User-perception-oriented Website Design Optimization for University Portals: Using Kansei Engineering and Neural Networks

University portals have evolved into an important channel for universities to release campus information and publicize themselves to the outside world, with website design playing a significant role in enhancing user experience and office efficiency. The purpose of this study is to seek the optimal combination of design elements for university portals under different user perception needs, so that a reasonable optimization reference based on user perceptions can be provided. Through Kansei Engineering method and neural network modeling, this study quantifies and predicts users’ perceptual evaluation of different forms of university portal design, and derives the optimal combination of design elements for university portals. Overall, this study provides conceptual and methodological support for the research on emotional design of human-computer interaction interfaces, as well as complements existing theories of website design for university portals. The outcome of this study can be fed back to the university information construction departments and related design practitioners to help them improve the website design of university portals.