Exploiting link types during the conceptual design of websites

Abstract

With recent developments in World Wide Web technology, expressiveness of web sites and web applications is starting to converge to the functionality offered by Open Hypermedia Systems. In this paper, we examine how link typing, and an appropriate link definition can be used during the web site design process. Different existing approaches to link categorization are reviewed before going into closer detail to the concept of link and its properties. Next, four different types of links are defined, with a description of how each of them can be exploited to enhance the design process as well as the usability of the web site. Explicitly modeling the links as belonging to one of these four categories during the design phase allows to separate concerns during the modeling process; provide for clearer design guidelines; allows for better usability, multiple customized presentations, and other automatically generated enhancements to web sites (e.g. site map, in-page navigation structures, …). The approach is presented in the context of WSDM, an audience driven web site design method, but the principles are generally applicable.

Adaptive personal information environment based on the semantic web

“…Hypermedia link-types describe the associations. Therefore, hypermedia link-types are knowledge relations [10], and a set of hypermedia link types may be represented as an ontology.…”

A navigational role-centric model oriented web approach - MoWebA

“…Navigation has been identified as a critical and fundamental feature within web engineering De Troyer and Casteleyn, 2003). Nevertheless, navigational models are usually not the starting point of the modelling process.…”

A Navigational Role-Centric Model Oriented Web approach MoWebA

“…The study of Web methods and the classification proposed by Schwinger and Koch [126], as well as our previous experiences and that of different authors [133] [127] [24] [77], reveal some concerns about Web development.…”

“…The first concern establishes that "Navigational oriented modelling could help simplify the models for Web Applications". Navigation has been identified as a critical and fundamental feature within Web Engineering [110] [133]. Nevertheless, navigational models are usually not the starting point of the modelling process.…”