Advanced Web Design: A Primer

 

Making a Web page is easy. Given a good software package, any beginner can create a Web site in less than a day… sometimes less than an hour! Given a little more time, your average computer user can probably pick up a good understanding of HTML too, giving added control over the look and design of the site.

What comes next, though? As soon as any fledgling Web author sets her sites beyond the limitations of modern HTML, she is faced with a daunting barrage of acronyms (CSS, ASP, PHP, and XML, to name a few) and advanced technologies (such as Dynamic HTML, JavaScript, Cold Fusion, and MySQL). How is one expected to make sense of it all?

In this article, I’ll attempt to do just that. I’ll begin this week by drawing a line between the two main categories of advanced Web technologies: client-side and server-side technologies. I’ll talk about what makes them different, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Then I’ll take a stroll through the client-side technologies, providing a plain-English description of what each of them does and a couple of links to where you can learn more. Finally, I’ll do very much the same thing for each of the server-side technologies.

By the end of this article, you should have a better idea of how it all fits together. And hopefully, you’ll be equipped to decide for yourself what to learn next based on what any given technology can do for you.

Key Takeaways

• Understand the distinction between client-side and server-side technologies in web design, which primarily differ in where the processing occurs—either on the user’s device or on the web server.
• Explore client-side technologies like JavaScript and CSS that operate within the browser, enhancing user interaction and page styling without constant server communication.
• Delve into server-side technologies, such as PHP and ASP, which handle dynamic content generation and database interactions on the server, ensuring consistent performance across different browsers.
• Recognize the role of databases in advanced web design, particularly in managing dynamic and content-rich sites efficiently through server-side scripting.
• Acknowledge the necessity of mastering both client-side and server-side elements to optimize web functionality, user experience, and cross-compatibility.
• Emphasize the importance of continuous learning and adaptation to new web technologies to keep up with evolving design trends and technical requirements.

Waiters and Customers: Clients and Servers

As I mentioned above, advanced Web design technologies may be divided into two broad categories: server-side and client-side. Understanding the difference between the two requires a basic understanding of what goes on when someone views a Web page on the Internet.

You’ve done it hundreds, if not thousands of times before. You’ve typed a Web address (URL) into your Web browser’s address field and it has loaded and displayed the corresponding Web page. But what’s really going on behind the scenes?
In the simplest sense, there are two computers involved in this process: your computer, where you Web browser is running, and the computer somewhere on the Internet that serves up the Web page in question. In this arrangement, your computer is known as the client and the computer providing the Web page is known as the server. Think of the server as a waiter in a busy restaurant, and the client as one of the customers clamouring for his attention. Just like in the real world, one server (or waiter) is responsible for fulfilling the requests of many clients (or customers).

In our busy restaurant, the waiter takes orders from the customers, and then brings them (hopefully) what they ordered. This is surprisingly similar to what goes on between the client and server computers on the Web. The client computer, as you know, runs a Web browser that allows it to view Web pages. This software, when provided with a Web address, sends a request for that address over the Internet to another software program running on the server computer. This program, known as a Web server, responds to that request by sending back the Web page corresponding to the address. It is then up to the browser to interpret that Web page, converting it into human-readable format and slapping it up on the client computer’s screen.

The retrieval and display of any Web page on the Internet proceeds along the same general lines I have just outlined; however, it’s not always quite as simple. Most advances in Web design lately have come with the cost of additional steps in the above process. Whether the additional steps come before or after the waiter hands the customer his order is the difference between client- and server-side technologies.

In most restaurants, the waiter isn’t the one responsible for preparing the food; that’s the cook’s job. The waiter just takes the order, and relays it to the cook. The cook prepares the order, and then gives it to the waiter to give to the customer. In a way, the cook assists the waiter in his work: giving the customers what they ask for. In the same way, the Web server software running on the server computer can have ‘helpers’ that let it do more than just serve up ready-made meals–err, Web pages. These helpers are server-side technologies for advanced Web design.

Now, when the customer finally gets his order from the waiter, the logical thing for him to do is eat it, right? But sometimes it’s not so simple. Consider, for instance, if the customer ordered French toast. Typically, he will also be given a little cup of maple syrup. If the customer were to just eat his meal as-is, taking a swig of maple syrup after every few bites of French toast, he might get a funny look or two. Instead, the customer is expected to spread the syrup on his toast before eating it – a small part of the task of preparing the meal has been left for the customer to do. By the same token, some Web pages are more complex for the browser to display than simply taking the HTML and converting it into a picture on the screen. Sometimes additional tasks must be completed by the Web browser for the Web page to be displayed. Anything that requires the browser to become a more active participant in determining what to display on the screen is a client-side technology for advanced Web design.

Client-side Technologies

Let’s now take a look at the currently available client-side technologies. Remember, the one thing all of these technologies have in common is that they require the browser to do something other than read pure HTML to display a Web page.

JavaScript (also: JScript, ECMAScript)

This is a programming language that Web browsers understand. Originally developed by Netscape under the name LiveScript, JavaScript is a relatively simple programming language that may be embedded in Web pages. Like most simple programming languages designed to run inside another program, JavaScript is known as a “scripting language”.

An HTML Web page can also contain JavaScript code, which the Web browser runs once the Web page has been received from the Web server. JavaScript lets a Web page author do things like make page elements responsive to user actions (e.g. changing an image when the user moves the mouse cursor over it) and conditions on the user’s computer (e.g. displaying “good evening!” on the Web page if the computer’s system clock says it’s after 6PM and before midnight).

JavaScript can do a lot of fun things, but for security and privacy reasons is limited in many ways. Cross-browser compatibility is also an issue, as the JavaScript support in some browsers is not the same as the JavaScript support in others. For this reason, some features of JavaScript that only work on Internet Explorer or Netscape (but not both) are rarely used.

Microsoft actually calls their version of JavaScript “JScript”, to explain these slight differences between the language in Netscape and Internet Explorer. Both of these browsers (and others, such as Opera), are gradually moving to make their implementations compatible with the ECMAScript standard – a browser-independent definition of what should work how in these languages.

JavaScript is often confused with Java, when they are actually two different programming languages, suited to different purposes. The reason for their similar names is generally attributed to the fact that they are both used in Advanced Web design; however, the languages themselves actually do look quite similar. If you’ve ever written computer programs in C, C++, or Java, you won’t find JavaScript hard to learn at all. Even if you’re completely new to JavaScript, though, it’s not that difficult to learn.

Resources:

• JavaScript 101 on Sausage Island
• Thaus JavaScript Tutorial on Webmonkey
• JavaScript Primer on Website Abstraction

VBScript

Internet Explorer browsers support another client-side scripting language similar in scope and purpose to JavaScript, called VBScript. Since VBScript can do little that JavaScript cannot, it is usually best to stick with JavaScript unless you have some special reason to use VBScript.

Resources:

• VBScript Overview on Windows Scripting Technologies

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Cascading Style Sheets sound a lot scarier than they really are. CSS is a language for describing how you want the elements of a Web page to look. Whereas before you would do this with tags like <B>, <I>, and <FONT>, CSS allows you to use HTML to define just the structure of the information being displayed on a Web page and then tell the browser how you want that information to be presented.

For example, instead of using <FONT FACE="arial"> all over your site to set text inside of <P> tags to an Arial font, you can just use bare <P> tags, and create a CSS file that instructs Web browsers that all <P> tags should be displayed in an Arial font. Making changes to the look of your site becomes much easier, since you can make a change in one place and have it affect your whole site at once, and your HTML code becomes much less cluttered.

Again, different browsers support CSS to differing extents, and there are in fact entire swaths of the CSS language dealing with how a Web page should sound when it is read by software for the blind that have yet to be supported by any browser at all. Nevertheless, there is enough support available already to save yourself a lot of time typing <font> tags, and you may actually find that CSS saves you more time than it takes you to learn it!

Resources:

• Mulder’s Stylesheets Tutorial on WebMonkey

Dynamic HTML (DHTML)

Not actually a language in and of itself, the term “Dynamic HTML” refers to the practice of using the various features of modern Web browsers together to make Web page elements change and respond to user input without help from the Web server. In most cases, this means using HTML, JavaScript, and Cascading Style Sheets together. Dynamic HTML would be a very powerful tool if it weren’t for the differences between Web browsers’ support for these languages. While many exciting effects are possible using Dynamic HTML techniques, in most cases these take a lot of experience to do in a manner that will work on both major browsers.

Resources:

• Beginners Guide to DHTML on WebmasterBase

Java

Java is a full-featured programming language like C++, but simpler and more tightly structured. Java programs, instead of running directly on a computer’s operating system, run on a “Java Virtual Machine”, which itself is a program that runs on the computer’s operating system. This means that, in theory, any operating system that has a Java Virtual Machine (pretty much all major operating systems these days) can run any Java program. Since the production of Java Virtual Machines is highly standardized, incompatibilities between the various platforms are minimal. The disadvantage is that Java programs tend to run slower as the Virtual Machine has to convert Java program instructions and pass them to the operating system on which it is running.

What does all this have to do with advanced Web design? Well, modern Web browsers usually have Java Virtual Machines embedded within them. This allows a Web designer to embed small Java applications (called Applets) into Web pages. While learning Java and programming Java applets is far from simple, Java applets can do just about anything a regular program can do, except they can do it in a rectangular area inside a Web page.

