| Web personalization on your mind?...Tread with | | | | guide them to the most important or most |
| caution | | | | promising choices while ensuring their freedom to |
| Web personalization is not a cakewalk | | | | go anywhere they please. |
| Web personalization, in its all noble intentions, is | | | | Let the natural intelligence work over artificial |
| usually taken recourse to in order to bring focus | | | | intelligence |
| on the users and deliver an experience that is | | | | Personilization is about giving users more of what |
| visitor-oriented, quick to inform, and in line with | | | | they need in a proactive away in a bid to |
| users' tastes and preferences. Web personalization | | | | enlighten them. This fact can not be ruled out that |
| is a strategy, or better still a marketing tool, that | | | | giving people what they want is not always an |
| requires implicitly or explicitly collecting visitor | | | | easy task as human needs are varied, complex |
| information and leveraging that knowledge in | | | | and changing. Moreover, users own choices are |
| determining what sort of information will be | | | | insufficient as the only basis for personalization as |
| provided to users and how. | | | | there are things even users do not know they |
| But notwithstanding the promises it seems to | | | | need. |
| have, it is real complex to put it in the place, let | | | | Let the users know what they will see if they |
| alone the advantages that can accrue to it. Quite | | | | click a link and know what they deselect by not |
| frequently, personalization initiatives begin to loose | | | | following other links. It is a good idea to provide a |
| its luster. Especially so when development teams | | | | comprehensive coverage of the things users may |
| gather to consider technical and business | | | | want or need because if something is not there |
| requirements like changes to architecture, user | | | | on the site, users can not choose it. |
| profile storage and analysis, content management | | | | The effective way to get personalized interaction |
| etc., and formulate a strategy that fails to take | | | | between a user and a website is to offer the |
| off. | | | | user with an array of options and let the user |
| Web personalization may be fraught with | | | | choose what interests his mood at that time. If |
| inconsistencies | | | | the information space is designed keeping this in |
| Personalization is driven by the computer which | | | | view, optimal information seeking is more feasible |
| tries to serve up individualized pages to the user | | | | through the use of natural intelligence rather than |
| based on some form of pattern of that user's | | | | artificial intelligence. |
| needs. Personalization does well in those cases | | | | Putting web personalization at work in a |
| where the user's needs are by and large | | | | user-friendly manner |
| unchanging and it is simple to describe in | | | | For a successful web personalization strategy that |
| machine-understandable ways. But this is not the | | | | does not annoy users, and give them enough |
| case every time and with every one. | | | | liberty to pursue their interests on the web, here |
| Having the computer personalize the website to | | | | are some meaningful and working tips to take a |
| the users' needs and taste is fine. But to rely on | | | | careful note of: |
| this assumption that computer can guess the | | | | Focus on the understandability of headlines, links, |
| user's needs are probably based on a false | | | | explanations, intuitiveness of forms, error |
| premise. Given the complexities of human needs | | | | messages, inclusion or exclusion of specific |
| and behaviors, it is quite possible that the same | | | | information, and individual graphics and icons. |
| person may have different desires at different | | | | Review your interaction design, navigation support, |
| times. It may be annoying to have the computer | | | | homepage layout, templates, search, and linking |
| try to be smarter than it really is and | | | | strategy. |
| second-guess users' needs. | | | | Sensibly select the most important stories or |
| The user himself is the best entity on the world | | | | items. Give them bigger headlines or more |
| to know exactly what he needs and he can | | | | prominent placement. |
| better decide which information he should see | | | | Use sales statistics to discover the best-selling |
| which information he should skip to suit his needs | | | | products and put them on top of search listings. |
| perfectly. Personalization technology mostly | | | | Use server traffic to keep track of such areas of |
| understands consumers poorly, and it requires a | | | | the site as are seeing unusually strong activity and |
| lot of information about users which is not always | | | | place links to these areas on the home page. This |
| possible due to privacy concerns and time | | | | way you will not only save users clicks, but it's |
| constraints on the web. | | | | also a way of making people aware of the |
| Personalization cannot be an excuse for poor | | | | current buzz. |
| navigation and mindless prioritization | | | | Highlight the most popular items in a list that is |
| Leave it to the user to choose from a set of | | | | sorted by another criterion. |
| easily navigable options instead of going for | | | | Content that lies deep within the site sometimes |
| personalization option. It sounds more relevant in | | | | needs to be brought to the fore and featured at |
| cases where in testing of sites with | | | | higher levels to make users understand what's |
| personalization features, users say things like | | | | new or hot. |
| "don't stereotype me -- just give me the options | | | | Simple, context-sensitive personalization with |
| simply because I prefer choosing for myself | | | | plenty of user choices should be the focus Users |
| rather than having the computer tell me what's | | | | need to be given a certain amount of personal |
| good for me" because what they want on one | | | | freedom and control in order to feel secure with |
| visit can be very different from what they want | | | | a website. If something is having many |
| on the next. | | | | restrictions, users may be frustrated and find |
| On today's Web, a serious mistake most | | | | reaching their goals nearly impossible, even if |
| commonly found is to make everything too | | | | there are workarounds. Designers should |
| prominent: hyper-use of colors, reckless animation, | | | | understand that users have unique tastes and |
| frequent blinking, and many graphics. Every | | | | needs that are related to their broader personal |
| element of the page seems to scream "look at | | | | goals. They ought to offer personalization that is |
| me" (while all the other design elements compete | | | | simple and with a lot more choices which make |
| "no, look at me"). | | | | users more effective by helping them reach their |
| When everything is emphasized, nothing is | | | | goals. |
| emphasized. It better to advise the users and | | | | |