U.S. patent application number 15/487868 was filed with the patent office on 2017-08-03 for software application customized for target market.
The applicant listed for this patent is Go Daddy Operating Company, LLC. Invention is credited to James Carroll, Philip Davidson, Thyagarajan Lakshmanan.
Application Number | 20170221102 15/487868 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54869862 |
Filed Date | 2017-08-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170221102 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Carroll; James ; et
al. |
August 3, 2017 |
SOFTWARE APPLICATION CUSTOMIZED FOR TARGET MARKET
Abstract
A system and method are presented for customizing a software
application for a target market. A request to access an application
is received, by one or more computer servers, from a user. At least
one of a preferred language of the user and a location of the user
are determined by the one or more computer servers, and a target
market is determined using the at least one of the preferred
language of the user and the location of the user. The target
market defines a language and a region. The application is rendered
by the one or more computer servers by modifying at least one of a
user interface of the application and a content of the application
using the target market.
Inventors: |
Carroll; James; (Kirkland,
WA) ; Davidson; Philip; (Carnation, WA) ;
Lakshmanan; Thyagarajan; (San Jose, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Go Daddy Operating Company, LLC |
Scottsdale |
AZ |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
54869862 |
Appl. No.: |
15/487868 |
Filed: |
April 14, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14309813 |
Jun 19, 2014 |
9659106 |
|
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15487868 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/986 20190101;
G06F 16/9577 20190101; H04L 67/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0261 20130101;
H04L 67/18 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02; H04L 29/08 20060101 H04L029/08; G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A system, comprising: a content database, the content database
identifying: a plurality of media elements, each media element in
the plurality of media elements being associated with a market
selected from a plurality of markets, and a plurality of widgets,
each widget in the plurality of widgets being associated with a
market selected from the plurality of markets; and a computer
server communicatively coupled to a network, the computer server
including a processor configured to perform the steps of: receiving
a request to access an application from a user, the application
enabling the user to modify a content of a web page associated with
the user, determining a target market of the web page, identifying
a set of relevant media elements, wherein the set of relevant media
elements includes media elements retrieved from the content
database that are associated with markets that match the target
market, identifying a set of relevant widgets, wherein the set of
relevant widgets includes widgets retrieved from the content
database that are associated with markets that match the target
market, and rendering the application by generating a user
interface of the application that enables the user to insert at
least one media element of the set of relevant media elements and
at least one widget of the set of relevant widgets into the web
page.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the target market is defined by a
geographical region.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the application includes a
website builder application.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to
perform the step of rendering, by the computer server, a plurality
of website templates in the website builder application, each
website template being associated with at least one target market,
the website templates being ranked within the user interface of the
application based upon the at least one target market associated
with each website template.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein website templates associated with
the at least one target market that is the same as the target
market of the web page are displayed in a preferred placement
within the user interface of the application.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
determine a target market of the web page by receiving an
indication of the target market of the web page from the user.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
determine a target market of the web page by analyzing an
origination location of a plurality of visitors to the web
page.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
determine a target market of the web page by: determining that the
request was received from a mobile device; and determining the
target market based upon at least one of a preferred language
setting and a country setting on the mobile device.
9. A system, comprising: a content database identifying a plurality
of content elements, each content element in the plurality of
content elements being associated with a market; and a computer
server communicatively coupled to a network, the computer server
including a processor configured to perform the steps of: receiving
a request to access an application from a user, the application
enabling the user to modify a content of a web page associated with
the user, determining a target market of the web page, identifying
a set of relevant content elements from the content database using
the target market of the web page, and rendering the application by
generating a user interface of the application that enables the
user to insert at least one of the set of relevant content elements
into the web page associated with user.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of content
elements includes media elements and widgets.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the target market is defined by
a geographical region.
12. The system of claim 9, wherein the application includes a
website builder application.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to
perform the step of rendering, by the computer server, a plurality
of website templates in the website builder application, each
website template being associated with at least one target market,
the website templates being ranked within the user interface of the
application based upon the at least one target market associated
with each website template.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein website templates associated
with the at least one target market that is the same as the target
market of the web page are displayed in a preferred placement
within the user interface of the application.
15. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to
determine a target market of the web page by analyzing an
origination location of a plurality of visitors to the web
page.
16. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to
determine a target market of the web page by: determining that the
request was received from a mobile device; and determining the
target market based upon at least one of a preferred language
setting and a country setting on the mobile device.
17. A method, comprising: receiving a request to access an
application from a user, the application enabling the user to
modify a content of a web page associated with the user;
determining a target market of the web page; identifying a set of
relevant content elements from a content database using the target
market of the web page; and rendering an application by generating
a user interface of the application that enables the user to insert
at least one of the set of relevant content elements into the web
page associated with user.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising rendering a
plurality of website templates in the application, each website
template being associated with at least one target market, the
website templates being ranked within the user interface of the
application based upon the at least one target market of each
website template.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the target market
of the web page includes analyzing an origination location of a
plurality of visitors to the web page.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the target market
of the web page includes: determining that the request was received
from a mobile device; and determining the target market based upon
at least one of a preferred language setting and a country setting
on the mobile device.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/309,813 entitled "SOFTWARE APPLICATION
CUSTOMIZED FOR TARGET MARKET" and filed on Jun. 19, 2014.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to the modification
or optimization of website content for a given market or
locale.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A network is a collection of links and nodes (e.g., multiple
computers and/or other devices connected together) arranged so that
information may be passed from one part of the network to another
over multiple links and through various nodes. Examples of networks
include the Internet, the public switched telephone network,
computer networks (e.g., an intranet, an extranet, a local-area
network, or a wide-area network), wired networks, and wireless
networks.
[0004] The Internet is a worldwide network of computers and
computer networks arranged to allow the easy and robust exchange of
information between computer users. Hundreds of millions of people
around the world have access to computers connected to the Internet
via Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Content providers place
multimedia information (e.g., text, graphics, audio, video,
animation, and other forms of data) at specific locations on the
Internet referred to as web pages. Websites comprise a collection
of connected or otherwise related web pages. The combination of all
the websites and their corresponding web pages on the Internet is
generally known as the World Wide Web (WWW) or simply the Web.
[0005] For Internet users and businesses alike, the Internet
continues to be increasingly valuable. More people use the Web for
everyday tasks, from social networking, shopping, banking, and
paying bills to consuming media and entertainment. E-commerce is
growing, with businesses delivering more services and content
across the Internet, communicating and collaborating online, and
inventing new ways to connect with each other.
[0006] Websites may consist of a single webpage, but typically
consist of multiple interconnected and related web pages. Websites,
unless extremely large and complex or exposed to unusual traffic
demands, typically reside on a single server and are prepared and
maintained by a single individual or entity. Menus and links may be
used to move between different web pages within the website or to
move to a different website as is known in the art. The
interconnectivity of web pages enabled by the Internet can make it
difficult for Internet users to tell where one website ends and
another begins.
[0007] Websites may be created using HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) to generate a standard set of tags that define how the web
pages for the website are to be displayed. Users of the Internet
may access content providers' websites using software known as an
Internet browser, such as MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER or MOZILLA
FIREFOX. After the browser has located the desired webpage, the
browser requests and receives information for the webpage,
typically in the form of an HTML document, and then displays the
webpage content for the user. The user then may view other web
pages at the same website or move to an entirely different website
using the browser.