Common uses of Java applets include chat programs and online games. For security reasons, however, Java applets cannot access files or other potentially sensitive information on your computer, and they cannot connect to computers other than the Web server that sent them.

Resources:

• The Java Tutorial from Sun Microsystems

Server-side Technologies

Server-side technologies for advanced Web design are largely the result of users’ desire for Web sites to serve as large, dynamic, interactive, and customizable sources of information that is kept constantly up to date. When these goals fall on your lap as a Web designer, you quickly realize that your trusty HTML editor just isn’t up to the task.

Consider the official Olympics Web site, which at the time of this writing is providing event results and other coverage of the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. If you live in one of the lucky countries that is getting live TV coverage of the Games and have checked out the site, you were probably impressed by the fact that results on the page are so up-to-date that they often feature headlines such as “At the halfway mark, the race leaders are as follows…” that are as fresh as what you’ll be watching on television!

How is this possible? Does IBM (the company responsible for producing the site) have reporters editing HTML on laptops at each of the events? Of course not! Not only would this be a management nightmare, but it would be impossible to produce results of the quality and reliability that can be found on the site without a lag time of several hours (consider the mess of updating the medal tally pages when several events are occurring concurrently!).

No, plain HTML pages are definitely not up to this kind of task, and neither are any of the client-side technologies we saw last time. With the possible exception of Java, which can do just about anything a software program can do (but then IBM would have been just as well off making people download a full-blown program to view Olympic results), client-side technologies are all either too unreliable (in terms of browser support) or not powerful enough.

As we have mentioned, server-side technologies are the solution here. While basic Web server software simply sends HTML files in response to requests from Web browsers, server-side technologies expand on the capabilities of the Web server to allow it to dynamically generate HTML web pages by running programs, connecting to databases, and doing other fancy stuff in response to a browser request.

The big advantage of server-side technologies is that they don’t rely on any special features of the Web browser making the request. A dynamic Web page created using JavaScript (a client-side technology) requires that the browser understand the JavaScript language that the page was written with. A dynamic Web page created using PHP (a server-side technology), however, can be viewed in any browser that understands HTML, since the PHP code is run and converted to plain HTML on the Web server before it is sent to the Web browser. Thus the term: server-side.

Since only the Web server itself needs to support any given server-side technology used to build a site, there are a lot more options out there in this area. In this article, we’ll cover the most widespread of these to give you a good idea of what’s out there.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI)

The Common Gateway Interface, or CGI, is a standard that allows a Web server to execute an external program and send its output to a Web browser that requested it. Thus, a CGI-capable Web server, when receiving a request for, say, “medalstandings.exe”, will not simply send that file to the browser. Instead, it will recognize the file as an executable program and run it. The Web server captures the output (which is usually an HTML document, but could be anything from a GIF image to an Adobe Acrobat document) and sends it to the Web browser in response to the request.

CGI was the original method of creating dynamic Web applications. You can write a program in C/C++, Perl, or whatever language can run on your Web server computer, and tell the Web server to treat it as a CGI program. CGI has become very unpopular lately with the rise of server-side scripting languages (which we’ll look at in a moment), because with CGI the Web server has to launch an external program for every request. A site that gets 10,000 hits an hour will result in a lot of these CGI programs running at once, placing a tremendous strain on the Web server computer and slowing down access times to the site.

Resources:

• CGI Scripts for Fun and Profit on WebMonkey

Server-Side Scripting Languages

Server-side scripting languages, such as PHP, ASP, and PerlScript, are all intended to fulfill the same role as CGI (allowing the Web server to run a specialized program in response to a browser request) without the burden of launching an external program for every request.

By installing a plug-in, you can “teach” Web server software how to do things like run programs written in Perl or PHP (see below for descriptions of these) all by itself, instead of having to ask the operating system to run them as separate programs. When a Web page containing one of these languages is requested, the Web server uses its internal plug-in to run the code in the page, then send the results to the Web browser.

The distinction here is subtle, but very important. If, for instance, a Web server knows how to interpret Perl code all by itself, it doesn’t have to waste the time and resources involved in launching the code as a separate program to generate a dynamic Web page with it. In addition, the Web server can do smart things like realizing that a particular dynamically-generated page will change at most every 5 minutes, so if it runs some Perl code in response to a request from one Web browser, it’ll keep a copy of the resulting HTML on hand for 5 minutes so that it doesn’t have to re-run that same Perl code if another identical request is received within that time.

Resources:

• See descriptions of individual scripting languages below

Perl (also: PerlScript)

Perl is a programming language that excels at manipulation of text. As such, it is ideally suited to the development of dynamic Web pages. This isn’t to say that advanced Web design is the only application of Perl – it is heavily used in the automation of administrative tasks on Unix-based systems, for example.

Perl programs (or “scripts”, as they are commonly known) can be installed either as CGI programs or as server-side scripts using the mod_perl plug-in for the Apache Web server (in which case they are sometimes said to be written in “PerlScript”).

Resources:

• www.perl.com from O’Reilly
• Introduction to Perl for CGI on WebMonkey
• Intro to Mod_Perl on WebMonkey

PHP

Personal Home Page, PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, or simply PHP, is a somewhat less flexible language than Perl, but is more specialized towards the creation of dynamic Web pages. This focus means that you can do pretty much anything you can do with Perl using PHP when it comes to advanced Web design, but with simpler syntax (making PHP easier to learn).

Designed for use as a server-side scripting language (whereas Perl was not originally designed for use on the Web), this language bears similarities to other common languages (Perl, C/C++, Java, JavaScript), to make it easy for existing programmers to use.

Resources:

• Building a Database-Driven Web Site using PHP and MySQL on WebmasterBase

Active Server Pages (ASP)

Active Server Pages (ASP) is a framework for running scripting languages like VisualBasic and JavaScript as server-side scripting languages. Developed by Microsoft, this is mainly supported by Microsoft-brand Web Server software. As a solution for creating dynamic Web sites, ASP basically fills the same role as PHP, but with some degree of freedom in your choice of programming language. The trade-off is a loss of freedom in your choice of Web server software.

Resources:

• 4GuysFromRolla.com
• ASP Today

Cold Fusion

A Web server with its own built-in server-side scripting language in one product, Cold Fusion is designed to be easy for inexperienced users to set up and learn. Unlike some of the above-mentioned solutions that are free, Cold Fusion is a commercial product. It does come with a helpful authoring environment, but with PHP, ASP, and others becoming more and more easy to learn and use, Cold Fusion is losing popularity.

Resources:

• Allaire Cold Fusion Web Site

Server-Side Java (Servlets, JavaServer Pages, etc.)

We already mentioned Java in the client-side portion of this article as a language for creating “Applets” – small programs that run in Web pages using a “Java Virtual Machine” (JVM) embedded in the Web browser. Java, as a full-blown programming language, however, can run just about anywhere – including on the Web server computer. In the past few years, plug-in JVM’s for Web servers have endowed them with the ability to run Java programs as server-side scripts.

While this technology has been growing in leaps and bounds in areas where complex and bulletproof functionality is expected from a Web page (in eCommerce applications, for example), Java on the server side is just as intimidating to learn as Java on the client side (if not more so). If you’re an experienced programmer, then server-side Java is an extremely powerful tool to add to your repertoire; otherwise, you’ll probably want to steer clear in favour of a simpler solution like PHP or ASP.

Resources:

• Java Servlet Technology Web Site
• JavaServer Pages Web Site

Database Servers

A database is, in basic terms, a repository of information. Looking back at the Olympics Web site, for example, all of the event results, medal standings, and athlete biographies that appear on the site are actually stored in a database someplace. Databases are not good at displaying information in an attractive format (such as a Web page), but they’re really good at keeping track of large quantities of related information.

A database server is a program that lets another program retrieve information stored in a database. Just like Apache and OmniHTTPD are Web servers that serve Web pages, programs such as MySQL and Oracle are database servers that serve databases.

A “database-driven Web site” is a Web site where all of the actual information is stored in a database, and the Web pages themselves are produced by server-side scripts that connect to a database server to fetch that information and “plug it into” the attractive Web page design that is then sent to your Web browser. Such sites can provide access to vast quantities of information with surprisingly little maintenance overhead, because if you make a change to the information stored in the database, all the Web pages on your site that display that information are automatically updated as a result.

Resources:

• Building a Database-Driven Web Site using PHP and MySQL on WebmasterBase

MySQL

A free database server, this program runs on a computer to provide access to and manage one or more databases. Just as browsers use HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) to request and download Web pages, programmers can use SQL (Structured Query Language) to communicate with a MySQL server and request information stored in a database. Since it is free for most uses, MySQL is a very popular solution for creating databases for content-driven Web sites.

Resources:

• Building a Database-Driven Web Site using PHP and MySQL on WebmasterBase

Which is Better?

If, until now, you’ve mainly dabbled in HTML, you may be asking yourself, “Which is better, client-side or server-side?” While this is a natural question to ask, the fact of the matter is that neither is better than the other. Instead, they each have advantages and disadvantages, and it’s up to you to determine which is the best choice for any given application.

