User Experience in Children’s Websites on the Internet

A literature review

Abstract

User experience (UX) is a relatively modern concept tied to how people interact with digital systems. It refers to the impressions, feelings, and responses that users develop while interacting with websites, applications, and software. Donald Norman helped shape the concept by emphasizing the importance of user-centered design that considers users’ needs and abilities. With the steady increase in children’s use of the Internet, children’s websites have become important tools for addressing their educational, cognitive, and entertainment needs and for developing their various skills and abilities. From this perspective, this study aimed to identify and review the scholarly literature on user experience in children’s websites available on the Internet, to examine the qualitative and thematic characteristics of the published literature. The study adopted a literature review approach to identify and examine relevant published literature. The study found that both international and Arab literature has focused on children’s websites and their importance in providing educational, entertaining, and interactive content, as well as their ability to meet children’s needs and requirements, develop their skills, broaden their knowledge, identify the problems they face, and provide content appropriate for different age groups. The literature also highlighted the importance of studying websites designed for children with special needs and the standards required for their design. In addition, the studies addressed research trends related to user experience and highlighted its role in improving interaction between users and products, services, or websites; enhancing usability; increasing user satisfaction; and achieving usage objectives across various fields. The literature also examined the importance of user experience and its dimensions in the design of children’s websites and its relationship to ease of use.