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students could find a share of the interest, but indirectly; as
there are no dedicated icons addressing their specific needs.
Unusual interests were met, but with a few number
of icons, for the general public, dental administrative
workers, treatment seekers or tourists, investors, the
press, internet link seekers, internet bloggers, web page
developers, designers and inventors.
Discussion
The methodology developed in this study
This study is the first – within the knowledge of the
author- which studies the dental implant manufacturers’
webpages from this angle. The necessity for categorizing
materials linked from the webpages and presenting
this work comes from a previous study where there
was a need to scan all available lists of dental implant
manufacturers to compare implant–abutment interfaces
and its mechanics. The researchers were faced by the
huge variability of webpages and the confusion in the
labels of icons, leading to different materials each time.
Of a total of 150 webpages, the gathered experience
was sufficient to develop the methodology for this study,
and be presented to the reader who will face such
confusion when doing any search for multiple implant
systems for any reason.
Educative material was the focus of this study as
educating possible users increase their confidence and
provide them with sufficient evidence as required for high
quality treatments. This methodology can be repeated to
study any dental or medical product or service providers’
webpages to describe and develop recommendations for
their content.
The role of implant manufacturers’ webpages
Implant manufacturers’ have developed their webpages
to become a rich niche. Attracting the users or potential
users to longer sessions of webpage viewing and surfing
would indirectly help making the implant system familiar
to visual and comprehension senses. These methods
include:
• Developing more interactions by clickable and
navigation-activated icons, makes it less boring.
• Additions of whole page flashes are still limited in the
sample of study, but partial flashes make the webpage
appear lively.
• The addition of larger numbers of icons embedded
in drop-down lists and pop-out windows increase the
chance of including a term, thatmeets an interest or need.
The efficiency of searching sessions in targeting needed
information is reached as more searches are done,
more subsequent webpages are explored and refined
and using correct tools as search boxes and site maps.
It is guided by how the learner is motivated. 9 The use
of a search box, for even the experienced, is the next
immediate option, if the relevant icon of interest is not
perceived directly from the homepage. So having such
tool is essential. Searches usually include an average of
two terms. If well studied, the webpage developers of
the site would annually accumulate these search terms
placed in their search boxes and add or rename their
homepage icons to reflect those terms, most in demand.
Customizing the contents, either to regions, languages,
individual accounts, logins, memberships and icons
labeled “my-*****”, may increase pertinence. Finally,
including multiple links to a single target increases the
chance of clicking an icon.
The previous were general methods used by most
webpages of the study. Three webpages were considered
comprehensive as they used more methods to attract
the surfer. They used multiple icon formats, leading to a
single page as a way of overcoming variability present
in internet experience of surfers. Attracting casual users
by images, flashes, and videos seems logic and was
used. Also including quick link bars in the header,
footer, and the side, would increase the chance of hitting
relevant information. Repeating those quick link bars
in subsequent pages makes the surfer oriented. Having
a site map has also this effect. Assigning sections in
the webpage, for each of the conventional users, and
concentrating their relevant links in that area, are even
more methods used.
Are the implant manufacturers’ webpages informative?
Looking at the homepage only, the direct answer to this,
is no!. There is a very limited number of paragraphs that
could add to the information of the surfer. These are
limited to welcome notes, very short sentences displaying
the company’s logo, or introductory paragraphs either to
the company or implant system used.
But when clicking icons for educative, informative, and
supportive or service providing materials, opening each
single webpage which is present one-click away could
answer some of that need. The action of webpages acting
as good directories should also be balanced with the
limitation that most users have, which is that they click no
more than only two pages away. So it is essential to have
the actual information, one or two-clicks away, at best.
Examples of this suggested confusion were for the
icons “NEWS”, “EVENTS”, “PRESS RELEASE” and
“PRODUCTS”. The subsequent pages were variable.
Some did not include enough information, but only
adding a new list of icons to be searched. Others include
icons which may seem to be essential, but hidden from
the homepage. If taking the classification of categories
used in this study as a reference, some information in the
subsequent pages was under un-expected icons labels,
mixing the needs, and adding to the confusion of surfer.
Opening the subsequent page was essential for another
reason. Many of the terms used in the labels of icons
Smile Dental Journal | Volume 6, Issue 4 - 2011| 21 |