Client-side technologies such as JavaScript and DHTML tend to be very “nimble” in terms of their ability to affect what is displayed on the user’s screen. These technologies, running right inside the Web browser itself, have direct access to things like browser windows and Web page elements, and can modify these in response to user actions such as mouse movements and clicks. The weakness that all client-side technologies share is their reliance on browser support, which rarely turns out to be the same on different browsers.

This limitation is completely surmounted by server-side technologies, which run entirely on the Web server, and thus only need to work properly on that one computer to produce identical results on every Web browser in the world. Server-side technologies, however, removed as they are from the web browser, cannot do anything to modify a page once it has been sent to the Web browser for display until the Web browser requests another page (usually when the user clicks a link or submits a form). Server-side technologies also tend to be more complicated to set up, as they require you to make modifications to your Web server software’s configuration.

For these reasons, most modern Web pages are created using a combination of client- and server-side technologies. Server-side is used wherever reliability, cross-browser compatibility, and direct access to resources like databases are required. When a server-side technology isn’t “nimble” enough to produce the desired results, a little client-side technology can often be added to the mix to provide the right balance of power and responsiveness to user input.

Wrap-Up

Is your head spinning yet? There really is a lot to learn in Web development, and it often seems like the possibilities are growing faster than your ability to take advantage of them all! The trick is to keep in mind what you are trying to accomplish, and focus on learning those technologies that will help you better meet those goals.

Are you considering an advanced Web design project of your own? Need some advice from the experts? Questions and discussions related to this article, as always, are welcome in the SitePoint.com Forums. See you there!

Frequently Asked Questions on Advanced Web Design

What are the key elements of advanced web design?

Advanced web design goes beyond the basics of creating a visually appealing website. It involves a deep understanding of user experience (UX), search engine optimization (SEO), responsive design, and the latest web technologies. Key elements include a clean and intuitive interface, fast loading times, mobile-friendly design, and effective navigation. It also involves the use of advanced coding languages like JavaScript, PHP, and Python to create dynamic, interactive elements.

How does advanced web design differ from basic web design?

While basic web design focuses on the aesthetic aspects and layout of a website, advanced web design delves deeper into the technical aspects. It involves creating a seamless user experience, optimizing for search engines, and ensuring the website is responsive across different devices. Advanced web design also involves the use of complex coding languages and technologies to create interactive features and functionalities.

Why is user experience (UX) important in advanced web design?

User experience is crucial in advanced web design as it directly impacts how visitors interact with your website. A good UX design ensures that visitors can easily navigate your site, find the information they need, and complete desired actions. This not only improves user satisfaction but also increases the chances of conversions and return visits.

How does SEO factor into advanced web design?

SEO is a critical component of advanced web design. It involves optimizing your website so it ranks higher in search engine results, thereby increasing visibility and attracting more traffic. This includes using relevant keywords, optimizing meta tags, ensuring fast loading times, and creating a mobile-friendly design.

What is responsive design in the context of advanced web design?

Responsive design is a web design approach that ensures your website looks and functions well on all devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This is crucial in today’s digital age where people access the internet from various devices. A responsive design improves user experience and can also boost your SEO ranking.

What coding languages are commonly used in advanced web design?

Advanced web design often involves the use of complex coding languages like JavaScript, PHP, and Python. JavaScript is used to create interactive elements on your website, PHP is used for server-side scripting, and Python is used for its readability and efficiency.

How can I learn advanced web design?

There are many resources available for learning advanced web design. This includes online courses, tutorials, and guides. You can also learn by practicing and experimenting with different web technologies and tools. It’s important to stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in the field.

What are some common challenges in advanced web design?

Some common challenges in advanced web design include ensuring compatibility across different browsers and devices, optimizing for SEO, creating a seamless user experience, and staying updated with the latest web technologies and trends. It also requires a deep understanding of coding languages and web technologies.

How does advanced web design impact business performance?

Advanced web design can significantly impact business performance. A well-designed website can attract more visitors, increase engagement, and boost conversions. It can also improve your SEO ranking, increasing visibility and driving more traffic to your site. Moreover, a good user experience can lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

What are some examples of advanced web design?

Examples of advanced web design include websites that feature interactive elements, dynamic content, personalized user experiences, and advanced functionalities. This could be anything from e-commerce websites with personalized product recommendations to news websites with dynamic content updates.

Tried Surfing The Web With Your Eyes Closed?

 

To publish information for global distribution on the Internet, a globally understood language is required, one that all computers can potentially understand and interpret. The publishing language used by the World Wide Web is HTML (HyperText Mark-Up Language) and using this anyone can produce at least a basic webpage. As a result, more and more content is appearing on the World Wide Web daily, created by the average user, without much thought being given to its accessibility by other people.

Accessibility means providing flexibility to accommodate each user’s needs and preferences. In an Internet context, accessibility is making computer technology and Internet resources useful to more people than would otherwise be the case. We need Internet accessibility because it expands a Website’s potential audience to the millions who are required to use alternative browsing technologies.

Browsing the World Wide Web is an immensely visual experience. Button menus, animations, images are all used to set the mood of a website and help us to understand what the author is trying to achieve. The font used, the size of the text and the colour scheme all serve to guide us through the complex experience that is navigating the Web.

However, how would the nature of the browsing experience change if you tried doing it with your eyes shut? This may sound like a stupid idea at first, but hang on, don’t just dismiss it. In fact, go and try it and see what happens. Visit a website which you have not been to before and close your eyes shut – no cheating now! <10 minutes later> Ok, you’re back now, how was it? Would “nearly impossible” not even be close to describing it?

After your first experience of browsing the Web without the use of sight you may decide not to try that again, however, there is an entire sector of the population that have no choice. Many Internet users cannot use the full range of resources available. They may not be able to see, hear, move or be able to process some types of information easily or at all; they may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse; or they may be in a situation where their ears or hands are busy.

These users use adaptive technology with their computer to access the WWW. For example, a person who is blind may use a speech output system to read aloud text that is presented on the screen. In the case of blind users, or people who are using a telephone or a tiny handheld computer, and become functionally blind, it is much easier to hear material spoken out loud than to try and view it on a screen. People using this technology and other alternatives can experience difficulty using the WWW due to a clear lack of separation of the content, structure and presentation aspects of the pages. Sites designed to account for these users will more likely be beneficial to the Internet community as a whole, because this will result in better designed pages.

If the World Wide Web is to ever become a truly universal medium, then changes have to be made to make it accessible to everyone. Nowadays, most television programmes have subtitles for deaf viewers, buildings have been made accessible to wheelchair users, and books have been recorded so that people can listen to them – now it is time to apply these same principles to the Web!

If these were not reasons enough to make a Website accessible, there are many governments which are now considering accessibility policies which can be applied to the Web. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered entities to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the program or service or in an undue burden. As a result of this policy, last year the National Federation for the Blind filed suit against America Online, arguing that AOL’s software did not work with screen readers, and is in direct contradiction of ADA. This lawsuit has since then been dropped, as AOL has agreed to make future versions of its software accessible.

There are many commendable efforts on the Web to make it more accessible. Microsoft Corporation has an Accessibility and Disabilities website (www.microsoft.com/enable/) which lists accessibility aids which are compatible with its products. A notable validating service that rewards accessible sites is “Bobby” (www.cast.org/bobby). The makers of Bobby at the Center for Applied Special Technology recommend that you use Bobby as a first test for your site, then invite users with disabilities to explore and comment. In April 1997 the World Wide Web Consortium launched the Web Accessibility Initiative at the Santa Clara WWW conference. The (W3C) is responsible for creating guidelines and educating the industry. If you wish you may also visit the Public Service Commission of Canada’s Web Page Accessibility Self-Evaluation Test (http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/eepmp-pmpee/access/welcome1.htm).

Yet these are but the first steps in making the Web accessible. At the moment the tools available are few, and existing guidelines for developing accessible websites are restricted to general accessibility issues.

For the time being, many of us can help, whether we are web developers, policy makers within an organization, or Internet users. We can make sure that our pages are accessible, we can recommend our organization to consider the issue of accessibility, and we can support the hard work that many people are doing to try and make the web a better place for all.

As Tim Berners-Lee, Director of the W3C puts it: “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect”.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Surfing the Web with Eyes Closed

How does surfing the web with eyes closed work?

Surfing the web with eyes closed is made possible through the use of assistive technologies such as screen readers. These tools convert text on a webpage into speech, allowing visually impaired individuals to access and navigate the internet. They can read out loud everything from text to alt tags on images, and even describe the layout of a webpage.

What is the importance of web accessibility?

Web accessibility is crucial as it ensures that all individuals, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, can access and use the internet effectively. It promotes inclusivity and equal opportunities, allowing everyone to participate fully in the digital world.

How can I make my website more accessible?

There are several ways to make your website more accessible. This includes using alt tags for images, ensuring your site is navigable by keyboard alone, using clear and simple language, and providing transcripts for audio and video content. Additionally, you can use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) to improve the accessibility of your dynamic content and advanced user interface controls.

What is ARIA and how does it help in web accessibility?

ARIA stands for Accessible Rich Internet Applications. It is a set of attributes that define ways to make web content and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It helps by providing additional semantics to help assistive technologies convey appropriate information to users.

