http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/Personalization A listing of the most recently indexed works about Design and Web Design and Personalization in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/Personalization http://tc.eserver.org/35106.html http://tc.eserver.org/35106.html Websites that let users customize the UI have the same measured usability as regular sites. Sites for customizing products, however, score substantially worse due to complex workflow. http://tc.eserver.org/34267.html http://tc.eserver.org/34267.html There are lots of reasons you might want to offer your users more than one CSS file for your website. But whatever the reason, it’s amazingly easy to create a function that swaps between multiple stylesheets using a few lines of jQuery. http://tc.eserver.org/34236.html http://tc.eserver.org/34236.html The emergence of personalized homepage services, e.g. personalized Google Homepage and Microsoft Windows Live, has enabled Web users to select Web contents of interest and to aggregate them in a single Web page. The web contents are often predefined content blocks provided by the service providers. However, it involves intensive manual efforts to define the content blocks and maintain the information in it. In this paper, we propose a novel personalized homepage system, called “Homepage Live”, to allow end users to use drag-and-drop actions to collect their favorite Web content blocks from existing Web pages and organize them in a single page. Moreover, Homepage Live automatically traces the changes of blocks with the evolvement of the container pages by measuring the tree edit distance of the selected blocks. By exploiting the immutable elements of Web pages, the tracing algorithm performance is significantly improved. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm. http://tc.eserver.org/34237.html http://tc.eserver.org/34237.html Over the last five years, a range of projects have focused on progressively more elaborated techniques for adaptive news delivery. However, the adaptation process in these systems has become more complicated and thus less transparent to the users. In this paper, we concentrate on the application of open user models in adding transparency and controllability to adaptive news systems. We present a personalized news system, YourNews, which allows users to view and edit their interest profiles, and report a user study on the system. Our results confirm that users prefer transparency and control in their systems, and generate more trust to such systems. However, similar to previous studies, our study demonstrate that this ability to edit user profiles may also harm the system’s performance and has to be used with caution. http://tc.eserver.org/33440.html http://tc.eserver.org/33440.html Information architecture is the structural design of shared information environments (AIfIA, 2003). In terms of e-commerce web sites, the information architecture encompasses the organization of the content and functionality, the labelling system and the navigational scheme (Rosenfeld & Morville, 2002). Users interact directly with the user interface of a web site: scanning a list of links and selecting one, clicking on an icon to add an item to their shopping cart, and filling out a form. Users also interact with the content directly: reading introductory text to determine what each category is about, studying product details descriptions and pictures to see if this is what they want to buy, and comparing specific product features. The information architecture is the “invisible” layer between the user interface and the content. http://tc.eserver.org/33441.html http://tc.eserver.org/33441.html You can think of the information architecture as the “glue” that holds a web site together - the part that hooks the content up with the user interface. It provides the large buckets to place products into and that users can browse by. It specifies the meta-information that ties pieces of content together and enables things like cross-selling. http://tc.eserver.org/33442.html http://tc.eserver.org/33442.html The information architect focuses on how things are structured within the user experience: looks “up” to the user interface – how the navigation and page layout convey the structure; looks “down” to the content management to make sure it can enable to right user experience. http://tc.eserver.org/33443.html http://tc.eserver.org/33443.html Personalization has rarely been implemented well. Its failure is usually because of a lack of understanding of customer behavior. http://tc.eserver.org/33444.html http://tc.eserver.org/33444.html Jupiter Research reports that only 14% of consumers say personalised offers or recommendations on shopping Web sites lead them to buy more often from online stores, and just 8% say that personalisation increases their repeat visits to content, news or entertainment websites. By contrast, the majority of consumers said that basic site improvements would make them buy or visit websites more often - 54% cited faster-loading pages and 52% cited better navigation as greater incentives. http://tc.eserver.org/33445.html http://tc.eserver.org/33445.html In this paper, we describe the results of an effort to first understand the value of personalising a website, as perceived by the visitors to the site as well as by the stakeholder organisation that owns it, and then to develop a strategy for introducing personalisation to the ibm.com website. http://tc.eserver.org/33278.html http://tc.eserver.org/33278.html Personalization hasn't worked because most people don't have a compelling reason to personalize. It