The Web underwent drastic changes throughout the years. It has evolved from a static information resource to a dynamic, interactive and collective playground leading to changes in user behavior (as e.g. in the way we read). ‘Users do not navigate on sites searching for information, but rather interact with an online application to complete a certain task’ [1].
Google has played an important role in this evolution. The growing ‘creep’ of Google’s search technology and aesthetics into more and more web applications, user interface designs and contexts has led to the ‘Googlization’ of the Web [2]. The term has a broader meaning, but I would like to focus – in this and the upcoming article – on the effects of Web use throughout the years on user behavior. For this I researched the evolution of the website Allrecipes.com.
From static information space to dynamic interactive space
In 1998 Allrecipes.com started out as an dumping ground for recipes. It was more a portal to host satellite sites; an ‘information space’ filled with a myriad of recipes that weren’t searchable on the site.
Navigation was cumbersome and relied on hyperlinks pointing to sub-sites via which users were pointed to recipes that belonged to a particular cuisine or dish. AllRecipes.com employed the concept of continuity – ‘a set of techniques, that taken as a totality, creates a pleasurable and fluid experience of the website for the user’ [3] – between their main site and the several satellite sites.
The first redesign occurred in 1999. Allrecipes.com proclaimed itself as ‘The recipe network’ instead of simply being ‘A network of recipe sites’. They depended on an one-way communication model, a static information resource, based on giving suggestions instead of relying on dynamic interaction with users in which searchable content is central. But in April 1999 they changed their concept and introduced the search bar, which they placed – interestingly enough – below the fold and outside users immediate view.
The potential of the search bar remained unrealized until November of that year. That is when they moved the search bar above the fold and in the left vertical menu bar as a result of the recognition of the search bar’s potential. Evidence of site consolidation within their network of sites became more apparent as links pointing to satellite sites were featured less and less frequently.
In 2000 they underwent another redesign. The network of websites led by Allrecipes.com was consolidated and satellite sites were integrated in categories in the main websites. The search bar moved again and gained more prominence situating it in the header. Users were encouraged to specify their search terms by searching on e.g. ingredient, submitter or keyword.
Interactive and dynamic features were introduced like the shopping list, the recipe box and user generated content. With these changes they propelled themselves into the ‘MySpace’ era. The website became more emancipatory, a medium in which communication wasn’t anymore a one-to-many communication model, but more and more bidirectional empowering users to manipulate the content of the website.
From 2006 they further improved specific search options for the search bar and gave it maximum prominence by placing the search bar in the middle of the header. Web 2.0 elements emerged empowering the crowd to use the website as they’d liked.
Web Use and user behavior
As the Web has evolved from a static information resource to a dynamic and interactive playground changes on user behavior have become noticeable. Users have become more search-oriented in many contexts. We often see this in our usability lab as mentioned in an previous article. Users also have become accustomed to following several paths or tasks parallel to each other and cope with dynamic pages (from e.g. AJAX applications) facing new cognitive demands when browsing the Web.
The analysis of the website of Allrecipes.com can be used as a basis for an historical analysis of Web use throughout the years. But also interesting is to dive in what extent user behavior has been affected by the changes in aesthetics, user interface design and the Googlization of the Web. In the next article I will focus on the effects of user behavior due to the changing use of the Web throughout the years.
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[1] Weinreich H, Obendorf H (2008). Not Quite the Average: An Emperical Study on Web Use. ACM Transactions on the Web
[2] Salkever A. (2003). Google Here, There, and Everywhere. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Web Use and its Effects on User Behavior (1)", url: "http://dancinguphill.com/2010/03/web-use-and-its-effects-on-user-behavior-1/" });