Supporting Novice Development of Webpage Layouts for Multiple Display Devices

As the types of devices capable of accessing the web diversify, developers face the challenge of tailoring webpage layouts to accommodate their different display, interaction, and use characteristics. This challenge is particularly severe for novice web developers, who often have difficulty maintaining the separation of content from presentation and comprehending the flow-based visual formatting model. We propose an approach to developing webpage layouts for multiple display devices that addresses these and other barriers commonly faced by novices. In this paper, we describe findings from a study of web design students and discuss their implications for this approach.