[0008] When a website administrator develops a website, they often
have a target market in mind. The target market is often associated
with a particular geographical region, such as a group of customers
in a particular region or country. Given that target market, the
website administrator would usually prefer to create the website
with content likely to be suitable for individuals visiting the
website from the target market. However, the tools made available
to assist in website creation and design are often configured to
generate websites having content suited more to the location of the
company supplying the tool than the website administrator or the
target market for the website.
[0009] For example, a website administrator may wish to construct a
website directed to customers located in China. However, if the
website administrator uses a software application provided by an
American company to develop the website, the software application
will generate content (e.g., copy, stock multimedia, default web
page templates, etc.) more suited to an American target market than
a Chinese target market.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system that may be used to
optimize website content for a target market.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a screenshot showing a user interface enabling a
website administrator to provide information describing a business
associated with a website.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example method by
which a target market for a website of a website administrator can
be determined.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a screenshot showing an example user interface for
a website builder application enabling a website administrator to
select from a number of available templates.
[0014] FIG. 5 depicts an example webpage of a template.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a screenshot showing a view of a website builder
application that enables a website administrator to incorporate a
widget into a website.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for
incorporating shopping cart functionality into a website, where the
shopping cart is tailored to a particular target market for the
website.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a screenshot showing a shopping cart function in a
website where the shopping cart function has been configured for a
particular target market.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] The present invention will now be discussed in detail with
regard to the attached drawing figures that were briefly described
above. In the following description, numerous specific details are
set forth illustrating the Applicant's best mode for practicing the
invention and enabling one of ordinary skill in the art to make and
use the invention. It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in
the art that the present invention may be practiced without many of
these specific details. In other instances, well-known machines,
structures, and method steps have not been described in particular
detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present
invention. Unless otherwise indicated, like parts and method steps
are referred to with like reference numerals.
[0019] In many cases, websites are developed using tools and
libraries provided by third parties. For example, a hosting
provider may often provide a website builder tool or shopping cart
software to assist a website administrator in constructing and
publishing a website. Often, however, these tools are configured to
generate content that is more suited to the location in which the
hosting provider resides than the location in which the target
audience for the website resides (i.e., the target market for the
website).
[0020] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a system and
method configured to determine a suitable target market or locale
for a particular website, and then generate and make available
content and applications or widgets for incorporation into the
website that are suited to that target market. The content may then
be incorporated into the website manually, or may automatically be
incorporated into the website upon being requested by a user.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of system 100 that may be used to
practice the present invention. A computer network 102 may be a
collection of links and nodes (e.g., multiple computers and/or
other devices connected together) arranged so that data may be
passed from one part of the computer network 102 to another part of
the computer network 102. The computer network 102 may span the
entire world and allow communication from any point in the world to
any other point in the world where the computer network 102 exists.
Examples of computer networks 102 include the Internet, the public
switched telephone network, computer networks (e.g., an intranet,
an extranet, a local-area network, or a wide-area network), wired
networks, and wireless networks.
[0022] The Internet is a worldwide network of computers and
computer networks arranged to allow the easy and robust exchange of
information between websites 104 on hardware servers 106 and
Internet users 108 and website administrators 110 on client
computers. Hundreds of millions of people around the world have
access to client computers connected to the Internet via Internet
Service Providers (ISPs).
[0023] Content providers may place multimedia information or
content (e.g., text, graphics, audio, video, animation, and other
forms of data) at specific locations on the Internet referred to as
websites 104. The combination of all the websites 104 and their
corresponding web pages on the Internet is generally known as the
World Wide Web (WWW) or simply the Web.
[0024] For Internet users 108 (e.g., individuals that use computers
to access the content on one of websites 104) and website
administrators 110 (e.g., individuals that manage, modify, update,
and reconfiguration websites 104) alike, the Internet continues to
be increasingly valuable. Prevalent on the Internet are multimedia
websites 104, some of which may offer and sell goods and services
to individuals and organizations. Websites 104 may consist of a
single webpage, but typically consist of multiple interconnected
and related web pages. Websites 104, unless very large and complex
or having unusual traffic demands, typically reside on a single
hardware server 106 and are prepared and maintained by a single
website administrator 110, which may be an individual, group of
individuals, or entity (although websites 104 residing on multiple
hardware servers 106 are certainly possible and even necessary in
some cases). Menus, links, tabs, etc. on the website 104 may be
used to move between different web pages within the website 104 or
to move to an entirely different website.
[0025] Websites 104 may be created using HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) to generate a standard set of tags that define how the web
pages for the websites 104 are to be displayed. Internet users 108
may access content providers', such as businesses, websites 104
using software known as an Internet browser, such as MICROSOFT
INTERNET EXPLORER, MOZILLA FIREFOX, or GOOGLE CHROME.
[0026] After the browser has located the desired webpage, the
browser requests and receives the content of the desired web page,
typically in the form of an HTML document, from server 106 and then
displays the web page content for the Internet user 108 on the
client computer using the browser. The Internet user 108 may then
view other web pages at the same website 104 or move to an entirely
different website using the browser.
[0027] Some website administrators 110, typically those that are
larger and more sophisticated, may provide their own hardware
server(s) 106, software, and connections to the Internet. But many
website administrators 110 either do not have the resources
available or do not want to create and maintain the infrastructure
necessary to host their own websites 104. To assist such
individuals (or entities), hosting providers exist that offer
website 104 hosting services on one or more servers 106. The
hosting providers or other third parties may also provide one or
more software applications 114 to assist a website administrator
110 in constructing their website 104. The software applications
114 may include website builders for conventional and/or
mobile-oriented websites 104, checkout or purchase processing
software, marketing tools, and other software widgets that can be
incorporated into the website 104.
[0028] The software applications may be provided by one or more
application servers 112 that are in communication with server 106.
Applications servers 112 may be implemented as separate computer
servers from server 106, and so may be distributed over a
geographical region. Or, in other cases, application servers 112
may be implemented on or by server 106.
[0029] System 100 includes a content database 116. Content database
116 is in communication with server 106 and stores content that may
be incorporated into one or more of websites 104. The content
stored in content database 116 may include media 118, which may
include images, video, and music suitable for incorporation into
websites 104, programs, links to third party content, and the like.
Within content database 116, the content, including media 118, can
be associated with particular markets. One or more website
templates may be defined that include a number of different web
pages including default content selected from content database 116.
The templates themselves may also be associated with one or more
target markets.
[0030] In many instances, the association of an article of media
118 with a particular market indicates that the media 118 either
depicts or is associated with an element of the target market. For
example, media 118 may be associated with a particular target
market if the media 118 includes or depicts the same language as
that of the market or depicts a scene either associated with the
market or located in the market. Media 118 may be associated with a
single target market, or a number of different target markets.
[0031] Content server 116 may also store a number of widgets 120
that can be incorporated into websites 104. Widgets 120 may display
content on websites 104 or otherwise modify the content depicted
via websites 104. In some cases, widgets 120 may include small
programs that can be embedded within a website 104 to modify the
operation of the website 104. The content generated by the widgets
120 may be content created by the widgets 120 themselves, or
retrieved from third party sources. Example widgets 120 includes
FACEBOOK plug-ins, daily weather forecast plug-ins, TWITTER
plug-ins, games, YOUTUBE plug-ins, clocks, and the like.
