Communication on the World Wide Web: Designing an Effective Homepage
Tom Kelleher
Michelle Henley
Debra Gennarelli
Linda Hon
The purpose of this study was to examine the content and structural
features of a World Wide Web homepage with the explicit goal of making
recommendations for how a homepage should be designed. Nine focus
groups were conducted to uncover perceptions about a state university's
homepage and elicit suggestions for improvement. This study revealed
several general principles for designing effective homepages that may
apply regardless of the particular institution or target public.
Tom Kelleher is a doctoral student in the College of Journalism and
Communications at the University of Florida (UF). Michelle Henley and
Debra Gennarelli are recent graduates of the master's program in mass
communication at UF. Linda Hon is an assistant professor of public
relations in the college. This research began as a project for a class
taught by Dr. Hon-PUR 6934, Problems in Public Relations. The study
was suggested by the University of Florida's Office of University
Relations. An earlier draft of this article was presented at the
Annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and
Mass Communication (AEJMC) in Anaheim, California, on August 11, 1996.
Only abstracts are currently available online for issues of the Journal published during
1997. For information on obtaining print copies of the Journal
check out our subscription information.