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Consulting firm offers Internet kiosk tips

March 7, 2002

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ROCKVILLE, Md. - Content that sparkles on the Internet can fizzle on a kiosk if companies fail to plan properly when deploying these applications. That is one of the findings in a new report on kiosk practices that is available through Summit Research Associates Inc.

The report, "Internet Kiosks: Best Practices," breaks down kiosk deployment into more than a dozen focus categories, including page layouts, speed of delivery, and keyboards. The report is an update of a report on design tips that was released last year by the Rockville, Md.-based consulting firm.

Among the findings are that organizations must redesign their Web content before moving it to kiosks, give greater thought to using keyboards if it makes the kiosk more effective, and to make sure the site follows Summit's FIRE design acronym (fast, interesting, relevant, and easy).

Francie Mendelsohn, Summit Research president, said companies must understand that a great-looking Web site does not automatically translate into an attractive kiosk.

"You've got to make the font readable; you've got to make the font big enough," Mendelsohn said. "I saw a kiosk the other day and it looked like it had four-point type. How big is that? I guess if you're trying to appeal to someone one to 20 years old it's going to work, but not for someone who's 20 to 95."

Mendelsohn said concerns that keyboard would scare off potential kiosk users were not as great as in the past.

"Some kiosks absolutely cry out for keyboards. Others, like gift registry, don't," she said. "We've seen many kiosks allocated with dedicated keyboards, many more than before. Your population is much more computer literate. In the U.S., where 62 percent of households are used to having computers, it's not such a big thing."

Information on obtaining the report is available at Summit Research's Web site.