[0032] As in the case of media 118, the widgets 120 may be
associated with one or more target markets. The association of a
widget 120 with a particular target market may indicate that the
widget 120 displays text in a language or depicts other content
associated with a particular target market. Alternatively, or in
combination, the association of a widget 120 with a particular
target market may also indicate that the widget 120 is popular
within the target market. The widgets 120 may be associated with
one or more target markets in a similar fashion to media 118.
[0033] Using the present system, website administrator 110 may
access server 106 for the purpose of hosting, creating, or
modifying a website 104. To do so, the website administrator 110
may log into an authentication website provided by server 106. Once
authenticated, the website administrator 110 can execute one or
more applications 114 that are configured to assist in the process
of creating, editing, and managing website 104, for example, by
incorporating one or more media 118 into website 104. Additionally,
the website administrator 110 may incorporate one or more widgets
120 into the website 104 to depict desired content. Alternatively,
the website administrator 110 may execute an application 114
configured to assist the website administrator 110 in marketing or
otherwise advertising the website 104.
[0034] Either before or while the website administrator 110
constructs or edits website 104, the present system 100 is
configured to identify a target market for the website 104 or
website administrator 110. The target market generally describes a
geographical region in which the anticipated consumers for or
visitors to the website 104 reside. The target market may include a
particular country, region (either contained within a single
country or being located across portions of multiple countries),
state or county, city, or other defined region.
[0035] In the present system, the target market identifies both a
geographical region and a language. The target market may be
specified, for example, according to the BCP-47 industry format,
which defines a standard for tag identifiers for location and
language. Accordingly, in regions where many languages may be
spoken, the target market can set forth not only the geographical
region in which the target market resides, but also which of the
several spoken languages in the geographical region is
preferred.
[0036] In some embodiments, the website administrator 110 may
explicitly set forth or define the target market for website 104.
For example, the website administrator 110 may establish a customer
account with a hosting provider providing server 106 before
creating website 104. The creation of a customer account may
involve the website administrator 110 supplying various customer
account details that are stored by the hosting provider in customer
records database 122. When creating the customer account (or
updating it at a later date), the website administrator 110 may
explicitly inform the hosting provider of the target market for the
website 104. This may involve the website administrator 110
specifying a particular target language for the website 104 as well
as a target geographical region. The website administrator 110 may
select the target market in which the majority of customers or
potential customers for the website 104 are located.
[0037] In other cases, the website administrator 110 may specify a
target market without establishing or otherwise modifying customer
account information. For example, when the website administrator
110 accesses the server 106 for the purpose of creating a new
website 104, modifying an existing website 104, or performing any
other task, the server 106 may depict a user interface (e.g., a web
page) that includes a menu (e.g., a pull down menu or radio button
menu) that allows the website administrator 110 to select a target
market that may include both a target region and a target language.
Example choices of target market in the menu include: "United
States--English", "Estados Unidos--Espanol", "Singapore--English",
"Canada--English", "Canada--Francais", and the like. Once selected,
the server 106 may save the selected target market (e.g., in a
cookie stored on the computer of the website administrator 110 for
later use. Although this selection may not be made explicitly in
conjunction with the action of creating a website 104, once the
selection is made, server 106 may be configured to remember the
selection and use the selection as the target market for any
websites 104 created by the website administrator 110 going
forward.
[0038] Although the website administrator 110 may explicitly set
forth the target market for the website 104, in other embodiments,
the target market can be determined or inferred based upon
information acquired (e.g., by server 106) either about the website
administrator 110, a business of the website 104 or website
administrator 110 or otherwise associated with the website 104, the
content of the website 104, and the like.
[0039] In some embodiments, for example, server 106 is configured
to determine a location of the website administrator 110 based upon
the IP address of the computer used by the website administrator
110 to access server 106. Using a suitable geolocation service, for
example, the server 106 can translate the website administrator 110
IP address into a location. The server 106 may then use a look up
table to translate that location into a target market. For example,
if the website administrator 110 is determined to be located in a
particular country, the market may be set to that country with the
language being set to the predominant language in the region. The
look up table may contain a number of location-defined target
markets, where the potential target markets may include various
regions, such as countries, regions, cities, and the like, with one
or more languages being defined for each region.
[0040] Although the server 106 may perform a location lookup using
the IP address of the website administrator 110, in cases where the
website administrator 110 is communicating with server 106 using a
mobile device, such as a smart phone, the mobile device may provide
location information directly to server 106, where the location
information may be determined by a location service (e.g., a global
positioning system (GPS)) running on the mobile device. In that
case, rather than convert an IP address into a location via a
geolocation service, the service 106 can use the location
information provided directly by the mobile device to determine a
location of the website administrator 110.
[0041] In some cases, server 106 may use the language preferences
of the website administrator 100 (potentially in combination with
other information) to determine the target market. Where the
website administrator 110 interacts with the server 106 using a web
browser, for example, the web browser may have a language
preference setting that is accessible to the server 106.
Alternatively, other language preference settings specified in
other applications running on the computer device of the website
administrator 110 may be accessible to the server 106. In that
case, the server 106 can retrieve the language preference setting
from the web browser or other application and use the language
preference setting to identify a target market. Again, this may be
done using a lookup table that translates languages into target
markets.
[0042] The language preference setting may also be used to select
from multiple languages that may be used in a particular target
market region. For example, if the server 106 determines that the
website administrator 110 is located in the United States, in which
English and Spanish may be prominent languages, the language
preference setting can be used to select between the two prominent
languages. For example, if the website administrator's browser has
a language preference setting of Spanish, then the market may be
defined as United States--Spanish, for example.
[0043] Other information that may be used by server 106 to
determine a target market for the website 104 of the website
administrator 110 includes information describing a business
associated with the website 104. The address of the business can be
used to identify a location and, thereby, a target market for the
website 104, for example. Similarly, if accessible to the server
106, information describing the sales activity of the business,
such as the predominant locations in which customers reside or to
which products are shipped, can be used to determine the target
market. In some cases, the information describing the business
associated with the website 104 may be gathered via a user
interface provided to the website administrator 110 by the server
106. The user interface may prompt the website administrator 110 to
provide information such as the billing address for the business,
which may be used to calculate a target market. In some cases, the
website administrator 110 may be prompted to explicitly specify the
target market for the business and/or the website 104. For example,
to illustrate, FIG. 2 shows an example user interface enabling the
website administrator 110 to provide information describing the
business associated with the website 104. The information provided
by the user, such as the address and phone number (and, optionally,
any other information provided by the website administrator 110)
may be utilized to determine a target market.
[0044] Similarly, the web traffic to the website 104 can be used to
identify a target market for the website 104. By analyzing the
origination point of visitors to the website 104, server 106 can
determine the location of the majority of the visitors to the
website 104. That location can then be used (e.g., via a lookup
table) to determine the target market. Similarly, the language
settings of the website 104 and the language settings of the
visitors to the website 104 can all be used to assist in
determining the target market and/or selecting a particular
language for the target market. In some cases, the target market
for the website 104 may be determined in an ad hoc fashion, where a
new target market is calculated for each visitor to the website
104, where the target market is determined by the location of the
visitor and, if available, the visitor's language settings.
