DESIDOC J. Lib. Inf. Technol., 2011, 31(1) 49 DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, Vol. 31, No. 1, January 2011, pp. 49-64 © 2011, DESIDOC Animated and Hypertext User Interfaces: A Comparative Study Sridevi Vaithianathan and Chennupati K. Ramaiah* Centre for IT Services, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore-6790 4975 E-mail: Sridevi@ntu.edu.sg *Department of Library and Information Science, Pondicherry University R.V. Nagar, Kalapet, Puducherry-605 014 E-mail: ckramaiah.lis@pondiuni.edu.in ABSTRACT The Web has evolved from mere HTML static pages to dynamic pages and providing information to users in interactive and engaging ways. One of the most revolutionary tools that has changed the online experience of Internet users is the Macromedia Flash. Nowadays, Web designers are providing both the HTML and Flash interfaces to users. However, the users are still not sure about which interface style, i.e., hypertext-based HTML interface or animated-based Flash interface, is better to use in terms of usability and effectiveness. This paper compares the strengths and weaknesses of both animated and hypertext Web interfaces in terms of their usability and also users’ attitudes and perceptions about these interfaces. To conduct the comparative study, an animated user interface was developed using Flash for the Division of Information Studies website of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. This interface was compared with the existing hypertext user interface of the same website. It was found that animated user interface was preferred for its text readability, appropriate use of colours and buttons, visual consistency and sequencing of screens, attractiveness of design, pleasantness and user-friendliness of interface, ease of use, content coverage, organisation of information, navigation, and usability. The hypertext user interface was preferred for its speed of downloading and its navigational capability that complemented the Web browser navigation. Keywords: User interfaces, HTML interface, animated interface, flash interface 1. INTRODUCTION The Web has come a long way from mere static HTML pages to highly interactive and engaging ones. It is now home to many multimedia applications featuring text, sound, images, and videos that allows interactive data access, data input and links to other sites 1 . One of the most revolutionary multimedia technologies to take the Web design community by storm in recent years has been Macromedia’s Flash. When it first premiered in 1996, Flash was an unknown program and plug-in called FutureSplash that enabled designers to add simple animated graphics to websites. Today, renamed and improved, Flash has evolved into a powerful Web authoring tool and application, which is not only redefining the art of interface design, but also dynamically changing the online experience worldwide. Flash-enabled websites require user browsers to have the Flash player or plug-in installed on their computers before the Flash movies can be viewed. This plug-in can be freely downloaded from Macromedia’s website. Macromedia claims that Flash player is the most widely viewable rich client technology in the world, providing a consistent deployment experience across desktops and device platforms, and has a reach of over 436 million people 2 . Flash, unlike other multimedia authoring tools is a vector-based authoring program. It works with vector data instead of bitmaps or raster graphics like GIF and JPEG. Vector-based contents and applications download faster over all types of connections, and programs like Flash provide engaging and interactive contents with a multi-sensory experience that includes interactive streaming video, animation, audio, and vector and bitmap graphics 3 . From its earliest version FutureSplash to the latest version, Flash has come a long way from being a tool purely used for adding gimmicks and excitement to a website to being one that can be used to create an entire website without the knowledge of Received on: 25 August 2010 49