There are gender wars, and then there are casualties. It wasn’t until 2011 that the behemoth toymaker LEGO acknowledged girls’ desire to build with bricks, even though the company had long before made a seemingly effortless pivot to co-branding, video games, and major motion pictures. So it’s little wonder that girls face all-too-real obstacles when […]
Read morePersonalizing web content helps ensure that users’ needs are met.
 Not everyone wants the same cabbage. Not every user needs the same content.
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Problem
A website can’t effectively meet the needs of users because it isn’t adaptable to their individual needs.
Solution
Develop multiple versions of web pages in a variety of formats and allow users to provide information that generates personalized content.
Discussion
There are three primary reasons why educational efforts aren’t as successful as they might be.
- First, in an attempt to reach as many people as possible, educational topics are often covered very broadly. The result is that the information presented is so generic that it applies to no one in particular. Conversely, a given topic may be directed toward a very specific audience, making it irrelevant to other populations who may need similar information.
- Second, it is often cost-prohibitive to develop multiple versions of educational materials that could reach populations that differ, for example, in the languages they speak or in their literacy levels.
- Third, educational materials are often limited to one medium, such as a printed document or a web page.
Content management software can assist projects in overcoming traditional limitations of educational programs, and, in the process, reach more people. A content management interface that’s easy to use enables authors to provide content that’s tailored to various segments of the population. For example, an effective smoking cessation booklet for Latina women could be easily adapted and published for male diabetic prostate cancer patients.
Likewise, authors could develop three versions of a web page that could be made available depending on the user’s literacy level, or the size of the font could be enlarged for those with vision impairments, or the page could be available in multiple languages. A few simple questions asked of the user could easily establish which version to display.
A content management system also allows content to be made available to users in a variety of formats, such as PDFs, web pages, or Word documents, allowing for greater dissemination of information.