What are some popular screen readers?

Some popular screen readers include JAWS (Job Access With Speech), NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access), and VoiceOver which is built into all Apple devices. These tools can greatly assist visually impaired individuals in navigating the internet.

How can I test my website’s accessibility?

There are several tools available online to test your website’s accessibility. These include WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool), Google’s Lighthouse, and the aXe Chrome extension. These tools can provide valuable insights into any accessibility issues your website may have.

What is the role of alt tags in web accessibility?

Alt tags, or alternative text, provide a textual description of images on a webpage. This is particularly useful for visually impaired individuals using screen readers, as the alt text can be read out loud, providing context to the image.

How does keyboard navigation improve web accessibility?

Keyboard navigation allows users to navigate a website using only their keyboard, without the need for a mouse. This is particularly beneficial for individuals with motor disabilities who may struggle with using a mouse.

What is the importance of clear and simple language in web accessibility?

Using clear and simple language makes your content more accessible to a wider audience, including individuals with cognitive disabilities and those who may not speak English as their first language. It helps ensure that your message is understood by as many people as possible.

What are transcripts and how do they improve web accessibility?

Transcripts are written versions of audio or video content. They allow deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals to access the content, and can also be beneficial for individuals who prefer reading over listening or watching.

Building a Content Rich Website

 

Key Takeaways

• Focus on Quality Content: A website must offer valuable, informative, and engaging content to attract and retain visitors effectively. This can range from educational articles to entertaining videos.
• Regular Updates are Crucial: Consistently updating your website with fresh content is essential for keeping your audience interested and maintaining a competitive edge.
• Discipline in Content Creation: Establish a disciplined writing schedule to ensure regular content updates. Treat content creation with the seriousness of a professional commitment.
• Diverse Content Types: Incorporate a variety of content types such as editorials, feature articles, news updates, reviews, and interactive features to cater to different audience preferences.
• Engage and Interact with Visitors: Utilize interactive tools like polls, feedback forms, and discussion forums to engage visitors, gather valuable insights, and generate fresh content based on user interaction.
• Leverage Expert Contributions and Syndicated Content: Consider inviting guest contributors and syndicating content to provide diverse perspectives and reduce the burden of creating all content in-house.

What makes a Website attractive to a visitor? The content it provides, of course.

You might run a wonderful advertising campaign; develop viral marketing tools and attractive affiliate programs. But unless your Website is rich in content, the traffic spikes that result from your efforts will only be transient. Content that is useful, valuable, informative, educational or just plain entertaining can attract and retain an audience better than anything else.

Anyone can create a content-rich Website by following a few key points:

· Be disciplined
· Update your site regularly
· Know how to create content, or where to find it

Discipline and Commitment

To create your content-rich Website, you need tunnel vision and a laser sharp focus. In a word; self discipline. It’s easy to waste hours, even days, clicking your way from one site to another. Don’t let yourself be distracted: limit your online content explorations only to Websites and resources that are directly connected to your site’s subject.

Discipline also extends to content creation. Successful writers do not wait for inspiration before beginning their work. Instead, they develop a regular writing schedule, and they stick to it. Wether they feel like it or not, they sit down at a desk and write.

You too must develop a schedule to add content to your Website, and follow it. Nike has the right idea – ‘Just Do It’!

Regular Updates to your Website

Nothing is deader than an untended Website.

Regularly updating or modifying your Website’s content gives you an edge over the competition. People will keep returning to your site if they notice something new to see, learn from or enjoy each time.

Creating Your Content

You know best – or should – what your audience wants. It then becomes an easy task to decide about which types of content will best serve their needs and how to go about finding or creating it. Here are some suggestions:

· Editorials
· Feature articles
· News clips or stories
· Art galleries
· Aggregating the best content
· Reviews
· Announcements
· Interviews
· Interactive features – polls, feedback, discussion groups, forums, chat

Editorials

Editorials are the opinion of a perceived ‘expert’ in the field– (either you or a guest contributor). And they make good content, because they invite reader response, either endorsing or opposing the writer. This can make for lively debate. Give your readers an avenue to make their views known – by including a bulletin board or guest book on your site. People will return back to your site, at least to read other responses to their comments. And you can use this feedback from your audience by incorporating it into a follow up article in the future!

Full-length Feature Articles

A feature article is the most common – and one of the best – forms of content.

Depending on the nature of your site, the articles may be long or brief, formal or chatty, technical or entertaining.
Here are some tips:

· Articles shouldn’t be too long. While there aren’t any rules, it is perhaps safe to keep feature articles below 1200 words. If they are longer, convert them into multi-part features.

· Articles should be relevant to the topic of your Website.

· They should educate, entertain or inform. Try and limit the message of each piece to one or two new ideas.

· Don’t simply rehash an article you’ve read elsewhere. By publishing something that hasn’t been already featured elsewhere, you enhance the value and credibility of your site.

There are several ways to get original content.

– Write your own features. This assumes you write reasonably well. If you can’t, or don’t have the time or inclination then getting someone to write articles for you has benefits to both you and the author.

You could offer to:

a.) Pay guest authors for their work or

b.) Exchange articles with their Website in return. Your Website visitors benefit by providing them with another point of view. A fringe benefit is that you might hook some new regular visitors from your guest author’s site!

c.) Exclusivity. If someone else writes for you, make sure the same article won’t be submitted to dozens of other Websites and newsletters. Publishing exclusive content benefits includes syndication opportunities in other publications, online and off, and reader loyalty.

Reprints

Reprint articles written by others, but you must always obtain permission. All work, from the moment it is written, is copyright and owned by the author, whether it is marked with a copyright symbol or not. Content is not free. You can, however, make reprints interesting and personalised by putting your own ‘spin’ on the content. Write an introduction to the subject, or comment on the author’s opinions or conclusions.

Take care to avoid ‘editing’ the original article without the author’s permission. Avoid articles that have been reprinted many times before on other Websites and electronic publications.

The News Desk

Your Website can become a source of the latest developments and happenings in areas of interest by providing timely news on topics of interest to your readers.

Create a separate section of your site to deal with industry news. Or you might devote an entire Website to news updates.

There are many ways of presenting news:

· as a feature article
· As short news clips, with a link to the full story
· As news stories, where each item is explained at length

Whichever way you choose to present the news, make sure to stamp it with your own personality. Make it interesting, personal, chatty, fun, unique, or all of these – with your style of writing, or by adding your point of view.

As with feature articles, news clips should be

· Relevant
· Useful to your reader
· Timely. Remember, old news is no news!

There are many resources out there to help you find news stories to feature. You could:

· Subscribe to eZines on your topic
· Sign up for news delivery services that send updates periodically by email
· Register to receive press releases on your topic
· Actively hunt for newsy items during your Web surfing
· Read newspapers, magazines and books on your subject
· Attend conferences, workshops or seminars and write about your impressions

The Content Aggregator

By making your Website the ultimate content resource on issues related to your topic, you would attract and retain a loyal audience. Your site will become a destination for anyone seeking information on your subject.

As an expert on your topic, you can evaluate sites and other resources (eZines, directories, books, offline publications) for the best, and then list them along with your rating and opinions.

The Art Gallery

Text is not the only form of content. Sound, music, pictures, photographs, video clips – and soon maybe smell and dreams (!) – can be attractions on a Website.

If you are a professional photographer, you could create a display of your snaps. If you are a music group, you might offer some of your creations for download. Amateur moviemakers can use the Internet as their low-cost global distribution channel.

As broadband connectivity becomes more widely accessible, we might soon see the majority of Websites converting to such interactive and dynamic content models.

The Reviewer

Use your Website to recommend the *best* products and services to your visitors – books, websites, music, movies, artwork, web designers, restaurants, anything. You, the expert, tell them what is good and what isn’t.

Share something that will be of interest and benefit to them. If you read a great book, or surf into a wonderful Website, then tell your visitors about it. Reviews help build credibility and trust for your site.

How to write a review?

Here are some tips:

· Provide contact/ordering information for those who want to know more.

· Be relevant. Limit your reviews to the topic and subject of your site

· Be selective. Set high standards for the products you review. Be analytical. Tell your reader specifically what is good or bad about the thing you review, and why.

· Don’t go overboard. Restrain your impulse to offer extremes of praise and criticism.

· Offer Recommendations. At the end, say what you think about it. Is it good? Or bad? Should your reader buy the product, visit the Website, order the service? Tell them.

What should you review?

Anything – as long as it is relevant to the topic of your site, and is likely to have interest for your reader. Here are some ideas:

· Books: There are bound to be many books on your topic. Review good ones, and even bad ones. If an author/publisher sends you a book to review, write about it.

· Websites: If you have a favourite Website, or run across one that is useful, entertaining or informative, review it. Your readers will love you for this – they might never have found it on their own!

· Products and services can also be grist for your mill. Just remember to stay within the guidelines – relevant and useful to your reader.

Announcements

· Has your company done something new and innovative?
· Have you developed an improved version of your product?
· Are you privy to insider information in your industry?
· Do you follow the rumours and gossip in your field?
· Do you track swings and developments closely?

If you do, announce them on your Website. People love to feel informed and up with the latest gossip and happenings.

