Comparison of gender differences in young people's blog interface preferences and designs

Abstract

Besides usability, visual aesthetics also strongly influence whether users will continue to trust and use a website. This study examined blogs to determine whether a correlation exists between the gender and visual preferences of young people toward blog interfaces. Few research on gender differences in visual preferences for blog interfaces have been published. Therefore the goal of this research is to determine the different design features of blog interfaces preferred by males and females. Using two Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) algorithms, ALSCAL and PREFMAP analysis, the perceptual space of user blog interface preferences was plotted to explore the hidden perceptual configuration of users as well as examine gender related ideal points. The results showed four typical blog interfaces and three dimensions that affected user preference and the spatial distribution of ideal preference point for each user. Last, gender differences in the blog interface preference of young people were discussed and guidelines were recommended for developers. The results are applicable to blog interface customization in digital device displays. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.