Impact of Scripting Technologies on User Experience - Assignment Example

IMPACT OF SCRIPTING TECHNOLOGIES ON USER EXPERIENCE By [My name] [Class] [My professor name] [University Name] April 28, 2012 Impact of Scripting Technologies on User Experience The experience a user gets on a web site is very important. It can mean all the difference between success and failure of a web site. Bad experience on a website can discourage users from revisiting a site. For websites that must retain users in order to exist, user experience becomes a critical aspect to consider during their design. Scripting technologies can enhance or worsen user experience on web sites. Flaws in a scripting technology can greatly undermine user experience. But, with proper security measures, scripting technologies can enhance user experience because they enhance user interaction, allow fast browsing, allow localized content loading, enhance dynamism, allow assisted user input and real-time form validation, and enhance website usability. One of the immediately visible impacts of scripting technologies on user experience of the web and social networking site is enhanced user interactivity. A web site made of plain hypertext mark-up text language (HMTL) limited in terms of user interactivity. For instance, if there were no scripting technologies, users would not be able to post comments and status as well as receive feedbacks appropriately, aspects that are critical to social networking sites. However, because of server-side scripting technologies user can make inputs to be stored in, and retrieved from a database such that users participates in building the content of a social networking site. Even better is that scripting technologies allow web sites users to receive real-time feedbacks through web-based instant messaging. An Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) instant messenger application can be embedded on a website and serve the same purpose as a desktop client-based instant messenger (Karat, 2004, p.100). Diffily (2006, p.17-19) has mentioned that the manner in which users interacts with a social networking site together with the kind of feedbacks they gets from such exchanges can greatly impact their feeling towards a site. Client-side scripting technologies have greatly improved user experience by enhancing interactivity of social networking sites. The technologies have also allowed users to browse websites faster and minimized the need for users to wait for pages to load. In other words, both server-side and client-side scripting technologies have partly contributed to the enhanced speed of web browsing. Server-side scripting technologies such as Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) allow caching of web sites, which speeds up web sites loading. Biggs (2001, p.56) and Remenyi (2005, p.145) have concurred that caching improves website responsiveness. In addition, client-side scripting technologies perform pre-validation of input form data allowing faster response and minimizing the time a website using server-side validation takes to respond when there are invalid form inputs. The form validation process can be a very frustrating experience for users on a social networking site (Remenyi, 2005, p.404; Terry, 2007, p.38). The AJAX technology has greatly minimized this user frustration associated with filling forms by enabling live validation. Even making user experience better is the support for auto-completion of form fields by this client-side scripting technology. Fields auto-completion not only makes things easier for a user on a social networking site but it also increases the speed of user interaction with the site. AJAX also allows inline editing of form fields. Inline editing may be an aesthetic aspect (Karat, 2004, p.105), but it surely enriches user experience on a social networking site. AJAX is undoubtedly one of the client-side scripting technologies that have considerably revolutionalized user experience of social networking site. Besides what has been mentioned above, the technology has more capabilities that add to the user experience. The technology has greatly enhanced the speed of interacting with social networking sites. AJAX allows specific components of a web page to be loaded or rather updated separately eliminating the traditional need to update (load) an entire web page, which made users to wait longer for a page to load. In essence, AJAX has somewhat eliminated this need of waiting for a whole web page to refresh and subsequently allowing fast, smooth and continuous browsing of social networking sites. Diffily (2006, p.17) has mentioned that AJAX has partly contributed the increased web responsiveness, enhanced interactivity and usability of web sites. Diffily (2006, p.17) has mentioned that AJAX has contributed to the friendly and richer user experience of websites similar to that of using desktop applications. Scripting technologies have enhanced usability of social networking sites allowing users to access information easily and efficiently. Client-side scripting technologies allow automation of tasks, which minimizes navigation and the amount of efforts a user requires to view content. For instance, JavaScript and AJAX can update website information at timed interval such that a user does not have to navigation through cumbersome links. Both server-side and client-side scripting technologies can make use of cookies to store previously accessed information, eliminating the need for user to constantly input