Academic Journal

Clustering Websites by Salient Design Features.

Bibliographic Details
Title: Clustering Websites by Salient Design Features.
Authors: Kaluarachchi, Thisaranie, Dissanayake, Sumedhe, Wickramasinghe, Manjusri
Source: Journal of Image & Graphics (United Kingdom); 2026, Vol. 14 Issue 2, p230-258, 29p
Subject Terms: Self-organizing maps, Image processing, Design templates, Automatic classification, Web design, Clustering algorithms, Automation software
Abstract: Designing websites to meet user and client expectations often requires repeated refinement cycles, making the process time-consuming and resource-intensive. This study proposes an automated classification system that categorizes real-world websites based on their salient structural design features to support data-driven automatic website generation. The system integrates Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) with a novel image-processing pipeline that combines edge detection, gradient analysis, and morphological filtering and image smoothing to extract structural wireframe layouts from website screen captures. Experiments were conducted on three datasets: manually created wireframes, screen captures of top 100 websites, and screen captures of top 1500 websites ranked by SimilarWeb. The analysis revealed seven representative layout archetypes: dashboard interfaces, simple information pages, fixed-width product grids, informational pages with sidebars, basic search interfaces, multi-section content layouts, and tabular data interfaces. The classification quality was evaluated using topographic error, quantization error, Silhouette coefficient, and Davies-Bouldin index, demonstrating consistent and meaningful clustering. Our findings highlight the potential of SOM-based clustering for automatic website template generation, offering a scalable and data-driven foundation for design automation and frontend prototyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Image & Graphics (United Kingdom) is the property of Journal of Image & Graphics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Complementary Index
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  Data: Clustering Websites by Salient Design Features.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kaluarachchi%2C+Thisaranie%22">Kaluarachchi, Thisaranie</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dissanayake%2C+Sumedhe%22">Dissanayake, Sumedhe</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wickramasinghe%2C+Manjusri%22">Wickramasinghe, Manjusri</searchLink>
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  Data: Journal of Image & Graphics (United Kingdom); 2026, Vol. 14 Issue 2, p230-258, 29p
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-organizing+maps%22">Self-organizing maps</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Image+processing%22">Image processing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Design+templates%22">Design templates</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automatic+classification%22">Automatic classification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Web+design%22">Web design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Clustering+algorithms%22">Clustering algorithms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automation+software%22">Automation software</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Designing websites to meet user and client expectations often requires repeated refinement cycles, making the process time-consuming and resource-intensive. This study proposes an automated classification system that categorizes real-world websites based on their salient structural design features to support data-driven automatic website generation. The system integrates Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) with a novel image-processing pipeline that combines edge detection, gradient analysis, and morphological filtering and image smoothing to extract structural wireframe layouts from website screen captures. Experiments were conducted on three datasets: manually created wireframes, screen captures of top 100 websites, and screen captures of top 1500 websites ranked by SimilarWeb. The analysis revealed seven representative layout archetypes: dashboard interfaces, simple information pages, fixed-width product grids, informational pages with sidebars, basic search interfaces, multi-section content layouts, and tabular data interfaces. The classification quality was evaluated using topographic error, quantization error, Silhouette coefficient, and Davies-Bouldin index, demonstrating consistent and meaningful clustering. Our findings highlight the potential of SOM-based clustering for automatic website template generation, offering a scalable and data-driven foundation for design automation and frontend prototyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: Abstract
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Image & Graphics (United Kingdom) is the property of Journal of Image & Graphics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.18178/joig.14.2.230-258
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 29
        StartPage: 230
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Self-organizing maps
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Image processing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Design templates
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Automatic classification
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Web design
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Clustering algorithms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Automation software
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Clustering Websites by Salient Design Features.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Kaluarachchi, Thisaranie
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            NameFull: Dissanayake, Sumedhe
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          Name:
            NameFull: Wickramasinghe, Manjusri
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: 2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 14
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              Value: 2
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Image & Graphics (United Kingdom)
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