[0045] In some embodiments, the type of device used by the website
administrator 110 to access server 106 can be used in determining
the target market or will otherwise affect the determination of the
target market. If, for example, the device is desktop computer,
which tend to be less mobile than some other computing devices, it
may be assumed that the desktop computer is located in the target
market. In that case, the location of the desktop computer can
determine the target market, including the language of the target
market. If, however, the device used by the website administrator
110 is a portable device (e.g., a mobile device), it is more likely
that the website administrator 110 may be traveling. In that case,
because the device may not be located in the target market (or at
least is less likely to be located in the target market), server
106 may be configured to use only the language setting of the
mobile device to determine the target market.
[0046] In some embodiments, the determination of the target market
may be made based upon data stored in cookies in a web browser of
the website administrator 110, a URL visited by the website
administrator 110, the IP address of the website administrator,
and/or an accept language of the web browser of the website
administrator 110 (e.g., the language specified in an
accept-language header communicated in requests for web pages
issued by the web browser). Once determined, the target market can
be used to render any web page provided by the server 106 to the
website administrator 110 in a language compatible with the target
market. Similarly, any user interfaces of any applications 114
served up by server 106 to the website administrator 110 as well as
any content thereof may similarly be rendered in a language
compatible with the target market.
[0047] In one example, the website administrator 110 may have an IP
address that is located in Switzerland. As such, the target market
may initially be set to a country of Switzerland. Then, the website
administrator 110's browser is analyzed to identify an accept
language--this may be necessary because Switzerland has a number of
predominant languages. If the browser has an accept language of the
default language (i.e., German), the target market is set to
Switzerland--German. But if the website administrator 110 has a
different accept language (e.g., French or Italian), the target
market can be set accordingly.
[0048] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example method by
which a target market for the website 104 of a website
administrator 110 can be determined. In step 202 the website
administrator 110 accesses server 106. The website administrator
110 may communicate with server 106 to create a website 104 or to
modify the content of an existing website 104. In step 204 the
server 106 determines whether the website administrator 110 has
explicitly selected or specified a target market. An explicit
target market selection could be made using a pull-down menu
provided by one or more web pages hosted by the server 106. For
example, if the website administrator 110 must log-in to a webpage
before accessing and modifying the website 104, the log-in screen
(or a webpage subsequently displayed for the website administrator
110) may allow the website administrator 110 to explicitly select a
target market. Alternatively, the website administrator 110 may
provide information while browsing other web pages provided by
server 106 (e.g., product pages, e-mail services, other websites
104 maintained by third parties, and the like) that can be used to
determine the target market.
[0049] If, in step 204 it is determined that the website
administrator 110 has explicitly selected a target market, the
method moves to step 206 where the server 106 sets the target
market to that explicitly selected by the website administrator
110.
[0050] If, in step 204, the target market has not been explicitly
selected, in step 208 the server 106 determines whether the website
administrator 110 is accessing the server 106 with a mobile device.
The determination of whether the website administrator 110 is
accessing the server 106 with a mobile device may be made by the
server 106 analyzing the browser settings of the device used by the
website administrator 110 to access the server 106. Generally
requests sent to the server 106 from the browser will have a
"HTTP_USER_AGENT" Value in a header of the request that can be used
by the server 106 to determine if the request is coming from a
mobile device. If not (e.g., the website administrator 110 is using
a desktop computer), in step 210 the server 106 attempts to
determine the location of the website administrator 110 as well as
any language preferences of the website administrator 110. As
discussed above, the location can be determined by analyzing the IP
address of the computer being used by the website administrator
110, though any other suitable geolocation approach may be
utilized. The language preferences may be established by the
website administrator 110 via, for example, web browser
settings.
[0051] If, in step 210, the server 106 is able to determine a
location of the website administrator 110 or the language
preferences of the website administrator 110, that location or
language preference information is used to set a target market for
the website administrator 110. As discussed above, this may be done
using a look-up table that translates location and/or language
preferences into a target market.
[0052] If, however, in step 210 the server 106 is unable to
determine either the location or the language preferences of the
website administrator 110, the server 106 may prompt the website
administrator 110 to explicitly select or specify a target market
in step 212. Once explicitly selected or specified by the website
administrator 110, the target market is set in step 206.
[0053] Returning to step 208, if the website administrator 110 is
accessing the server 106 using a mobile device, the server will, in
step 214 determine whether the mobile device has a preferred
country and/or language setting. If so, that preferred country
and/or language setting is used to set the target market in step
206, for example, by setting the region of the target market equal
to the country setting on the mobile device and the language of the
target equal to the language setting of the mobile device. If the
mobile device does not have a preferred country/language setting,
in step 216 the server 106 determines whether the mobile device has
a preferred language setting. If so, that preferred language
setting is used to set the target market in step 206. Again, this
may be done using a look-up table that translates a language
preference into a target market.
[0054] In some embodiments, however, because mobile devices have a
higher likelihood of being located away from the target market for
the website 104, the server 106 may be configured to ignore the
country setting on a mobile device, even if one is set. In that
case, only the language setting (assuming that one is available)
will be used to determine the target market.
[0055] If the mobile device does not have a preferred language
setting, in step 212 the website administrator 110 is prompted to
explicitly specify a target market. Once explicitly selected, the
target market is set in step 206.
[0056] After the target market has been specified for the website
104 of the website administrator 110 (e.g., using the method of
FIG. 3), server 106 can use that target market information to
customize both the user interfaces to the applications 114 that the
website administrator 110 may use in constructing, revising, and
marketing the website and the content (including media 118 and
widgets 120) that may be incorporated into the website 104.
[0057] For example, the user interface provided to the website
administrator 110 by one or more applications 114 may be rendered
in the language associated with the target market. In fact, the
applications 114 that are made available to the website
administrator 110 may be determined by the target market so that
one target market will cause a first set of applications 114 to be
available, while a second target market will cause a second set of
applications 114 to be available. Similarly, the content made
available for incorporation into the website 104 by the
applications 114 may include only media 118 and widgets 120
suitable for or associated with the target market or may display
media 118 and widgets 120 suitable for the target market in a
preferred placement within the user interface of the applications
114 as compared to less suitable media 118 and widgets 120.
[0058] In some situations, the server 106 may not be specifically
configured to serve up content and applications 114 configured for
the target market determined, for example, according to the method
of FIG. 3. In that case, the server 106 may instead serve up
content and applications 114 suitable for a different target
market, where the language of the target market selected by the
server 106 is that same as that of the website 104. For example, if
the target market for the website 104 is a region in Africa where
English is the predominant language, but the server 106 is not
configured for that African target market, the server 106 may
instead serve up content and applications 114 for the target market
United Kingdom--English (i.e., another target market sharing the
same language). Similarly, the target market France--Francais may
be utilized as a default target market for other target markets
having a language of Francais and for which the server 106 is not
configured. In some embodiments, a default target market may be
defined. If the target market for the website 104 is one for which
the server 106 is not configured and no other target markets of
server 106 share the same language, the default target market may
instead be used.
[0059] In one example, an application 114 may include a website
builder. A website builder is a tool designed to assist a user in
creating and modifying content for a website. The website builder
may display the website's source code and allow a website
administrator to modify the website's source code directly, thereby
enabling fine control of the website's content, or provide a
what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) interface that enables the
user to edit the website in its final as-rendered form. Sometimes
website builders enable the user to switch between source code and
WYSIWYG views of the website being created and/or edited.