hasn't worked because the cost of doing it well usually significantly outweighs the benefits it delivers. It hasn't worked because managers have seen it as some Holy Grail of content management. http://tc.eserver.org/33172.html http://tc.eserver.org/33172.html This white paper demonstrates the use of information architecture components as a foundation for thinking about personalization. After defining the information architecture components, it describes a model that combines the components into a complete personalization system. This model could be used to guide your personalization system development methodology, evaluate a set of personalization systems, or merely to give you the terminology to help you communicate about personalization. http://tc.eserver.org/32554.html http://tc.eserver.org/32554.html Browser name sniffing, using scripts figure out which browser is used and then provide different content to them, is a widespread practice with a long history. Unfortunately these scripts are usually static, while browsers keep evolving. http://tc.eserver.org/32444.html http://tc.eserver.org/32444.html Version targeting allows browsers to much more easily develop new features and fix bugs and shortcomings in existing features, which has the potential to speed up the evolution of web design and development. That alone is reason enough to give it a chance. http://tc.eserver.org/32454.html http://tc.eserver.org/32454.html Browser sniffing and deliberately preventing people using a so-called unsupported browser from entering a site is a thing from the past that we do not need these days. http://tc.eserver.org/31056.html http://tc.eserver.org/31056.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/30078.html http://tc.eserver.org/30078.html Personalization lets us pinpoint our information for a particular person, small group, or niche audience. Using object-oriented databases and content management software, we are learning to answer individual questions, offer multiple menus leading to the same information, improve the precision of searches, respond individually to email and discussion questions, and allow users to customize the contents of their own personal manuals. In these areas, E-commerce and commercial information sites show technical communicators the way to customize information for each visitor. http://tc.eserver.org/29441.html http://tc.eserver.org/29441.html The hardest part of communication lies in the many options we have available, and how tricky it can be to pick the right option for each individual member of our audience. When we write something, whether in print or online, we try to produce something that satisfies as many readers as possible because we require a 'one size fits all' solution: we're not physically present to tailor our approach to meet each individual's needs, and so must meet a range of needs in a single document. With print, we're stuck with static text: the text can't change until we rewrite it and distribute a new version. Moving information online makes it easier to revise and distribute information, but actually updating the information still requires a writer. Are there alternatives that make it easier to reach customers with our messages? http://tc.eserver.org/29098.html http://tc.eserver.org/29098.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/28009.html http://tc.eserver.org/28009.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/27459.html http://tc.eserver.org/27459.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/27443.html http://tc.eserver.org/27443.html Progressive disclosure is an interaction design technique that sequences information and actions across several screens in order to reduce feelings of overwhelm for the user. By disclosing information progressively, you reveal only the essentials and help the user manage the complexity of feature-rich sites or applications. Progressive disclosure follows the typical notion of moving from 'abstract to specific'; only it may mean sequencing interactions and not necessarily level of detail (information). In other words, progressive disclosure is not just about displaying abstract then specific information, but rather about 'ramping up' the user from simple to more complex actions. http://tc.eserver.org/26330.html http://tc.eserver.org/26330.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/24107.html http://tc.eserver.org/24107.html In the digital environment, human presence leaves no trace; every user of an electronic collection is in effect an isolated user. Some researchers in computer interface design have suggested that a useful strategy for reducing this isolation might be to provide a means for a collection to retain an interaction history. If the system creates and makes accessible a record of activity, subsequent users may be able to derive meaning from the record. One well-known implementation of this strategy is in the amazon.com lists of books that were also bought by people who bought the book currently shown. This strategy holds promise for a wider implementation, and is particularly promising as a tool for interfaces designed for information browsing, where user structuring of the items represented can be a significant indication of how they have interpreted the collection. Issues include the role of intention in communication – clearly purchasers at amazon.com are not buying books primarily to create a message for subsequent users – and the significant effects of presuppositions in any communication process – subsequent users must assume that previous buyers were not collecting a set of "worst books" on the topic. Drawing on previous research on interaction histories, as well as Suchman's ideas on situated activity and the phenomenological approach to interface design proposed by Winograd and Flores, this paper examines the means by which interaction histories might be designed specifically to play a role as a communication tool between users of full-prospect browsing interfaces to electronic document collections. http://tc.eserver.org/22785.html http://tc.eserver.org/22785.