Interviews

An interview with an expert in your field or a famous person makes exciting, valuable content. And it is easy to conduct an interview via email or over the telephone.

Choose an expert or guest you think will be of interest to your readers. Learn more about your expert – special interests, experience, achievements, status in field, etc. This allows you to create pertinent questions.

Decide upon a topic for the interview. Prepare a set of questions you’d like to ask. Then contact your guest with an interview request.

Most people would be happy to participate in your interview. For those who seem hesitant, mentioning the exposure they would get from being on your Website is enough to get them to agree!

Send a copy of your questions to the guest by email, make a phone call or even arrange a face-to-face meeting. Once you have your copy, make editorial changes so that it reads well. This might mean re-arranging the questions so that there is a smooth flow of thoughts. And by intelligently interspersing additional queries and comments, you can make it appear as if the interview was carried out in person and make it more interesting to read!

Ask additional questions, or for clarification when necessary. Finally, make sure to get your guest’s approval for the final version of the interview. Then go ahead and publish it on your site.

Interactive Content

Why should you interact with readers?

· You can establish closer, more personal relationships with visitors
· You can find out about their preferences, likes and dislikes
· You can listen to their complaints and suggestions
· You can request their feedback on your performance
· You can collect valuable demographic data on your audience

AND…. you can get fresh content to use on your site!

All of this allows you to make improvements, additions and enhance the value and utility of your site to visitors. By employing interactive tools, you can generate content to use later. There are many different ways to do this. Here are a few ideas:

Polls and Surveys

Survey your readers. Ask a question. Request a vote on an issue or topic.
It could be about

· An article on the site – “Did you find this week’s feature helpful?”
· Current events – “Will you vote for the GOP in the next election?”
· A controversial issue – “Do you believe in religion in schools?”
· User preferences – “Would you like to see this site updated daily?”
· Demographic data – “Do you have young children?”

Some guidelines:

· Be brief. Ask no more than 7 or 8 questions

· Offer choices. Frame the questions to have a YES/NO option

· Provide an incentive to reply. A discount, a freebie, a trial membership

· Make the results available to respondents. Your readers will enjoy hearing about what their peers think and feel about these issues.

· Show that you are acting on the feedback received

Feedback

Reader feedback is extremely valuable – if you listen to it with a mind open to change and act on it. Criticism can stimulate you to improve standards. Questions and requests can indicate areas where you must provide content that helps your reader. A good feedback loop between Webmaster and site visitor is very valuable.

Make it obvious that you welcome feedback.

· On every page offer a link to let visitors write back with their comments, opinions and suggestions for improvement.

· Provide an email address to write to or use a feedback form

How do you turn feedback into content?

Use your creativity to come up with new ideas. Here are some suggestions:

· Write a feature article that answers the questions your reader asked

· Print out the questions or comments your reader sent in, and answer them. Take care to request their permission before quoting them. Most often they’ll agree – especially when you promise them a moment in the spotlight by mentioning their name or Website URL on your site!

· Act upon the suggestions readers make; then write about these changes

Discussion Lists

While feedback is a one-to-one communication, a discussion group permits many-to-many interaction, since every email sent to the group is distributed to each member.

Here’s what you can do:

– Create a discussion group using one of the free or pay-services.

– Announce it on your Website and eZine and invite everyone to participate.

Readers could debate controversial articles and news stories, discuss other issues related to your topic and share their views and opinions with other readers.

The material generated in such lively debate could again be used as the seed to grow content for your site.

Forums

An electronic bulletin board is a Website where a visitor can read messages posted by others, and respond by writing another message on the board. This reply is also displayed for others to read, producing a growing list of discussions on related topics.

After a reasonable period of time, the messages under a particular topic can be encapsulated into a feature article or other form of content on your site.

Chat Rooms

Real-time online chat is a fantastic interactive tool – but with unavoidable limitations. Chat events permit the creation of innovative pieces of content like

– Interviews with participants, especially experts and celebrities

– Discussions on featured topics and issues

– Workshops and seminars for your visitors

Transcripts of chat sessions – edited for continuity and flow of the conversation – make for exciting content.

How do you get Content for your Website?

There are four options:

· Create it yourself
· Invite contributions
· Hire content providers
· Syndicate or licence content from others

Creating Your Own Content

If you have a lot of experience in your speciality, and your writing skills are excellent, content creation will be a simple matter of sitting at your computer and banging away at the keys for a few minutes.

If, however, you aren’t wired that way, generating material for your site will feel like having a tooth pulled – without anaesthetic!

But don’t despair. There’s something for everyone on the Net :-)

Before you decide to create your own content, here are some things to think about:

Do you have the expertise?

Are you really an expert? Can you write valuable, reliable, interesting content regularly? Most of your readers won’t know much about your topic – indeed that’s why they visit your site in the first place! But there will be the occasional expert. You can’t fool your readers with pretence. Don’t even try to.

Do you have the skills?

Can you write well? You might understand General Relativity. But the way you write about it might confuse Einstein himself!

Do you have the time?

Writing original content of a high quality can be very time consuming. And because a good Website is never finished it is an ongoing thing, day after day, week after week. Can you do it?

Inviting Contributions

If writing your own content isn’t for you, there are many people around who will be happy to write for your Website. They do it because it projects them as experts, and gives them exposure and access to your readers. Most often, all that these authors ask in return is a by-line – a short 3 to 5 line description of the author and his/her business at the end of the article. So if you don’t want to (or cannot) create your own content, ask others to help.

Include an announcement on your site that articles from other authors are welcome. Then wade through the submissions to choose the best to present to your audience.

Hiring Content Providers

This is the rich man’s way out! Pay someone else to create content for you.

Content providers come in different forms.

· Freelance authors are writers-on-contract, who will submit articles on a pay-per-word/article basis.

· Full time writers and content providers are employees who will provide professional-quality material for a regular salary. While this could turn out to be expensive, it might still be cheaper than trying to acquire the skills on your own.

Syndicating or Licensing Content

Syndication is an interesting model to get quality-content from experts at reasonable cost. Content created by an individual or company is displayed on other partner Websites or eZines, in return for a payment (flat fee or percentage of revenue generated) or sometimes even for just exposure on the partner’s Website.

Licensing content for a specified period, on payment of a licensing fee, is another option.

You might consider syndicating or licensing content from:

· News services that provide brief updates and news flashes on a variety of topics

· Content aggregators who collate information on a topic from around the Web

· Magazines and Newspapers

· Content-rich niche portal sites

· Other Websites on your topic

Some General Tips For Website Content

Providing highly informative, entertaining and original content is only one part of the success formula.

A Webmaster who imbues their site with a part of their own personality makes their publication unique–and sets it apart from the pack. If a Webmaster can successfully convey to the reader their values, ideals, ambitions and attitudes, your readers come to believe they know you, the Webmaster, personally; they identify with you, trust you, and respect you.

Here are some ideas:

· It’s ok to be opinionated or state your point of view

· Always give your reader top priority

· Stick by your values and ethics

· Be emotional, not rigidly logical

If you love what you create on your site, it will show in your work. And your readers will feel it too.

Writing for the Web

Reading online, on a computer screen, differs in many ways from the way people read print publications. Most skim through an article rather than read it line after line.

By breaking up content into small chunks, and by the generous use of white space between them, you can make your WebPages look neat, uncluttered, and readable.

Some tips:

Use shorter sentences
Use ‘catch’ words and phrases
Avoid long, difficult words with many syllables
Get to the point right away
Use sub-titles to set off paragraphs

Spelling and Grammar

Your reader will judge you on many factors. Spelling/grammar is an important one.

Reasonable care to ensure correct spelling and grammar is essential if you are to establish a serious image.

A few mistakes might (and will) slip through the cracks! Your readers will probably accept this. But if it happens very often, you lose credibility.

Style

A formal, impersonal, grammatical style would be ideal for some topics. But a chatty, friendly, write-as-you-talk style will be a perfect fit for others. There aren’t any rules – use what works for you.

Be Bold – Experiment

Managing a Website can be an interesting voyage of self-discovery. Be adventurous. Try out new ideas. Imitate models you find interesting. Keep innovating.

And monitor response to each change. Did your readers like it? If they did, keep it. If not, experiment again.

Most sites grow by such trial-and-error methods. The winners are those who identify successful models and develop them, while ruthlessly eliminating any that fail.

An open mind to ideas and suggestions, and a willingness to adapt to change, is perhaps the best skill you can develop as a Webmaster.

Frequently Asked Questions about Content-Rich Websites

What is a content-rich website?

A content-rich website is a site that is loaded with informative, relevant, and high-quality content. This content can be in the form of text, images, videos, infographics, podcasts, or any other form of media that provides value to the user. The primary goal of a content-rich website is to engage the audience, provide them with valuable information, and encourage them to take a desired action, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.

Why is it important to have a content-rich website?

Having a content-rich website is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it helps in improving your website’s search engine ranking. Search engines like Google prioritize websites that provide valuable and relevant content to users. Secondly, it helps in attracting and retaining your audience. People are more likely to visit and stay on your website if they find the content useful and engaging. Lastly, it helps in building your brand’s credibility and authority in your industry.

How can I create a content-rich website?

