Information architectureOrganizing and categorizing website content

5 Basic steps1. Content inventory

2. Establishing a hierarchical outline

3. Chunking

4. Drawing diagrams

5. Analysis through testing

Content inventory

• Detailed listing of all content in the site• Major database for all the pages• Usually tabulated in spreadsheets

The Content inventory sheet

1. Unique ID number

2. Page title

3. Page template or type

4. URL

5. General type of content

6. Person responsible for content

7. Keep/revise/discard decisions

8. Create content?

9. Review statusFrom the Web Style Guide 3rd Ed. (2009)

Hierarchical outline

• Ranking the importance of each piece of information

• From broad overviews to specific submenus

• Taxonomy: use of descriptive terms• Controlled vocabulary

Five hat tricksto organize information

1. Category

2. Time

3. Location

4. Alphabetic

5. Continuum

From Information Anxiety (1989): Wurman, R.

Other strategies

• Brainstorming• Card sorting• White-board sessions• Paradigm-setting

Common site organizations

• Identity• Navigation• Novelty• Org chart• Service• Flashy• Tool-oriented

CHUNKING INFORMATION

• Modular chunks• Logically organized• Convenient for readers

SITE STRUCTURE

• Organization of pages• The users predict on where to find things• Leading through logic, consistency and

familiarity

Confusing mental models

Browsing functionality

STRUCTURAL THEMES

• Sequences• Hierarchies• Webs

SEQUENCES

hierarchies

WEBS