TITLE: 	University Web Site Design in Mainland China and Taiwan: A Comparative Study on the Chinese Version and the English Version

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the design philosophy of university web sites in Taiwan and Mainland China.  A total of 45 web sites (15 from Taiwan and 30 from Mainland) containing both a Chinese version and an English version were sampled, and comparisons were made with regard to the aspects of site structures, design features and navigation mechanisms.  Strong differences were found in multiple aspects such as page layout, graphics design, indexing categories and labels, and the availability of authority stamps, navigation tools, and the search facilities.  Data suggested that a majority of the universities in both locations hold a design bias to their Chinese version, as a greater number of advanced technical elements and some viable content components were included in the Chinese pages while missing from their English counterparts.  The lack of consistency in the design and the imbalanced coverage of university information reveal a questionable design philosophy that prioritizes information presentation to a specific language audience.  In the end, a design model for a multi-language web site is proposed, in addition to an outline for the site's start up structure based on the cognitive principles of human perception.