Creating a content-rich website involves several steps. Firstly, you need to understand your audience and their needs. This will help you create content that is relevant and valuable to them. Secondly, you need to create a content strategy. This involves planning what type of content you will create, how often you will publish it, and how you will promote it. Thirdly, you need to create high-quality content. This involves researching your topic thoroughly, writing in a clear and engaging manner, and using visuals to enhance your content.

What types of content can I include on my website?

There are several types of content you can include on your website. These include blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, podcasts, case studies, white papers, e-books, webinars, and social media posts. The type of content you choose to include will depend on your audience’s preferences and your industry.

How can I optimize my content for search engines?

Optimizing your content for search engines involves several steps. Firstly, you need to do keyword research to find out what terms your audience is searching for. Secondly, you need to include these keywords in your content, title, meta description, and URL. Thirdly, you need to use internal and external links in your content. Lastly, you need to ensure that your content is high-quality and provides value to your audience.

How often should I update my website with new content?

The frequency at which you should update your website with new content depends on your industry and your audience’s needs. However, as a general rule, you should aim to update your website with new content at least once a week. Regularly updating your website with new content not only keeps your audience engaged but also improves your search engine ranking.

How can I measure the success of my content?

You can measure the success of your content using various metrics. These include the number of page views, the amount of time users spend on your page, the number of shares on social media, the number of comments, and the conversion rate. These metrics can give you an idea of how well your content is performing and where you need to make improvements.

What is rich media content and how can it benefit my website?

Rich media content refers to content that includes interactive elements, such as videos, audio clips, and interactive graphics. This type of content can benefit your website in several ways. Firstly, it can make your content more engaging and memorable. Secondly, it can increase the amount of time users spend on your page. Lastly, it can improve your search engine ranking, as search engines often prioritize websites with rich media content.

How can I promote my content?

There are several ways you can promote your content. These include sharing it on social media, sending it to your email subscribers, using SEO techniques to improve its visibility on search engines, and collaborating with influencers or other businesses in your industry.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when creating a content-rich website?

Some common mistakes to avoid when creating a content-rich website include not understanding your audience, not having a content strategy, not optimizing your content for search engines, not updating your website regularly with new content, and not promoting your content effectively.

Online Store Locator: An Essential Resource for Retailers in the 21st Century

 

Abstract

Most retailers use their websites and social media to increase their visibility, while potential customers get information about these retailers using the Internet on electronic devices. Many papers have previously studied online marketing strategies used by retailers, but little attention has been paid to determine how these companies provide information through the Internet about the location and characteristics of their stores. This paper aims to obtain evidence about the inclusion of interactive web maps on retailers’ websites to provide information about the location of their stores. With this purpose, the store locator interactive tools of specialty retailers’ websites included in the report “Global Powers of Retailing 2015” are studied in detail using different procedures, such as frequency analysis and word clouds. From the results obtained, it was concluded that most of these firms use interactive maps to provide information about their offline stores, but today some of them still use non-interactive (static) maps or text format to present this information. Moreover, some differences were observed among the search filters used in the store locator services, according to the retailer’s specialty. These results provided insight into the important role of online store locator tools on retailers’ websites.

Keywords:

online store locator; information technology; retailing; geographic information systems

1. Introduction

Competition is strong in the retail market and likely to increase in the years to come. The retail sector is a huge part of the economic and social performance of any developed country. Economic globalization and the widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT) are blurring spatial and temporal boundaries, which has prompted most medium-sized and large retail companies to adapt their structures and internal processes to the realities of this new era by expanding electronic, interactive, and direct marketing environments. With retailers selling their products through multiple distribution channels, product information management (Lin et al. 2010) has become an important part of the whole commerce solution implementation. Product information management helps retailers to provide product details and help customers better understand their products.

ICT play a critical role for the success of companies in a competitive environment, since these technologies help people to share knowledge through common platforms. In fact, digital technology has already started changing how consumers choose service providers. Furthermore, ICT help to establish social networks through their deployment via digital networks and to provide channels for communication and learning for improving products and services. Some recent studies have highlighted that traditional organizational systems are influenced by social networking tools (Soto-Acosta and Cegarra-Navarro 2016). This is an important issue, especially when considering that social networks can add value to the companies. The inclusion of these and other strategies are valuable resources for retail organizations, since they increase the amount of information shared with customers; facilitate data sorting, presentation, storage, and flow through the organization; and, finally, support the thoughts processes that inform effective decision-making (Yi and Jayasingam 2012).

Future growth for retail companies will depend on their ability to use creative methods and strategies to thrive under increasing competitive conditions. These actions have a direct impact in the Intellectual Capital of these firms, and therefore, in their competitiveness (Sydler et al. 2014). Among these strategies, marketing is a critical issue since it increases brand visibility and builds preference among customers. Several investigations have shown that marketing activities, such as advertising, are considered to be relational capital resources (Fernström 2005). In fact, relational capital includes marketing channels, relationships with customers, dealers, and suppliers, client loyalty, governmental and industrial networking, intermediaries or partners client relationships, etc. (Baxter and Matear 2004).

This paper studied the websites of specialty retailers around the world, in order to determine if they provided store locator that could be used by potential customers to find information about the location and facilities of the stores. Data provided in these websites, including the format (graphical or textual) and the degree of detail (information about the postal address, contact information, opening hours, facilities, etc.) was collected and analyzed using frequency analysis and word clouds.

2. Marketing Strategies in the Retail Sector

Some researchers have highlighted that the retail industry is dominated by fast-fashion and just-in-time production seeking to increase fashion trends (Pookulangara and Shephard 2013). Primary research interests in marketing applied to the retail sector are focused to analyze marketing strategies used by different types of retailers to promote goods and services. These include social media marketing, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, and other emerging strategies with high potential, real impact in e-commerce and digital marketing (Tagg et al. 2012).

2.1. Online and Physical Retailers Switch Roles

Online retailers (e-retailers) constantly seek to enhance customer experience by updating their virtual stores with different strategies, such as mobile commerce, website personalization, videocasts, etc. (Tsai et al. 2013). General use of Internet and mobile devices is making a huge impact on the way consumers interact with brands, such that offline retailers are also stimulated to adopt some of the technologies commonly used by online retailers. But traditional retailers are not the only ones adopting digital technologies. E-retailers are also searching for physical stores, which is why it is possible to conclude that online and physical retailers are switching roles.

2.2. Marketing on the Web

Digital Marketing can be defined as the integration of strategies on the web looking for clear objectives using different tools, platforms, and social media (Saura et al. 2017). Digital marketing is closely related to web analytics, i.e., which is the process of collection, analysis, and reporting of website data for purposes of understanding the behavior of visitors and optimizing web usage. In fact, several studies have shown that web analytics can be used for digital marketing performance measurement (Järvinen and Karjaluoto 2015). The importance of web analytics in the retail sector comes from the fact that the former is widely used by popular websites to provide useful data for client companies (Saura et al. 2017). An open question here is whether geolocation could improve the results of the web analytics. Previous investigations have shown that e-business and external web services contribute positively to firm performance (Meroño-Cerdán and Soto-Acosta 2007; Palacios-Marqués et al. 2015; Soto-Acosta et al. 2016). Medium-sized and large retailers have adapted their websites to create efficient communication channels with clients. Two clear examples are e-commerce and social media (Saboo et al. 2016). On the one hand, these websites often show goods and services, which can be easily bought via e-commerce (Hackl et al. 2014). On the other hand, retailers aim to increase brand awareness and sales by enhancing their corporate image through social media. Some studies have shown that firms face internal and external pressures to increase their digital presence on websites and social media platforms (Tiago and Veríssimo 2014). This is especially important today, since one of the biggest future challenges for marketing, and, consequently, for retailing, are young consumers (millennials and generation Z), since they seem to behave differently as consumers and are more focused on innovation (Priporas et al. 2017).

2.3. Mobile Marketing

The increase in the number of users of mobile devices around the world has promoted that the exchange of information based on location has become a trend on social networks (Kim 2016). With millions of people connected to the Internet using electronic devices, the interest in mobile marketing in the retail sector has increased remarkably. In fact, mobile marketing and its features can potentially increase a firm’s performance (Ström et al. 2014), which is why retailers have devoted important resources to adapt their traditional digital marketing strategies to the specific characteristics of mobile devices. For example, large firms have designed mobile apps to provide specific services to the potential customers. Therefore, mobile marketing (Berman 2016) has become an important component of a firm’s overall promotional strategy (Shankar 2016). Some studies have analyzed retailer mobile marketing strategies to identify customer-related and organizational challenges (Shankar et al. 2010).

3. Geomarketing and Geographic Information Systems

Location-based services (LBS) are services offered through mobile devices, according to the geographical location of its users. In recent years, the amount of geospatial data has grown rapidly, such that data from geosocial networks have become a comprehensively used basis for geospatial analysis in several application areas (Kounadi et al. 2018). Strategies considering geographical data have become powerful methods that enhance traditional marketing strategies. This issue is of great importance for potential customers, since it is well-known that distance (and time) is an important variable that determines whether a customer goes to a certain store to buy. Furthermore, large specialty retailers, which have thousands of stores around the world, can serve many customers daily. Since many real applications use geographic data, in recent years, location-based social network systems (LBSNS) have developed rapidly (Zhao et al. 2014). Several investigations have showed that advances in localization techniques enhance social networking services, allowing users to share their locations and location-related contents, such as photographs or activities (Bao et al. 2015; Palos-Sanchez et al. 2018).

