Information Architecture

The structure of the Internet and the World Wide Web — with the endless possibilities of links to here, there, and everywhere — can lead to chaos. Drivers on the information highway can very quickly find themselves on a never-ending detour, following link after link after link, until they have no idea where they came from or where they should be going.

Truly, this is both the beauty and the danger of the Web. It is an open-ended source of information, but it provides so many tangents to follow, you may easily forget your original mission.

This is why careful organization of a Web site’s content is more important than any other element of its design. Indeed, an entirely new field has grown up along with the Web: information architecture. The information architect provides the blueprints for the underlying framework of a Web site. It is not as immediately apparent as the graphic design of a site, but without it, the site would collapse.

Information architecture, says well-known Web design expert Jakob Nielsen, “is really about what’s not obvious. Users don’t notice the information architecture of a site unless it isn’t working.” That’s when users get frustrated because they can’t find what they are looking for, and they move on to the next site.

Organizing information in a logical, easy-to-find manner could well be the toughest part of designing a successful Web site. You have already determined the purpose of the site and thrown together a bunch of information to include. What now?

The Mind of the User

The first step is to put yourself in the mind of the potential user to decipher how he or she will naturally want to navigate the site. The organizational framework of a Web site should be dictated by the needs of the audience, not necessarily by the way your company is structured. Some companies have made the mistake of giving each department within the company responsibility for a section of the Web site. This usually has no connection to what your Web site visitors are looking for and often leads to many separate mini-sites with no relation to each other.

Instead, organize your site into sections that correspond to the interests of your intended audience. The first questions to ask yourself as you go about planning your Web site are: Who is your audience, and what information can you supply that will drive them to your site?

Chunk It

Once you have determined who your audience is and what information they want, the next question to ask is: How do you present that information in easy-to-find, easy-to-digest chunks? The Web is not conducive to long-winded narratives. Most Web visitors will not hang around to read a screen full of text. You need to separate information into logical and digestible units.

Most Web sites are hierarchical in structure, with the home page serving as the launching pad to all other sections of the site. Look at the whole of your information, organize it into sections, and construct a flow chart to lay out the hierarchy of the site and the relation of one section to another. This flow chart can be the basis for a site map and site index, which are helpful additions for navigating any Web site.

Make sure you put a section head and a title on every page within a section. Just as highway signs lead drivers to their destination, this simple addition will go a long way toward keeping your visitors on track.

Home is the Center of the Universe

The home page has to accomplish a great deal in a small amount of space. It introduces the site, sets the tone, grabs the attention of the visitor, and sends the visitor to the appropriate page within the site to find the desired content.

A Web site is not unlike a well-designed magazine, with clearly defined sections. The home page serves as both the cover and the table of contents, with clearly labeled buttons, rather than page numbers, that send visitors soaring through cyberspace to the appropriate section. Each section may in turn have a secondary table of contents. (Some sites you will find have an opening cover page in addition to the home page. These are sometimes called splash screens. For most Web visitors, however, these are just an annoying extra mouse click.)

Remember this, however: No matter how deep a site goes, every page should have a one-button click to return to the starting point, or home page. Then visitors can start on their next journey through your site. Otherwise, they will have gone down one hallway and out the back door without you ever seeing them again.

Follow Convention

Though the Web is young, certain conventions have already developed that are worth adhering to for the sake of consistency and organization. For example, the About Us button has become the standard location for placing background information about a company and its executives. This is where Web visitors expect to find that type of information, so it makes sense to use the same terminology when constructing your site. Other common buttons used by many Web sites are Media or News, FAQ, Privacy, Legal, and Feedback. Always provide at least one link for e-mail communication between the company and its visitors.

Many company Web sites, amazingly enough, forget to include telephone numbers and address, executive names and bios, and a company directory. Visitors searching your Web site for such basic contact information will leave totally frustrated.

Searching High and Low

Give serious consideration to providing a search utility on your site. The larger the site, the more important an easy-to-use search tool is. It lets users seek out a very specific bit of information on your site quickly, without going through any unnecessary pages. Web sites commonly place their search button right at the top of the home page, so it’s immediately accessible.

Links and More Links

To take full advantage of the power of the Web, a site should provide links, both to pages within itself, as well as to outside sites. Links, however, can quickly become unwieldy, leading your visitors so far from your site that they can’t find their way back. The trick is to place your links carefully and in moderation.

As you organize your site’s content, pay careful attention to how many links you have provided. Links tend to be disruptive within text, so be judicious in how they are placed. They are usually better grouped at the bottom of a page. Some sites have a separate links page where they group several links.

Also, remember to update your links frequently, as they can become out of date, or the page may disappear altogether, leading your visitor down a dead-end path.

Under Construction

There’s nothing more irritating to your visitors than going to a Web page within your site that has been left unfinished. “This page under construction” is an unnecessary annoyance. If the page is not ready, don’t launch it.

To be successful, Web-site organization requires a lot of planning. You have to focus on the big picture, as well as the details, to make sense of all the information you want your Web site to deliver. Unfortunately, this element is often overlooked in creating a Web site. All the focus tends to be on the graphic design elements. Make sure your Web design team includes an information architect who can help organize the site so visitors can find their way on your section of the information highway.

Susan Holly is a freelance writer based on Sanibel.