers had imagined.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Ask Once And Remember

Have you ever tried to place an order with a salesperson or waiter and found yourself answering the same questions over and over again? There are many sites on the Web where this occurs, such as those with product locator searches, shopping carts, and other functions that are supposed to make Web sites more interactive.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Building Relationships With Personalization

Understanding what personalization is all about regarding potential customers. Variables that can affect how fast a relationship can be developed.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization>CRM

Choosing the Right Database System

The Web-surfing public doesn't really care about flashy-yet-useless technology. They want Web sites that do something for them: provide a service or entertainment; help get a job or a date; check bank account balances, stock prices, interest rates, availability of airline tickets, today's weather ... and so on.

Dice, Richard. Webmonkey (1998). Design>Web Design>Databases>Personalization

Creating Dynamic Web Sites

Creating Dynamic Web Sites is a presentation intended to teach beginners what it takes to add applications to a website in order to make it dynamic rather than static. This presentation was designed to cover everything thirty minutes and conclude by recommending various free sites to obtain free software to make your site dynamic including Java, ASP, and last but certainly not least, Perl.

Birznieks, Gunther. Extropia. Design>Web Design>Personalization

Customisable Websites - The Definitive Guide

Customisable websites have recently become more and more popular - get the lowdown on when and why you should and shouldn't allow users to change pages on your website.

Warsi, Abid. Webcredible (2008). Design>Web Design>Usability>Personalization

Designing for Multiple Audiences

Current literature tells web designers to determine who their primary users are, then design the website for that group. However, in many cases a website must serve multiple audiences with very different needs. This article explores a few options that web designers have in creating a website that meets the needs of multiple audiences.

Riebeek, Holli. EServer (2001). Design>Information Design>Web Design>Personalization

Designing Web Applications

There is no commonly accepted definition of web applications. Like regular websites, web applications are based on standard web technology: (D)HTML pages accessed through a web browser using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). Java applets and Flash, even though embedded in web pages, use different technologies with different capabilities and limitations and are not web applications.

HCIRN (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Designing Web Personalization Features  

Personalization, which allows a web user to choose the content and layout of their own portal web page, is one of the most popular ways of increasing traffic at web sites, and helps to ensure return customers. But to be successful, it must be simple and it must be intuitive. This paper presents common personalization features used by top portals and reviews the design of the interfaces of three top portals: My Excite, My Yahoo and MSN. This paper provides examples of good and bad design techniques used in the portal sites, and gives tips on how to design usable personalization features.

Kravatz, Harris. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Web Design>Personalization

Dynamically Filtering Dropdown Lists in JavaScript

This article describes a technique that takes input from a form text field and uses it to bring matching options to the top in a dropdown list.

Whitford, Justin. evolt (2005). Articles>Web Design>Personalization>Forms

Elastic Design

Not quite liquid, yet not fixed-width either, Elastic Design combines the strengths of both. Done well, it can enhance accessibility, exploit neglected monitor and browser capabilities, and freshen your creative juices as a designer.

Griffiths, Patrick. List Apart, A (2004). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Guiding Principles for Providing "Remember Me" Personalization

As we set out to enhance personalization on Marriott.com, we realized we needed guidelines to inform our thinking and shape our decisions, particularly decisions related to customer privacy. Our earlier user research revealed the need for greater personalization and helped us understand customer attitudes towards privacy. From there, we sought to build customer trust and loyalty by addressing concerns about privacy and security in every aspect of the user experience. In creating the Guiding Principles outlined here, we conducted a thorough analysis of eight major websites and then merged the findings with what we already knew. These principles apply specifically to 'remember me' personalization.

Peters, Meg. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Web Design>Privacy>Personalization

Guiding Visitors Through Your Site With Profiling

Have you noticed how few Web sites give special treatment to people who return numerous times? Fortunately, there are tools and techniques that can help you guide visitors through your site based on their interest profile.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Higher Quality Content Means Higher Quality Prospects

The quality and amount of content are major factors in the success of a site, because it's the content -- text, photos, and illustrations -- that helps customers determine whether they want to do business with that company.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Less Is More: The Magic of Personalization

I recently delivered a talk about using profile data to personalize Web site content. A question from the audience was: 'Do personalized pages take longer to download than static pages?' A good question because some people think the extra processing time of personalization will slow the creation and delivery of pages. The answer turns out to be a case of both 'less is more' and 'more is less.'

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Mass Customization: On-line Consumer Involvement in Product Design

Mass customization, the involvement of the customer in the design, production, or delivery process before the actual sales transactions, using technology to limit the cost, is a strategy that businesses are experimenting with to provide customers with exactly the product they want, at the time they want it.

Kamali, Narges and Suzanne Loker. JCMC (2002). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Meaningful Personalization

Websites, software, and consumer products should be customizable, but that customization must be more than mere 'coolness.' Personalization should make users more effective by helping them reach their goals.

Baker, Adam. Merges.net (2001). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Multidimensional Audience Analysis for Dynamic Information    

As technical communication gains the technology to deliver dynamic custom documents, the importance of audience analysis increases. As a major factor in supporting dynamic adjustment of document content, the audience analysis must clearly capture the range of user goals and information needs in a flexible manner. Replacing a linear audience analysis model with a multidimensional model provides one method of achieving that flexibility. With a minimum of three separate dimensions to capture topic knowledge, detail required, and user cognitive ability, this model provides the writer a means of connecting content with information requirements and ensuring the dynamic document fits varying audience needs.

Albers, Michael J. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Articles>Web Design>Audience Analysis>Personalization

The Page as a Map: Multiple Pathways for Multiple Users  

Can our users and what they need quickly, with the least amount of effort and frustration? How can we make information work for different types of users? We know that 'visual is easier,' but we need to understand how people actually use documents to harness the visual power. This session focuses on a core task:page design for impatient, goal-oriented users. It proposes that visual designs which provide a clear 'map' to the information make user orientation and navigation easier, and provide access options for different users. While the focus is on print, the principles also apply to the electronic environment.

Keyes, Elizabeth. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>Personalization

Personalization is not Technology: Using Web Personalization to Promote your Business Goal

Personalization, properly implemented, brings focus to your message and delivers an experience that is visitor-oriented, quick to inform, and relevant. Personalization, poorly implemented, complicates the user experience and orphans content. This article describes what separates the freshness from the noise.

Ricci, Christian. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Design>Web Design>Personalization

Personalization is Over-Rated

Web personalization is much over-rated and mainly used as a poor excuse for not designing a navigable website. The real way to get individualized interaction between a user and a website is to present the user with a variety of options and let the user choose what is of interest to that individual at that specific time. If the information space is designed well, then this choice is easy, and the user achieves optimal information through the use of natural intelligence rather than artificial intelligence. In other words, I am the one entity on the world to know exactly what I need right now. Thus, I can tailor the information I see and the information I skip so that it suits my needs perfectly.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Design>Web Design>Personalization>Usability