[0060] The website builder application may be provided, for
example, via a website browser running on a conventional desktop
computer system or a laptop. Alternatively, the website builder
application may be executed via a mobile device, such as a smart
phone. In that case, the interface of the website builder
application may be configured to be suitable for display on a
smaller screen and for user interactions involving tapping and
dragging upon a touch screen. The website builder may be executed
as a software program running on a computing device of the website
administrator 110 (e.g., as native software), or may run within a
web browser (e.g., as a hosted software application), or
combinations thereof.
[0061] Initially, the website administrator 110 accesses the
website builder application to create a new website. Upon accessing
the website builder application, the target market information, if
available, can be used to select a preferred language in which the
user interface of the website builder will be rendered. The website
builder application will then prompt the website administrator 110
to select from a number of available website templates to begin
constructing the website 104. FIG. 4 is a screenshot showing an
example user interface for a website builder application enabling
the website administrator 110 to select from a number of available
templates 302.
[0062] The listing of templates 302 made available to the website
administrator 110 may be filtered and/or sorted using the target
market information. In some embodiments, the templates may be
sorted into categories 304 that group the templates 302 based upon
a template type. For example, there may be many different groups of
templates suited to different types of business websites and
personal websites. Templates may exist for websites for law firms,
crafts stores, family blogs, bike shops, and the like. Each
template category, therefore, can be associated with one or more
target market in which templates belonging to that category may be
popular.
[0063] Because different types of websites may be more popular in
particular target markets (or some website-types may not even exist
in particular target markets), the target market of the website
administrator 110 can be used to sort the categories 304 of
templates 302 so that the categories 304 of templates most relevant
to the target market of the website administrator 110 are displayed
first in a preferred placement location within the listing of
available template categories 304, with less popular template types
being displayed in a less prominent position or not displayed at
all. In one specific embodiment, available template categories 304
are sorted alphabetically (though it may be possible to sort the
categories 304 based on their popularity on a per-target market
basis). Then a special category 304 designated "Recommended for
You" is provided that contains templates 302 that are specific to
the target market or otherwise particularly suited to the website
administrator 110. The templates 302 in the "Recommended for You"
category 304 can be sorted using the following logic: templates 302
that match both the language and location of the target market are
displayed first, templates 302 that match only the language of the
target market and not the location are displayed next, templates
302 that match the location of the target market and not the
language are displayed next, and finally templates 302 that match
neither the target market location nor the target market language
are displayed last.
[0064] Within a particular category 304 of templates 302, as
mentioned above, each template 302 is associated with one or more
target markets. As such, the templates 302 that are associated with
the same target market as the website 104 may be similarly
displayed in a preferred position in the website builder as
compared to templates 302 associated with target markets that do
not match that of the website 104.
[0065] The preferred placement location for a category 304 or
template 302 may comprise any location in the listing of categories
304 or templates 302 depicted by the website builder that may be
more likely to attract the attention of a website administrator 110
using the website builder than another location. The preferred
placement location, as non-limiting examples, may be determined by
human factors, usability, or similar studies, or may be a simple
arbitrary or intuitive choice. As illustrated in FIG. 4, it also
may comprise a preferred placement of a category 304 within a
vertical arrangement of a plurality of template categories 304,
perhaps at the top of a list of categories 304, or simply a higher
placement within such a list than the placement of other categories
304. The preferred placement may therefore, as non-limiting
examples, comprise a top-most, bottom-most, or more centered
position in any such vertical list.
[0066] Once a category 304 of templates 302 is selected, a number
of templates 302 belonging to that category 304 can be displayed
for selection by the website administrator 110. In a similar manner
to that of the categories 304, the templates 302 themselves, once
depicted, can be arranged so as to give templates 302 associated
with the same target market as that of the website 104 a more
prominent position in the website builder than templates 203
associated with different target markets.
[0067] In the example depicted in FIG. 4, the target market is one
in which websites relating to pets and animals tend to be more
popular than home services and construction. As such, within the
listing of categories 304 of templates 302, the category associated
with Pets, Animals is displayed above the category associated with
Home Services, Construction. In this particular target market,
websites associated with business, finance, and law may be
extremely popular. As such, the category of templates dealing with
Business, Finance, Law is displayed at the top of the list of
available categories 304 of templates 302.
[0068] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the user has selected the
category Business, Finance, Law, resulting in templates 302 falling
within that category 304 being made available for selection. The
listing of templates 302 shown in FIG. 4 may be similarly sorted
based upon the relevancy of each template 302 to the target market.
For example, templates 302 having multimedia (e.g., images or
graphics) that depict scenes taken from the target market may be
displayed above those that include multimedia depicting scenes
taken from other markets. Similarly, templates 302 including text
of the same language as the target market may be displayed above
templates 302 that include text in a different language.
[0069] The placement of a particular category 304 or template 302
may be determined (perhaps by software and/or scripts running on at
least one server), which may be based upon the target market of the
website 104 and the target markets with which particular templates
302 or template categories 304 are associated. As described in
detail above, the preferred placement may comprise any location on
a website builder user interface that may be more likely to attract
the attention of a user than another location.
[0070] As an example, wedding announcement websites may be quite
popular in India, but less popular in the United States. According,
if the target market for the website administrator 110 is
India--Hindi, templates belonging to the category of wedding
announcement websites may be made available for that administrator
(and, in fact, the category 304 of wedding announcement site
templates 302 may be given prominence in the website builder),
while if the target market was United States--English, those
templates 302 may not be displayed for selection by the website
administrator 110 and the category 304 may be displayed at the
bottom of a listing of available template categories 304, if shown
at all.
[0071] The available templates 302 may also be sorted based upon
other factors analyzed in combination with the target market. For
example, if the customer records 122 for the website administrator
110 indicates that the website administrator 110 is affiliated with
a business, categories 304 containing templates 302 associated with
personal web pages (e.g., family blogs, personal photograph sharing
websites, etc.) may be displayed in a less prominent position than
the categories 304 of templates 302 associated with small business
websites (or not displayed at all).
[0072] Generally, each template will include some preliminary
content that can be used by the website administrator 110 to begin
constructing the website. Once a template 302 is selected, the
content of the template becomes the website administrator 110
website, and the website administrator 110 can begin editing and
revising the content that was preloaded into the template 302.
[0073] The templates 302 may include a number of pre-built web
pages that each may include media 118 (e.g., images, video, sounds,
and the like) and/or text arranged within the template's web pages.
In the present system, the media 118 and text incorporated into a
particular template 302 will be well suited to the target market
that is associated with the template 302. To the extent the
multimedia includes written text or spoken words, the language can
be the same as that of the language of the target market of the
template 302. To the extent the multimedia depicts scenes that can
be associated with a particular location, the location associated
with the multimedia can fall within the geographical scope of the
target market of the template 302.
[0074] For example, for a template associated with a target market
defining a particular country (e.g., Spain--Spanish), images of
cities or towns will depict Spanish cities or towns. Similarly,
multimedia depicting individuals will show individuals wearing
dress and/or performing activities associated with or consistent
with locations falling within Spain.
[0075] Consequently, when the website administrator 110 is
presented with a listing of candidate templates 302, the listed
templates 302 will tend to include multimedia and text familiar to
viewers from the target market, or at least those templates 302 may
be displayed in a preferred location in the website builder as
compared to other templates 302. This prevents the website
administrator 110 from being presented with templates 302 that
include content entirely unrelated to the target market or language
that likely cannot be read by individuals within the target
market.
