Developing Schemas for the Location of Common Web Objects

Abstract

This study examined where individuals expect specific web-related objects to be located on a typical web page, as well as compared any schematic differences between novice (less than one year of web experience) and experienced (more than three years of web experience) users for the location of these objects. The web objects examined were: grouping of links that internally connect web pages within the same website, grouping of links that lead to web pages that are external to a website, link to the homepage, internal search engine, and advertisement banner(s). The results suggest that users do have definable expectations concerning the location of these web objects, and these expectations are generally created early (less than one year) in the users' experience with the Web.