Extracting web design knowledge: the Web De-Compiler

Abstract

We introduce a Web De-Compiler (WDC) that extracts web design information for re-use. Given a web site, the system extracts design knowledge at several levels: site organization and navigation, page layout, and objects. Objects are regular structures within a page including paragraphs, tables, and images. Page layout includes the use of color, fonts, background images, and placement of objects. Design information is extracted by analyzing the HTML tags and images of a web page. An autonomous agent utilizing the WDC is currently cataloging all of the designs on the Internet. The design information can be re-used in automated and semi-automated web site design, re-design, and analysis.