[0076] Depending upon the system implementation, templates 302 that
include multimedia and text not associated with the target market
of the website administrator 110 may either not be displayed, or
may be displayed below (or in a position of reduced prominence) to
templates 302 including more relevant multimedia. In one
embodiment, the templates 302 are sorted so that the templates 302
displayed first are those that match both the location and language
of the target market, templates that match only the language of the
target market are displayed next, with templates that match neither
the location nor language of the target market are displayed
last.
[0077] In various embodiments, the templates 302 may be generated
in real-time with content (e.g., multimedia and text) that matches
the target market or the website administrator 110. In that case,
the web pages making up the templates 302 may be constructed as
shells that specify the layout and location of content (e.g.,
multimedia and text) within the web pages, but, rather than
incorporate the content, instead include tags, codes, or other
placeholders that, when a template 302 is displayed for a
particular target market can be replaced by suitable content for a
particular target market.
[0078] The templates 302 may be associated with a single target
market or, in other embodiments, may be associated with two or more
target markets. For example, a template 302 may be associated with
more than one target market provided that the target markets are
tied to same language. For example, a template may be associated
with the target markets MX-es (Mexico--Spanish) and AR-es
(Argentina--Spanish).
[0079] For example, FIG. 5 depicts an example webpage 400 from a
template 302. In this configuration, the webpage 400 does not
include content and instead includes placeholders indicating where
content should be placed within the webpage 400. In this example,
the webpage 400 includes two placeholders for multimedia positioned
at the top of the webpage (MULTIMEDIA 1 and MULTIMEDIA 2). The
webpage 400 also includes placeholders for text content positioned
below the multimedia (TEXT 1 and TEXT 2).
[0080] Content database 116 contains the content that can replace
the placeholders in webpage 400 when the template is displayed for
selection by the website administrator 110. For each placeholder
(MULTIMEDIA 1, MULTIMEDIA 2, TEXT 1, and TEXT 2), database 116
stores a number of different pieces of candidate content (in FIG.
5, the content is referenced via a uniform resource locator (URL)).
Each piece of content is associated with a particular target
market. When depicting the template for the website administrator
110, the most appropriate content based upon the target market of
the website 104 is retrieved from database 116 and inserted into
the template for depiction.
[0081] For example, referring to FIG. 5, database 116 stores a
listing 402 of candidate images to replace the MULTIMEDIA 1
placeholder. When displaying the template 302 containing the
webpage 400 for the website administrator 110, if one of the
candidate images in the listing 402 matches both the location and
language of the target market for the website 104, that image will
be retrieved from the listing 402 in database 116 and inserted into
the webpage 400. If none of the candidate images match both the
location and language of the target market, the first image that
matches the language of the target market may instead be retrieved
and used to replace the placeholder MULTIMEDIA 1. Finally, if none
of the images match the language of target market, the listing 402
of candidate images may include a default image that will replace
the placeholder. A similar process may be utilized to select the
most appropriate textual content for incorporation into the
template.
[0082] In some embodiments, the website builder application will
also enable the website administrator 110 to incorporate one or
more widgets into the website 104. FIG. 6, for example, is a
screenshot showing a view of a website builder application that
allows a website administrator 110 to incorporate one or more
widgets into their website 104. In FIG. 6, the website builder
present a WYSIWYG interface enabling a website administrator 110 to
select and draft one of the widgets 502 to a desired location on a
web page in the website 104.
[0083] In the present system, the widgets made available to the
website administrator 110 are filtered based upon the target market
for the website. Because some widgets 502 are more popular in some
regions than others, widgets 502 that are more suitable for the
target market of the website 104 will be displayed ahead of widgets
that are less popular in the target market (or those widgets may
not be displayed at all). For example, FACEBOOK may be popular in
the United States and European countries and would be available as
a widget for incorporation into a website having a target market in
those locations. But FACEBOOK may be less popular than RENREN in
China. Accordingly, for target markets located within China, the
widget FACEBOOK may be replaced by a widget for RENREN.
[0084] Not only can the listing of available widgets 502 be
determined by the target market of the website 104, but the content
of the widgets 502 themselves can also be adjusted based upon the
target market. Where the widgets are available in multiple
languages, for example, the language of the widgets may be
determined by the target market of the website 104. In some
embodiments, the target market information is passed to the widget
502. Having received the target market information, the widget 503
can then render content and functionality related to that target
market. Each widget 502 may be configured to respond differently to
the target market information. For example, a FACEBOOK widget, upon
receiving a target market of India--English may redirect users
interacting with the widget to the Indian website for FACEBOOK, for
example.
[0085] In some embodiments, the website builder application may
enable the website administrator 110 to select from a number of
temporary or permanent themes that may be applied to the website
104. The themes may be temporary additions to the website 104 and
provide one or more stylistic elements (e.g., images, audio, and
the like) that can overlay or be inserted into one or more of the
web pages making up the website 104. The themes that are made
available for selection by the website administrator 110 can be
filtered based upon the target market of the website 104.
[0086] For example, if the target market for the website 104 is one
in which the Christmas holiday is celebrated, the website builder
may provide the website administrator 104 with an option to have a
temporary Christmas theme automatically applied to the website
during the days of the year associated with the holiday. A
Christmas theme may involve, for example, displaying a number of
Christmas-themed visual elements within the website 104, or
incorporating Christmas music into the website 104 during the
Christmas season. Similarly, for target markets that utilize the
Chinese calendar, themes may be made available to automatically
depict elements celebrating the Chinese New Year on the website 104
at appropriate times. Accordingly, one a temporary theme is
selected by the website administrator 104, the temporary theme may
only be applied to the website 104 for a determined time
period.
[0087] After the website administrator 110 finishes using the
website builder application to construct the website 104, the
website administrator 110 can publish the website 104 on server
106. If the website administrator 110 already has a domain name for
the website 104, the website 104 can be published so that the
domain name resolves to the website 104. In some cases, however,
the website administrator 110 may need to register a domain name
before the website 104 is published. In that case, the website
builder application may be configured to suggest suitable domain
names to the website administrator 110. The suggested domain names
may be based, at least in part, on the target market for the
website 104. For example, the suggest domain names may include
domain names having a country code describing a country that
contains the target market.
[0088] In some embodiments, the website builder application may
enable the website administrator 110 to incorporate a shopping cart
function into the website 104. Where the website 104 advertises a
number of goods and/or services for sale, for example, a shopping
cart may be provided to enable a potential customer to browse
through the website 104 to review the various available goods and
services. After reviewing various attributes of the goods or
services being offered, including the price associated with the
goods or services, the customer can add one or more of the goods or
services to their shopping cart. In this manner one or more goods
or services may be accumulated within the customer's shopping
cart.
[0089] When the customer has finished shopping, they can initiate a
check out process enabling the customer to pay for the goods or
services that have been added to the customer's shopping cart. The
check out process involves the website 104 prompting the customer
to supply information enabling a monetary payment to be made in
exchange for the goods or services. In many cases this involves the
customer providing a credit card or debit card number that can be
used to execute a payment. In many other implementations, however,
other forms of payment, such as gift cards, coupons, electronic
money transfers, exchanges of electronic currency, deferred payment
(e.g., in anticipation of taking possession of the goods or
services at a later date at which time payment may be rendered),
escrow, and the like, may be used to render payment at check
out.
[0090] Depending upon the market in which a particular transaction
is taking place, different forms of payment may be preferred over
other forms of payment. For example, in the United States, credit
cards (and particularly cards relying on the VISA and MASTERCARD
processing networks) are popular mechanisms for rendering payment.