3.1. Geomarketing

Geomarketing strategies play an important role in the definition of the retail sector (Cliquet 2006) and have become essential for those businesses interested in considering the spatial variable for decision support, such that it is possible to identify the points where a company will have higher benefits. Geomarketing has meaningful potential for developing marketing strategies to make business decisions based on spatial variables. This discipline is based on a set of techniques that analyze the socio-economic and demographic characteristics from a geographical viewpoint through spatial market segmentation (Chacón-García 2017). With this purpose, companies are increasing their efforts to optimize decisions related to the location of their facilities (Roig-Tierno et al. 2013), since retailers’ expansion is faced with the challenge of assessing the impact of a store network extension on the performance of their existing stores (De Beule et al. 2015). These decisions often assume the probability that a customer patronizes a facility is inversely proportional to the distance between the customer and the facility (Fernández et al. 2017), among other key factors. Furthermore, geomarketing strategies are also used by media and advertising agencies to focus customer promotion campaigns on specific geographical areas where their target groups are located.

The main potential of geomarketing comes from the fact that it facilitates reaching local customers, Internet customers, mobile device users, and social media users. The companies can apply geomarketing strategies to identify customers that could be interested in a certain product, as well as those within half an hour’s drive for the purposes of sending leaflets and flyers (Gijsbrechts et al. 2003). Furthermore, geomarketing is a useful tool to attract Internet customers, mobile device users, and social media users. Social media platforms are channels to send special offers to their users, according to their location. The advantages provided by geomarketing are specially interesting for retailers. For example, retailers can use the IP address of online shoppers or the stores they are searching to determine their location and to display the web pages in the language of the user or to send discounts or personal promotions to mobile phone users, according to the physical location at a specific moment. But in addition to the physical location of the customers, the information collected from store locator tools can be exploited to get information about which stores are of more interest to these customers.

Despite the aim of geomarketing strategies in identifying key opportunities for market strategy, planning locations of the stores, dividing sales regions to improve logistic organization, etc., applying geomarketing strategies is not a trivial issue. Thus, customer data collected from club cards, subscriptions, online transactions, mobile devices, and mail responses, etc. is stored in company databases. Afterwards, this data is applied to digital maps to be later analyzed by experts applying advanced analytical tools, according to specific business goals, such as identifying the location of customers for a new promotion.

3.2. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Geomarketing techniques are often supported by geographic information systems (GIS), which are powerful software tools that process geographical information considered of interest for decision-making processes in different areas of the organization. GIS software is of strategic importance for enterprises because it allows them to capture and analyze geospatial data, as well as including procedures that help to understand what occurs in geographic space. In Western countries, use of GIS in business, with applications in marketing, retail, restaurants, insurance, telecommunication, real estate, transport, etc. is increasing. In particular, the use of GIS in the retail sector allows retailers to obtain information about resources, suppliers, dealers, sellers, and customers, taking into account the geographical variable (Cliquet 2006), which is why GIS has become an interesting tool for marketing activities (Hess et al. 2004), including its use as an e-commerce tool with benefits for both the system’s use and that of the service provider. To implement geomarketing strategies in practice, internal data, external data, and maps are integrated in GIS. Most GIS include tools for automatically determining the location of one or several facilities, according to the location of demand points, location of own facilities, and location of competitor facilities, which are useful to determine the location of facilities to ensure proper coverage of goods to serve customers in a geographical area (ELSamen and Hiyasat 2017). In fact, medium and large firms use database marketing that can optimize the value of their data using geomarketing strategies, since the customer address or zip code can be linked to a GIS. Some authors have analyzed the three classic location theories: central place theory, spatial interaction theory, and the principle of minimum differentiation in the retail sector. Reigadinha et al. (2017) have used a GIS to analyze these theories in a geographical area and concluded that decisions related to store location are related to the population density, since the larger the population density the smaller the store’s distance from the center, and the larger the center the larger the market area and the store density.

3.3. Web GIS

In addition to the use of GIS software for geomarketing studies, organizations are increasingly using interfaces with citizens through web GIS open-access platforms (Zavala-Romero et al. 2014), to assist in the analysis and visualization of data. Web GIS are web mapping services, i.e., GIS embedded in websites that allow the Internet user to interact with maps, for example, to get information about the geographical location of the stores. Several authors have analyzed the use of web GIS in different applications. For instance, Yang et al. (2015) presented a method for evaluating potential sites for proposed hotel properties by using an automated web GIS application that included algorithms to predict business success indicators associated with hotel location selection. Recently, Albuquerque et al. (2018) have shown that GIS are powerful tools for the development of a sustainable tourism marketing strategy.

A web GIS is managed using a server (web application server), while clients use web browsers on desktop or mobile devices. Web GIS integrate GIS and Internet technologies to provide ubiquitous access to the distributed information, multi-user activity, data transparency, platform independence, and better visualization. Location searches based on web GIS operate in conjunction with online map services, such as Google Maps. The rise of web-based GIS resources has expanded the scale and scope of spatial information. The interest in web GIS has been reinforced by the development of new web services, cloud computing platforms, and mobile applications (Baños et al. 2016). The main advantage of web GIS is that it extends the typical GIS tools (spatial analysis, network analysis, etc.) so that it allows non-GIS professionals to conveniently process geographical data and to make decisions. Web GIS provides the end user with comprehensive and synthetic, both spatial and temporal, environmental information through a remotely customizable, user-friendly graphical interface without the need for a traditional desktop GIS application.

4. Materials and Methods

Several investigations have analyzed business models, s-commerce, adoption strategy, social process network analysis, firm performance, and website design, with the latter the most studied topic (Busalim and Hussin 2016). Other authors have studied the use of web-mapping systems for decision support in different sectors and applications, including retailing (Roig-Tierno et al. 2013). According to Parise et al. (2016), retailers are starting to roll out location-based applications and services to deliver customized content to shoppers in the store or branch. An example is the inclusion of store locator tools in companies’ websites that allow website visitors to find locations of stores within the proximity of a postal code or a given postal address.

Unfortunately, little attention has been paid in the literature to the use of web store locator. To cover this gap, this paper was devoted to rigorously justifying their importance in the field of digital marketing. The websites of 63 large specialty retailers around the world were analyzed in detail to obtain empirical evidence about the use of store locator services and interactive web maps (web GIS) in the retail sector. We noticed that social networks, such as Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter were not objects of study in this investigation since they do not allow users to manage large databases but are used to provide insights about the brand, products, promotions, etc. However, customized websites are easily connected with searchable databases that allow data retrieval about store locators.

4.1. Web Store Locator: A Powerful Tool for Businesses

The popularization in the use of web store locators (mainly those using web GIS) is being facilitated by the possibility of visiting firms’ websites from any device connected to the Internet, including mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.). Recent studies have shown there is an increasing interest in downloading and using mobile location-based services retail apps (Kang et al. 2015). Location tracking is a personalized advertising and marketing practice that analyzes how store locator pages using interactive maps allow potential customers to find the store nearest to their location. Store locators are particularly important for those customers moving to a new place where they need to buy products found at specialty merchandise retailers.

On the other hand, it is worthy of mention that the potential of web GIS is not only limited to supplying geographical information to the users but also becomes an interesting tool to acquire knowledge from the clients. Previous studies have remarked that a trust-oriented interface design in a web GIS facilitates the development of e-commerce systems (Skarlatidou et al. 2013).

Despite the great potentiality of web GIS in the retail sector, little attention has been paid in the literature to the analysis of strategies used by these firms to provide information through the Internet about the location and characteristics of their stores. In response to this lack in the literature, the websites of many specialty retailers around the world were analyzed to obtain empirical evidence about the use of store location tools.

4.2. Analysis of Store Locator Tools in Retail Websites

A criterion to classify retail stores is the breadth of products offered (Pride et al. 2014), which aims to classify retailers into two types: general merchandise retailers, which offer a large variety of product lines stocked in considerable depth; and specialty retailers, which offer substantial assortments in a few product lines. Given that physical retail is still the dominant operational format around the world, this study aimed to highlight the growing importance that firms give to the use of interactive maps to provide information about the location and characteristics of their stores. With this aim, this paper analyzed the strategies used by a set of large specialty retailers to present information on their websites about the geographical location of their stores and the services they provide, including the analysis of their use of web GIS.

We have considered the data provided by the report “Global Powers of Retailing 2015”, produced by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL 2015) with STORES media. The survey elaborated by one DTTL, one of the global audit firms (Fung et al. 2017), included information about the 250 largest retailers (63 of which are specialty retailers) around the world based on publicly available data for fiscal year 2013, and analyzed their performance across geographies and product sectors. It is important to remark that changes in the overall ranking from year to year are generally driven by increases or decreases in companies’ retail revenue, although a weaker (stronger) currency vis-à-vis the US dollar in 2015 meant that companies reporting in that currency may rank lower (higher) in the next year, all other things being equal (DTTL 2015). The reason to analyze the 63 specialty retailers from the 250 included in the report is to determine whether there are differences in the search strategies and retrieval data between companies from different sectors. The report “Global Powers of Retailing”, which is referenced in some previous scientific papers (Chambolle and Villas-Boas 2015; Head et al. 2014), classified specialty retailers into several categories, according to the activity included in DTTL (2015), i.e., apparel–foot (22 firms), drug/pharmacy (14 firms), electronics (15 firms), and home improvement (12 firms).

