Customizable Window
Problem
Users ideally want to have fully personalized content
Solution
Use "windows" with select items that users can adapt or click away.
From the My Yahoo sections of
www.yahoo.com
Use when
Websites that offer categorized content where users may be only interested in a handful of categories or items. This pattern is used when there is some form of customization available to the users. Often this is when it is a personal site such as a
Personalized 'My' Site. Typically users will need to do some form of
Login.
How
Users are presented with areas that look like they are kind of windows. The have a "close" or "minimize" button next to an "edit" or "customize" button. Users can customized what is displayed in the window or take it away completely. The settings are stored for each user and they see their customized window upon return.
Why
The window metaphor suggest functionality many users are familiar with. By making them customizable users can dynamically create the web page as they want.
More Examples
The site www.startpagina.nl is almost completely built up using customization windows:
and..