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/22656.html http://tc.eserver.org/22656.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/21991.html http://tc.eserver.org/21991.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/21992.html http://tc.eserver.org/21992.html ASPs, Java Servlets/JSP, Perl, ColdFusion, PHP. The landscape is filled with languages and technologies to make dynamic web applications. This talk contains a survey of the pros and cons of each technology as well as where to get good examples of key applications most every website needs on each platform. http://tc.eserver.org/21752.html http://tc.eserver.org/21752.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/21327.html http://tc.eserver.org/21327.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20986.html http://tc.eserver.org/20986.html Personalization versus privacy. It's not a question of which will ultimately prevail. But rather, how can we have both? http://tc.eserver.org/20987.html http://tc.eserver.org/20987.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20983.html http://tc.eserver.org/20983.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20992.html http://tc.eserver.org/20992.html Understanding what personalization is all about regarding potential customers. Variables that can affect how fast a relationship can be developed. http://tc.eserver.org/20989.html http://tc.eserver.org/20989.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20984.html http://tc.eserver.org/20984.html 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.' http://tc.eserver.org/20991.html http://tc.eserver.org/20991.html Consider using one of the technologies to tailor the look of the home page and recognize each time a visitor returns to your site. http://tc.eserver.org/20845.html http://tc.eserver.org/20845.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20843.html http://tc.eserver.org/20843.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20846.html http://tc.eserver.org/20846.html The concept of personalizing for customers is certainly not new. But the Web elevates it to a near art form. The Web is the perfect marketing environment for precision marketing, because individuals can be uniquely identified, and a message can be tailored specifically to them. http://tc.eserver.org/20844.html http://tc.eserver.org/20844.html Web personalization allows you to have a Web site that tailors Web content to a Web user's preferences and other profile information. In addition, a personalization system logs every Web page displayed to every user so you can develop a "clickstream" view of what they saw, when they saw it, and for how long. Just imagine what you could learn about your audience with a complete understanding of their Web usage. http://tc.eserver.org/19963.html http://tc.eserver.org/19963.html Personalization lets us pinpoint our information for a particular person, small group, or niche audience. http://tc.eserver.org/19334.html http://tc.eserver.org/19334.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/19335.html http://tc.eserver.org/19335.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/19311.html http://tc.eserver.org/19311.html If there is one subject guaranteed to get two web designers arguing, it is almost certainly personalisation. The promise is obvious - a website tailored to each individual who uses it, highlighting items that will be of interest to his or her particular profile, and consequently saving the users time and providing a superior user experience. http://tc.eserver.org/19258.html http://tc.eserver.org/19258.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/14829.html http://tc.eserver.org/14829.html Dans ce mémoire, nous abordons les spécificités liées à la personnalisation des sites Web. Nous avons souhaité étudier ce sujet après avoir remarqué que l'époque où il était possible de construire et d'héberger un site pour une somme dérisoire semble révolue. La création et l'exploitation d'un site se sont désormais tellement professionnalisées qu'elles ne peuvent se faire que dans le cadre de budgets conséquents. Pour s'engager dans de tels investissements, une organisation souhaite désormais s'assurer que son site touchera bien la ou les cibles recherchées en leur délivrant à chaque fois un message adéquat. http://tc.eserver.org/13935.html http://tc.eserver.org/13935.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/13365.html http://tc.eserver.org/13365.html Providing the right combination of options for each individual member of our audience through a single online document (or online document set) would be tricky indeed, but consider the potential of being able to do so--the potential for providing flexible information. Users could quickly obtain the information needed, in the medium that suits them, with the appropriate level of detail right at their fingertips. An unobtainable utopia? Perhaps not. http://tc.eserver.org/13296.html http://tc.eserver.org/13296.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/11885.html http://tc.eserver.org/11885.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/11892.html http://tc.eserver.org/11892.html 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.