Information preloading strategies for e‐government sites based on user's stated preference

Purpose – The paper seeks to improve website performance by developing a specific preloading strategy tuned to the needs of a web server. Applying simple preloading strategies, as used in various operating systems' memory management algorithms, does not suffice when managing websites due to the uncertainty of internet users' behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses rough, or fuzzy, sets as the framework to introduce a website management strategy based on a user's stated preference. This mathematical approach allows the derivation of preloading strategies from uncertain and partially contradicting information generated from site usage statistics. Findings – A paper example of an application of the algorithm is used to illustrate how this approach can be applied to efficiently manage a website. Originality/value – Performance is one of the key issues in managing websites, especially as the internet gains popularity and becomes the common access point for information retrieval. This technique has the potential to deliver greater efficiency; faster response times; and reduces the need to hold detailed individual user profiles.