Study on Three-dimensional Placement of Web Contents in Virtual Reality Spaces

Web browsing in virtual reality (VR) is largely limited to a flat window, despite VR’s potential for dynamic three-dimensional (3D) displays. To explore how depth affects VR Web design, we developed a VR Web browser that transforms HTML elements into 3D objects and arranges them within VR space. We conducted a user study (N = 17) comparing 10 layout patterns under two display conditions: flat- and 3D-display methods in which objects were positioned at varying depths. The results show that the 3D-display method requires more time for element selection compared to the flat-display method. Furthermore, placing an object in the foreground while positioning surrounding elements in the background affected selection patterns, indicating a potential approach for directing user attention in VR environments. These findings suggest that our 3D HTML placement method enhances content presence in VR space and could lead to new principles for VR Web design.