Information Architecture
Information architecture is how one structures information when designing a large website. It entails the organization of a website including aspects such as functionality, content, usability, information, and navigation.
As a business owner, you must first have a clear idea of your site’s goals, your audience, and what your site should contain. After deciding on the content and categories, define the major sections and smaller sections of the website. These sections will then become the basis for your site structure.
Suppose you own a clothing store which can potentially be divided into men and women’s categories and then grouped again according to age, occasion, brand, and price. The idea is to structure your site as you would construct a pyramid. The overall theme, as an online clothing store, is the apex, and all your inventory funnels by category to the base. Link your pages from theme to broad to narrow to specific. Site linkage should be done from top to bottom with very little linking done across the width of the pyramid.
As you determine the site structure and functionality will navigation come logically. So before slapping your ideas together in creating your businesses’ website, think about the information architecture on a large scale.
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