Evaluation of the user interface of international publishers' websites based on the innovative business model

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Yaghoub Norouzi 1
Hamidreza Radfar 2
Nayere Jafari 3
1 Professor in Knowledge and Information Science. Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Qom, Iran.
2 Asian cultural documentation center, Institute for humanities and cultural studies, Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Knowledge and Information Science; Qom University of Medical Sciences; Qom. Iran
Abstract
Introduction

In the digital publishing environment, the websites of international scientific publishers function as critical interfaces between content providers—such as researchers, academics, and students—and their intended audiences. The effectiveness of these platforms is closely linked to the quality of their user interface (UI), which directly affects usability, accessibility, and the overall user experience. Within the framework of the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) model, particularly in subscription-based and digitally delivered content, UI design plays a pivotal role in facilitating efficient content discovery, streamlining access, and enabling personalized services. Employing the B2C model as an analytical lens allows for a systematic evaluation of the design elements that influence user engagement, retention, and trust. This study evaluates the user interfaces of the top 100 international scientific publishing websites, identifies recurring design strengths and shortcomings, and provides evidence-based recommendations to enhance user experience and align design practices with innovative B2C principles.

Methods and Materoal

This study employed an applied, descriptive–analytical survey design aimed at assessing the user interface (UI) of the top 100 international scientific publishing websites, drawing upon the Innovative B2C Business Model framework. The approach integrated systematic observation and content analysis to examine functional, structural, and experiential aspects of these platforms.

The primary research instrument was a researcher-developed checklist, conceptualized in accordance with the Innovative B2C Model for e-commerce and grounded in Nielsen’s (1993) heuristic principles of usability.

The checklist construction followed a multi-step process:

1.Item Generation – An extensive literature review was conducted to identify UI and UX indicators relevant to scientific publishing and digital commerce. This included studies on usability, digital publishing business models, and user engagement frameworks.

2.Content Validation – A panel of four academic experts in information science and interface evaluation reviewed the initial checklist draft for relevance, clarity, and comprehensiveness. Their feedback led to item refinement, deletion of redundancies, and the inclusion of additional critical elements.

3.Final Structure – The validated checklist encompassed three core dimensions:

Website Visual Appeal – 9 components evaluating aesthetic quality, clarity, and visual consistency.

Content Structure Enhancement – 17 components assessing navigability, resource organization, and accessibility.

Trust and Loyalty – 26 components covering credibility signals, personalization, and retention-oriented features.

Operational definitions were provided for each component to ensure scoring consistency across evaluators.

The study population comprised 100 international publishers listed in the authoritative meta-analysis by Nishikawa-Pacher (2022), recognized for its comprehensive coverage of global scientific publishing entities. A census sampling approach was adopted, meaning all publishers in the list were included in the evaluation.

Two independent evaluators—both experienced university librarians with over a decade of professional practice and scholarly work in UI/UX evaluation—conducted systematic assessments.

Prior to full-scale data collection, a pilot test was performed on a subset of 10 randomly selected publisher websites to ensure clarity of checklist items and to standardize scoring criteria.

Each website was evaluated on both desktop and mobile versions to capture platform-specific design variations. Compliance with each checklist component was scored as follows:

Yes (2) – Fully meets the criterion.

Partial (1) – Partially meets the criterion, with noticeable limitations.

No (0) – Does not meet the criterion.

Evaluator discrepancies were resolved through consensus discussions, ensuring inter-rater reliability.

Data were coded numerically and processed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The analysis included:

Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and variances) to summarize compliance patterns.

One-Sample T-Test to assess whether the mean compliance scores for each dimension significantly exceeded a predefined acceptable threshold.

Friedman Test to rank dimensions according to overall compliance levels.

Duncan’s Multiple Range Test for post-hoc pairwise comparisons to detect significant differences among dimensions.

Findings were visualized using bar charts and comparative graphs, enabling clear identification of strengths, weaknesses, and priority areas for improvement in UI design based on the Innovative B2C framework.

Through this rigorous methodology, the study ensured validity, reliability, and practical applicability of results for digital publishing stakeholders aiming to optimize user interface performance and enhance user trust, engagement, and retention.

Resultss and Discussion

Based on the findings, the ease of font readability component was identified as the most prominent, with 91% of the evaluated websites meeting this criterion. Furthermore, 83% of the evaluated websites lacked non-text audio symbols, and 53% lacked non-text video symbols—making these the weakest elements within the visual attractiveness index. This deficiency in incorporating non-text symbols (audio and video) into the user interface may significantly undermine the digital business performance of international publishers.

In the context of the structure strengthening index (content), the components of having the necessary function and the possibility of returning to the first page on each page were recognized as the most important with a compliance rate of 95% and the component of active and valid links with a compliance rate of 94%, so compliance with it plays an important role in creating trust and social credibility of publishers. 69% of the statistical community did not have a sales agency or bookstore portal. The sales portal allows the collection of user purchase, interest, visit and behavior data, which is very key for marketing, content production and business decisions. Without it, the publisher is deprived of this data.

Among the trust and loyalty indicators, the contact us component and the same site design in different browsers were recognized as the most important with 98% compliance, and the ability to write a review for each book was recognized as the least important with 75% of the statistical population not doing so.

Brill, Dovepress and IOS Press with an average compliance of 1.89; Oxford University Press and Bentham with an average compliance of 1.80; De Gruyter, Medcrave and Penn University Press State with an average compliance of 1.89 were recognized as the top publishers in the three areas of visual appeal, structural reinforcement (content), and continuity (customer loyalty and trust), respectively.

A significant difference was observed between the statistical population rankings in compliance with the components of these three indicators. By confirming the first hypothesis of the study, it was concluded that the score obtained from the websites under study in the user interface evaluation is significantly lower than the maximum score, i.e. the full evaluation score. By confirming the second hypothesis of the study, it was found that the average total score obtained from the evaluations in the three areas of visual appeal, structural reinforcement (content), and continuity (customer loyalty and trust) are not the same.

Conclusion

The assessment revealed that none of the top 100 international scientific publication websites fully met the needs of disabled or handicapped audiences, which is a fundamental flaw in the accessibility index of user interface design. To address this weakness, it is recommended that the websites studied comply with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Multimedia content is one of the important SEO factors. Its lack of use by the community may reduce visibility in search results. Today's users, especially the younger generations, are accustomed to multimedia content. The lack of audio and visual elements, including videos and podcasts, and the lack of diversity in the type of content presentation may cause this range of audiences to be lost. It is recommended to present book introductions, interviews with authors, or database usage guides in the form of several-minute videos. The use of simple animations, audio and video icons, and responsive designs can increase the sense of modernity and attractiveness on publishers' sites.
Keywords
Website
User interface
Publisher
International Publishing
E-commerce
منابع
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Human and Information Interaction
Volume 12, Issue 2
Summer 2025
Pages 71-93