In contrast, in India, debit cards may be preferred over credit
cards. In China, meanwhile, systems such as ALIPAY may be preferred
methods of electronic payment.
[0091] Because the preferred payments mechanisms may differ based
upon the target market, the present system and method can use the
target market for the website 104 to at least partially determine
the configuration of a shopping cart system that may be
incorporated into the website.
[0092] FIG. 7, for example, is a flowchart illustrating a method
for incorporating shopping cart functionality into a website, where
the shopping cart is tailored to a particular target market for the
website. In step 602, the website administrator 110 (e.g., using
the website builder application) requests that shopping cart
functionality be added to the website 104. Following that request
the target market for the website 104 is determined in step
604.
[0093] With the target market for the website 104 identified in
step 604, in step 606 the preferred payment methods for the target
market are identified. The preferred payment methods may be
identified, for example, by consulting a look-up table that maps
target markets to one or more preferred payment methods. The
preferred payments methods may be identified in any suitable
manner. For example, for a given target market a number of
historical transactions may be analyzed to identify the preferred
payment methods for the customers that entered into those
transactions, which can then be defined as the preferred payment
methods for that target market. Alternatively, the preferred
methods may be determined by a governmental agency within the
target market. For example, if a particular region (e.g., country)
forbids a particular payment method, that payment method may be
disfavored for the target market.
[0094] Once the preferred payment methods have been identified, a
shopping cart function can be provided on the website 104 in step
608. The shopping cart function allows a potential customer to add
one or more items to the shopping cart and then undergo a checkout
process. Upon checkout the customer will be able to select one of
the preferred payment methods identified in step 606 to process the
transaction.
[0095] When performing the method of FIG. 7, steps 606 and 608 may
be executed at the time the shopping cart functionality is added to
the website 104--that is, while the website administrator 110 is
using the website builder application to modify the website 104.
Or, alternatively, steps 606 and 608 may instead be executed when
the website 104 is visited by a potential customer. In that case,
if the listing of preferred payment methods for a particular target
market should change, when steps 606 and 608 are performed the
updated list of preferred payment methods will be identified. As
such, the website administrator 110 would not be required to re-add
the shopping cart functionality to the website 104 each time the
preferred payment methods for the target market of the website 104
is updated.
[0096] In addition to adjusting the payment methods based upon the
target market of the website 104, the currency used to display any
prices may automatically be adjusted to match the currency used in
the target market. Similarly, the prices themselves may be adjusted
based upon the target market of the website 104. To facilitate the
customer calculating and verifying shipping costs, such shopping
carts will display an attribute of the product such as its shipping
weight and dimensions. If those attributes are to be displayed, the
target market can be analyzed to determine the most suitable units
for depicting those attributes. In some cases, when the customer
attempts to check out and purchase certain products, an analysis
can be performed to determine whether the products are, in fact,
legal for sale in the target market. If not, the check out process
can be interrupted preventing the sale.
[0097] In some cases, historical records of a number of
transactions executed through the website 104 may be analyzed to
determine payment methods that are popular with the customers of
the website 104. This may be useful, for example, if a particular
website 104 tends to enter into transaction using payment methods
that are not particularly popular within the target market.
[0098] In some cases, different target markets impose different
legal requirements on information that must be communicated to a
customer at the time of a transaction. The information may include
details on a return policy and information describing how the
transaction will be secured and, in fact, the technology that must
be used to secure a particular transaction. In that case, the
shopping cart functionality may be arranged to deliver any
necessary information at the time of check out based upon the
target market of the website 104 as well as impose security
technology as required in the target market.
[0099] In various embodiments, the target market can be used to
adjust the form that a customer completes when making a purchase.
If, for example, the target market is the United States--Spanish,
the form may be displayed in Spanish, and include text boxes
allowing a user to enter their US state. Conversely, if the market
it United Kingdom--English, the form may be displayed in English
and include a text box allowing a user to enter the county in which
they live. In a similar manner, the target market can be used to
adjust any units displayed at checkout. For example, to assist a
customer in calculating or verifying shipping costs, the
anticipated weight and size of the product being purchased can be
displayed in units suitable for the target market.
[0100] In some target markets, it may be routine to add a tip to
particular product or service purchases. Accordingly, for target
markets where tipping is routine, the shopping cart functionality
may be modified (e.g., by adding a user input device enabling a
user to specify a tip amount at checkout) to enable tipping. For
target market in which tipping is not customary or even offensive,
the tipping option may not be incorporated.
[0101] FIG. 8, for example, is a screenshot showing one view of a
shopping cart functionality that has been configured for a
particular target market. In the example of FIG. 8, the target
market is Canada--Francais. As such, the text of the screenshot is
rendered in French, while the currency amounts have been depicted
in Canadian dollars. The user interface depicted in FIG. 8 includes
mechanisms 802 for ensuring the security of the transaction. The
particular security mechanisms made available may also be tailored
to a particular target market. The user interface may also provide
a link 804 enabling the shopper to learn the conditions of the
pending offer, where the conditions may also be tailored to the
target market.
[0102] As detailed above, a number of attributes of a website 104
can be modified based upon the target market of the website 104.
This may involve modifying the content of the website to
incorporate multimedia (e.g., images, sounds) and text associated
with the target market. Similarly, any shopping cart function
incorporated into the website 104 may be adjusted based upon the
target market to ensure customers have a familiar experience during
check out. As mentioned above, the target market for a particular
website 104 may be determined based upon attributes of the website
administrator 110, the website 104, or visitors to the website 104.
The target market may be determined a single time for the website
104 (e.g., at the time of creation) or may be routinely reevaluated
and updated or modified. In some cases, the target market can be
calculated in real time with every visit to the website 104. In
that case, the target market may be determined by an attribute of
the visitor, such as the location in which the visitor resides or
the language preferences of the visitor. For example, for a
particular visitor to the website 104, the visitor's IP address can
be used to calculate a location of the visitor. That location can
then be used to determine a target market. That target market can
then be used to determine the content generated and transmitted to
the visitor in displaying the website 104 to the visitor. This may
involve, for example, incorporating content, such as multimedia and
text, into the web pages of the website 104 that is suitable for
the target market (e.g., by populating a template with suitable
media and text). Similarly, any attributes of any widgets or
shopping cart functionality incorporated into the website 104 can
be adjusted based upon the target market determined by the
visitor's location. In this manner, a customer located in the
United Kingdom wishing to purchase a product from a website 104 may
have a target market of United Kingdom--English and would see, upon
going through a check out process, payment methods that are the
preferred payment methods in the United Kingdom and prices listed
in British Pound Sterling. This would be the case even if the
website 104 would otherwise have a target market of
France--Francais.
[0103] In many circumstances, a website administrator 110 will
undertake a marketing or advertising campaign to promote traffic to
the website 104. To assist in such a campaign, the hosting product
hosting server 106 may provide one or more applications 114
enabling the website administrator 110 to initiate and manage a
marketing campaign for the website 104.
[0104] When initiating a marketing campaign, different approaches
can have different levels of success in different markets. For
example, in the United States and Europe, it can be very important
to have a good keyword ranking with the search engine GOOGLE in
order to drive traffic to your website 104. In other target
markets, however, other searches engines may be more powerful
making it more important to have a good ranking with those search
engines. Similarly, depending upon the target market, it can be
important to place advertisements upon different types of websites
or work with different advertising networks that are more suited to
the target market.