authentication data every time a page loads. Scripting technologies also allow web site to have search engines (features), which are very using in finding specific information on a site. User experienced can be enhanced greatly through the use of a search feature. The technologies have also enabled delivery of personalized content and in turn promoting a “personalized user experience” (Karat, 2004, p. 95). Such an experienced is achieved by providing content that is more relevant to particular users. Scripting technologies contribute in this by enabling collection of data related to users browsing behaviours. For social networking sites that depend on advertisement revenue, the technologies are useful in providing relevant advertisements that are not annoying to specific users. Romm-Livermore and Setzekorn (2009, p.3) have confirmed that substantial number of people suing social networking sites are interested in shopping information. Scripting technologies have also allowed users to have a fancy experience of social networking sites. Apart from enhanced visual appeal and extensive animation a client-side scripting technology like AJAX can make various activities on a website including uploading, form input, and content editing be fanciful. As such, these technologies have allowed users to have a better feel of social networking sites. Furthermore, the enhanced aesthetic aspect of the sites further enhances the perception of users making and subsequently allowing the user to have enjoy browsing (Romm-Livermore & Setzekorn, 2009, p.4). Diffily (2006, p.17) has mentioned that “user experience of a dynamic website” is the same to that of a basic website, but website dynamism can add to user experience. A dynamic web site is basically one in which content is published or change according to user requirements or as a result of user interacting with the site (Diffily, 2006, p.17). A social networking site made of basic static pages is hardly inconceivable. Perhaps, if there were no scripting technologies social networking sites would not exist in the first place. Therefore, dynamism is important as far as social networking sites are concerned. But the argument is not whether user experience on a dynamic website is comparable to that on a basic site; it is partly whether dynamism enhances worsen user experience. And indeed, with the advent of technologies such as AJAX and JavaScript, dynamism of web sites has been enhanced considerably, and in turn, user experience of social networking has been improved. It would be a boring experience if social networking user had to encounter the same information over and over again. Allow content to change only within the client-level, perhaps to a different location on a browser, adds to the user experience. Scripting technologies can also have negative impact on the user experience of a social networking site. Remenyi (2005, p.145) has mentioned that dynamism, which is enabled by scripting technologies, has contributed to relatively slow web site responsiveness. A dynamic web page is available to the client after processing by a web server. Therefore, although these technologies speed up user actions through other aspects mentioned above, they also contribute in to slow browsing by enhancing dynamism. Even more, scripting technologies can worsen user experience if they are source of security weaknesses. If a scripting technology has flaws, criminals can exploit the vulnerable which can lead to devastating consequences. Both server-side and client-side scripting technologies are not immune from vulnerabilities and attacks. And although scripting technologies are not inherently vulnerable (Wang, 2009, p.305), they can provide opportunities for criminals to exploit. In other words, the high capabilities provided by scripting technologies such as AJAX, JavaScript and PHP, can turn to be opportunities for attackers if the specific technology happens to have flaws. Security threats including viruses, spyware and malware can cause behaviours on a social networking site that would lead to bad user experience. For instance, malwares and viruses have been associated with slow website responsiveness as well as unexpected closure of web pages (Wang, 2009, p.300). Even spyware not only collect sensitive information about a user but they also cause websites to respond slowly. Wang (2009, p. 310) has noted that most of the security problems associated with scripting technologies such as AJAX are as a result of flawed implementation. Therefore, if adequate measures are taken to make sure that scripting technologies are not exploited, then the overall user experience on the web and on social networking sites would be enhanced by scripting languages. References Biggs, M., 2001. Scale without hardware, InfoWorld, [print] InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. Diffily, S., 2006. The website manager's handbook. New York, NY: Lulu Enterprises, Inc. Karat, J., 2004. Designing personalized user experiences in ecommerce. Dordecht, Netherlands: Springer. Remenyi, D., 2005. Proceedings of the 12th European conference on IT evaluation. London: Academic Conferences Limited. Romm-Livermore, C. & Setzekorn, K., 2009. Social networking communities and e-dating services: concepts and implications. Covent Garden: London: IGI Global. Terry, J. P., 2007. Creating dynamic forms with Adobe LiveCycle designer. Berkeley, California: Adobe Press. Wang, J., 2009. Computer network security: theory and practice. New York, NY: Springer. Read More