Different website analysis strategies have been used in the past (Fernández-Cavia et al. 2014). For example, Ríos-Martín et al. (2017) proposed an index that considers accessibility, navigability and usability, and speed and quality of content. However, some of these factors depend of a large variety of circumstances. For example, it is well-known that the loading speed of your website is often slower as the distance between your website’s visitor location and server’s location increases. Given that our study included 63 retailers’ websites, most of them located in different countries or continents, the navigability and speed depended on the (unknown) location of the servers. Therefore, our study was focused on study of the search options, as well as the format and content of the results retrieved from store locators. Menus and search tools on the website of these companies were analyzed to determine how these specialty retailers provide information about the location of their stores. In those cases, in which this information was not easily found in the websites, Google’s search tool was used to find this information (the searches included the company name and the words “find stores”, “store finder”, “store locator”, “shop finder”, “shop locator”, “stores”, etc.). Google translator was used to facilitate the search process of those websites in which no English version was available. The results retrieved from this double search (companies’ websites and Google search) were analyzed to determine whether these companies provide web GIS in their websites to facilitate the customers to find their stores, and if they do, which were the characteristics of the information provided. The information was classified according to two criteria:

• Format: This criterion refers to the way in which the company shows information about their stores. Three formats were detected: List/table, a static map that often redirects to a list/table, and web GIS.
• Information provided: This criterion refers to the information provided about their stores. The following information was detected in the same URL of websites including list/tables, static maps, and web GIS or a direct link to them: postal address, contact information (like telephone/fax/email), store hours, store services/facilities, and directions to stores.

Since DTTL (2015) includes many global companies, they usually have stores in various countries, and therefore, different websites in each one. To analyze the use of web GIS in these cases, the companies’ websites of the country in which the matrix is located were selected. When companies had several brands in the same dominant operational format, they were analyzed in decreasing order of appearance, aiming to find geographical information about their stores. Information about postal address, contact information, store hours, store services/facilities, and route planner to get directions was also considered when it was included directly in the web GIS, or textually in the same webpage, or in a direct link. The results retrieved were obtained by performing a basic search using the store locator tools. In some cases, the search engine directly returned information about the nearest establishment, according to our location. In other cases, a list or map with the stores was provided, and one of them was randomly selected.

Quantitative and qualitative methods were considered to analyze the information collected from websites about store locator tools in order to show the similarities and differences in the information provided by companies of different types of specialty retailers. With this aim, in addition to some basic statistics, word clouds (Tessem et al. 2015) were used to analyze qualitative data about both the search tools included in companies’ websites and the results retrieved from these searches. The word cloud is a visualization technique that provides the reader a bird’s eye view of a text or manuscript. Using word clouds is a good way to get knowledge into the hands of visual learners since it allows visualization of a set of documents in a succinct way by representing the word frequency of that text, such that the more times a word appears in the text, the bigger the size this word is in the word cloud. In this paper, we used an online word cloud generator capable of constructing the word cloud by uploading a given file containing the text to analyze.

5. Results and Discussion

Table 1 summarizes the data collected from the search performed through the websites of the companies having apparel–foot, drug/pharmacy, electronics, and home improvement as dominant operational format. According to the results obtained, 61 out of 63 companies (96.8%) used web GIS to provide information about their stores, whereas only two companies (3.2%) used static maps or employed a table or list to display this information. Most of the 61 companies that included interactive maps in their website used Google Maps mapping service (90%), while Microsoft HERE or ZENRIN were the other alternatives. Regarding the specific information provided, most locator tools provided useful information about each location. In fact, almost all the firms included the postal address (98.0%) and contact information (94.4%) on their websites, while opening hours were also provided by most firms (84.9%). Nevertheless, the percentage of websites that included information about the services offered by the stores was 48.8%. Finally, it was observed that only 40.5% of the websites included information about the best way to reach these locations (automatic route planner to get directions or textual information about the routes to arrive using public or private transport).

Table 1. Summary of information provided by general merchandise retailers, according to the store format.

As it is seen, apparel-foot and home improvement firms often provided information about the location of their stores using web GIS and basic information about the address and contact information (email or telephone number). On the other hand, electronics and home improvement stores were those that showed more interest in providing information about how to arrive to the stores. Finally, drug/pharmacy firms are, on average, more interested on providing information about the facilities offered in the stores than the other store formats.

Figure 1 shows the word clouds in websites of the four types of specialty retailers analyzed. As it can be seen, main words (“store”, “search”, find”, etc.) seem to be commonly used independently of the type of specialty. Nevertheless, some differences are observed with other terms. Drug/pharmacy stores and electronic stores often included some additional search filters of products in their store locator websites, while it was not so common in apparel–foot and home improvement specialty retailers. For example, some drug/pharmacy stores included search filters, such as “pharmacy/store open 24 Hours”, “drive-thru pharmacy”, or “healthcare clinic”. Some common search filters in electronic retailers were “computers”, “TV image”, “photo and video”, and “games”, among others.

Figure 1. Word clouds on websites of specialty retailers (search tools).

On the other hand, Figure 2 shows the word clouds of the results obtained after the user performed a search in the store locator websites. Here again, words retrieved from companies’ websites of the same retail specialty were grouped in the same text file for its analysis. As it can be seen, the main words were now related to the basic information about the stores (“store”, “address”, hours”, “phone”, “telephone”, “zip code”, etc.). Drug/pharmacy stores and electronic stores also included some information about their products in their results. For example, some concepts retrieved from electronic retailers’ websites were “appliances”, “game”, “card”, and “software”, among others.

Figure 2. Word clouds on websites of specialty retailers (results retrieved from a search).

In summary, it was concluded that most large specialty retail firms included store locator tools on their websites, but the type and format of presentation of this information varied significantly among them. In fact, most websites included interactive web maps that allowed exploration by the public, but some retail websites still included this information using non-interactive tools (text or static maps). From the results obtained, it was concluded that most of these firms’ websites included interactive store locators to provide information about their physical stores, but today some of them still use non-interactive (static) maps or text format to present this information.

6. Conclusions

The retail sector is continuously adapting to the changes brought about by globalization. The generalization in the use of computers and mobile devices has favored the adoption of new procedures and technologies. With millions of people connected to the Internet using electronic devices, retailers are investing a lot of resources in digital marketing, in order to establish a direct communication channel with clients using social media. Product information management is the process of managing information about products and the necessary data required to purchase, sell, and manage them. For this reason, interest in geomarketing strategies is gaining importance in retail firms, since they are used to determining the best marketing channels and strategies, promotional campaigns, etc., according to the spatial distribution and characteristics of customers. Companies are incorporating web mapping services (web GIS) in their websites to allow customers to find stores by interacting with maps.

Several previous studies have analyzed social media and e-commerce strategies used by retailers, but almost no attention has been paid to the use of online store locators to allow visitors to find nearby stores and shop locations. The double aim of this paper was to show the importance of store locator tools for digital marketing and to analyze the characteristics of online store locator services in specialty retailers’ websites. To our knowledge, no paper has analyzed in detail the information provided by store locator search tools of large specialty retailers. With this purpose, the online store locator interactive tools of 63 specialty retailers’ websites included in the report “Global Powers of Retailing 2015” were analyzed in detail from a double perspective: search options offered to the customer and information returned from the search.

The ideas and results studied in this research support previous theoretical studies that have showed the importance of digital marketing and geomarketing strategies in the retail sector. On the other hand, the results obtained provide empirical evidence about the inclusion of store locator services in large specialty retailers’ websites. It was observed that most of these companies include online store locators using interactive maps on their websites in order to provide geographical information about the location and other important characteristics of the physical retail stores. However, there are still some large companies that use text or static maps to display this information. In addition to the quantitative data, the qualitative analysis carried out using word clouds allowed us to synthesize the information that specialty retailers provided in their websites about the location and services of their stores and to quickly visualize the different information given by retailers of different specialties. Given the advantages derived from the generalized use of mobile devices, such as smartphones, and the growing development of retail apps, it would be recommendable that any specialty retail company should use interactive maps on their websites to enhance their relationship with customers. This investigation could be extended to analyze small and medium-sized enterprises in this and other sectors of activity.

The limitations of the study were those related to the methodology used and the number of websites analyzed. The results of the investigation could be followed as indicators but a not generalization of the retail sector due to fact that there are thousands of retail firms around the world. As future work, it is planned to investigate other values of retailers’ websites, according to website quality indexes proposed in the literature.

Author Contributions

G.W. and R.B. designed the investigation. R.B. and M.C.P.-M. collected and analyzed the data; G.W., M.C.P.-M. studied the implications of the results obtained; M.C.P.-M. and R.B. wrote the article; and all of the authors reviewed the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the Catholic University of Murcia under contract PMAFI/18/14.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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