Asking questions of the visitor can trigger more personalized information.

Problem

Your web site needs to meet the needs of different users. For example, you need versions of the site for elementary kids, teens, adults, and teachers.

Solution

Direct the visitor to the appropriate information by employing the following techniques:

• Initial interview, or preferences: Ask a few questions of the user at the beginning of the exhibit. For example, ask, “Where are you in school?… I am in elementary school; I am in middle school; I am a teacher.” Depending on the response, present navigation leading the visitor to pages appropriate to them.
• Embed branch points or choices. Present a series of pages, with questions interspersed within the pages. Answers to the questions affect the content and navigation on other sections of the site. For example, in a site that that offers movie recommendations, ratings on one page affect the recommended movie on another page.

Discussion

If your site contains a considerable amount of content that is only applicable to certain types of visitors, it is helpful to tailor the content to the unique needs of that visitor.