User individuality management in websites based on WAI-ARIA annotations and ontologies

In this paper, we describe a system for adapting websites based on an annotation approach. The system adapts annotated websites according to the user characteristics. The core of the system is composed of a repository containing a comprehensive set of adaptation techniques. 99 techniques have been identified and classified, 48 of them have been fully implemented in the system. This wide range of implemented techniques provides the system with the necessary mechanisms for adapting diverse aspects of website interfaces, such as the content to display, the layout and the structure. The techniques to apply for a given user are inferred according to the information stored in an ontology. This defines the bases for associating user characteristics with the adaptation techniques to apply for specific interaction elements annotated in a website. An annotation language based on the roles and properties of WAI-ARIA has been elaborated. Therefore, any website annotated in this language can be adapted. This adaptation system has been applied to two different websites and adapted interfaces have been obtained for three different user groups.