[0105] Accordingly, in accordance with the present disclosure, the
advertising application provided by the hosting provider for the
website 104 can be tailored to provide options and suggestions that
best suited to advertising the website 104 in the target market.
The advertising application, for example, may use the target market
information to publish a newly created website 104 (e.g.,
constructed using the website builder application) to the most
popular listing services within the target market (e.g., the YELP
listing service in US and the JustDial listing service in India.
The advertising application may also provide search engine
optimization (SEO) for the website 104 in the target market.
[0106] Various embodiments of the present invention may be embodied
in many different forms, including, but in no way limited to,
computer program logic for use with a processor (e.g., a
microprocessor, micro controller, digital signal processor, server
computer, or general purpose computer), programmable logic for use
with a programmable logic device (e.g., a Field Programmable Gate
Array (FPGA) or other PLD), discrete components, integrated
circuitry (e.g., an Application Specific Integrated Circuit
(ASIC)), or any other means including any combination thereof.
[0107] Computer program logic implementing all or part of the
functionality previously described herein may be embodied in
various forms, including, but in no way limited to, a source code
form, a computer executable form, and various intermediate forms
(e.g., forms generated by an assembler, compiler, linker, or
locator). Source code may include a series of computer program
instructions implemented in any of various programming languages
(e.g., an object code, an assembly language, or a high-level
language such as C, C++, or JAVA) for use with various operating
systems or operating environments. The source code may define and
use various data structures and communication messages. The source
code may be in a computer executable form (e.g., via an
interpreter), or the source code may be converted (e.g., via a
translator, assembler, or compiler) into a computer executable
form.
[0108] The computer program may be fixed in any form (e.g., source
code form, computer executable form, or an intermediate form) in a
tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory device
(e.g., a RAM, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, or Flash-Programmable memory), a
magnetic memory device (e.g., a diskette or fixed disk), an optical
memory device (e.g., a CD-ROM), a PC card (e.g., PCMCIA card), or
other memory device. The computer program may be distributed in any
form as a removable storage medium with accompanying printed or
electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded
with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or
distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the
communication system (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web).
[0109] Hardware logic (including programmable logic for use with a
programmable logic device) implementing all or part of the
functionality previously described herein may be designed using
traditional manual methods, or may be designed, captured,
simulated, or documented electronically using various tools, such
as Computer Aided Design (CAD), a hardware description language
(e.g., VHDL or AHDL), or a PLD programming language (e.g., PALASM,
ABEL, or CUPL).
[0110] Programmable logic may be fixed either permanently or
temporarily in a tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor
memory device (e.g., a RAM, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, or
Flash-Programmable memory), a magnetic memory device (e.g., a
diskette or fixed disk), an optical memory device (e.g., a CD-ROM),
or other memory device. The programmable logic may be distributed
as a removable storage medium with accompanying printed or
electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded
with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or
distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the
communication system (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web).
[0111] In one embodiment, a method including receiving, by one or
more computer servers, a request to access an application from a
user, determining, by the one or more computer servers, at least
one of a preferred language of the user and a location of the user,
determining, by the one or more computer servers, a target market
using the at least one of the preferred language of the user and
the location of the user, the target market defining a language and
a region, and rendering, by the one or more computer servers, the
application by modifying at least one of a user interface of the
application and a content of the application using the target
market.
[0112] In another embodiment, a method includes receiving, by one
or more computer servers, a request to at least one of create and
modify a website using an application from a user, determining, by
the one or more computer servers, a target market for the website,
the target market defining a language and a region, and rendering,
by the one or more computer servers, the application by modifying
at least one of a user interface of the application and a content
of the application using the target market.
[0113] In another embodiment, a system includes one or more
computer server communicatively coupled to a network, the one or
more computer server including a processor configured to perform
the steps of receiving, by one or more computer servers, a request
to access an application from a user, determining, by the one or
more computer servers, at least one of a preferred language of the
user and a location of the user, determining, by the one or more
computer servers, a target market using the at least one of the
preferred language of the user and the location of the user, the
target market defining a language and a region, and rendering, by
the one or more computer servers, the application by modifying at
least one of a user interface of the application and a content of
the application using the target market.
[0114] In another embodiment, a method includes receiving, by one
or more computer servers, a request for a web page from a user, the
web page being configured to enable the user to perform a financial
transaction, determining, by the one or more computer servers, a
location of the user, determining, by the one or more computers
servers, one or more preferred methods of payment for a
geographical region including the location of the user, generating,
by the one or more computer servers, web page content in response
to the request, the web page content being configured to enable the
user to use at least one of the one or more preferred methods of
payment to perform the financial transaction, and transmitting, by
the one or more computer servers, the web page content to the
user.
[0115] In another embodiment, a method includes receiving, by one
or more computer servers, a request for a web page from a user,
determining, by the one or more computer servers, a location of the
user, generating, by the one or more computer servers, web page
content in response to the request, wherein at least one of an
image in the web page and a text in the web page are at least
partially determined by the location of the user, and transmitting,
by the one or more computer servers, the web page content to the
user.
[0116] In another embodiment, a system includes one or more
computer server communicatively coupled to a network, the one or
more computer service including a processor configured to perform
the steps of receiving, by one or more computer servers, a request
for a web page from a user, the web page being configured to enable
the user to perform a financial transaction, determining, by the
one or more computer servers, a location of the user, determining,
by the one or more computers servers, one or more preferred methods
of payment for a geographical region including the location of the
user, generating, by the one or more computer servers, web page
content in response to the request, the web page content being
configured to enable the user to use at least one of the one or
more preferred methods of payment to perform the financial
transaction, and transmitting, by the one or more computer servers,
the web page content to the user.
[0117] The present disclosure describes preferred embodiments with
reference to the Figures, in which like numbers represent the same
or similar elements. Reference throughout this specification to
"one embodiment," "an embodiment," or similar language means that a
particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in
connection with the embodiment is included in at least one
embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the
phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," and similar
language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily,
all refer to the same embodiment.
[0118] The described features, structures, or characteristics of
the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more
embodiments. In the description, numerous specific details are
recited to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the
invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however,
that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the
specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and
so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or
operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring
aspects of the invention.
[0119] The schematic flow chart diagrams included are generally set
forth as logical flow-chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order
and labeled steps are indicative of one embodiment of the presented
method. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are
equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or
portions thereof, of the illustrated method. Additionally, the
format and symbols employed are provided to explain the logical
steps of the method and are understood not to limit the scope of
the method. Although various arrow types and line types may be
employed in the flow-chart diagrams, they are understood not to
limit the scope of the corresponding method. Indeed, some arrows or
other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of
the method. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or
monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps
of the depicted method. Additionally, the order in which a
particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the
order of the corresponding steps shown. Some embodiments provided
for are described as computer-implemented method claims. However,
one of ordinary skill in the art would realize that the method
steps may be embodied as computer code and the computer code could
be placed on a tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium
defining a computer program product.
[0120] Although the above discussion discloses various exemplary
embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent that those
skilled in the art can make various modifications that will achieve
some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the
true scope of the invention.
[0121] The Abstract accompanying this specification is provided to
enable the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the public
generally to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature
and gist of the technical disclosure and is in no way intended for
defining, determining, or limiting the present invention or any of
its embodiments.
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