What Is Website Architecture? & Structure Types

You can compare IA with the skeleton of the product that supports and holds all parts in the right place. Then, UI is the skin or appearance that other people see as they interact with the product. And UX is the emotion that is created as a result of such interaction. Exploration is about the journey, not only the destination .

That being said, you should still allow your brand to come across through color and feel. Or, if the user landed via an email newsletter link, have the look match that of the email. Having several touchpoints where your customer can find you is vital. So, in addition to including your email, you should sign up for social media sites like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter, if you haven’t already. You can’t write a mammoth article about how to plan a website structure without touching a little bit on the importance of SEO. While this will be a very basic introduction, you can read more on the subject with our easy small business SEO guide.

Utilize internal linking.

When users click through your site, they don’t always navigate directly to the product they eventually buy or the content they eventually read. So it’s helpful to show their navigation path, in case they need to backtrack. Below, we’ll discuss the importance of website structure and how to design one that’s good for both users and search engines.

For instance, if you are selling a product, have a button featured above the fold that’s that encourages Steve to “Buy Now.” Having it above the fold ensures the CTA is easily and quickly found. That said, it’s always good to include one later for those who are more inclined to scroll. A landing page should offer something of value, whether it be answering a question or offering a specific deal.

How Can I Tell If My Website Architecture Is Bad And Is Costing Me Leads?

When confronted with a new and complex information system, users build mental models. They use these models to assess relations among topics and to guess where to find things they haven’t seen before. The success of the organization of your web site will be determined largely by how well your site’s information architecture matches your users’ expectations. A logical, consistently named site organization allows users to make successful predictions about where to find things. Consistent methods of organizing and displaying information permit users to extend their knowledge from familiar pages to unfamiliar ones.

• Breadcrumbs are internal links appearing just above a page’s title, allowing users to track the path they took to that page.
• Some people may know a lot about a topic, while others may know nothing, and you have to consider both perspectives.
• Is there actually anything wrong with your contractor, trade or home improvement website?
• Using relevant links and fancy anchor texts that are keyword optimized, you can have a more prosperous and well-structured website.
• When deciding how to plan a website structure that fits your needs, your website design plan will help in determining which option best suits your customers needs when interacting with your site.

Today, we expect our websites to be a critical component in our business development pipeline. Of course, you’ll want to include your firm’s portfolio of work, but the best architecture web design solutions are about building a site that helps you attract and collect qualified sales https://globalcloudteam.com/ leads. Weblike organizational structures pose few restrictions on the pattern of information use. In this structure the goal is often to mimic associative thought and the free flow of ideas, allowing users to follow their interests in a unique, heuristic, idiosyncratic pattern.

Techopedia Explains Website Architecture

You could also run a card sort with test participants to see how they think you should categorize your pages. Chances are, you already have a good sense of how your products and content could be grouped together. Implementing a shallow site structure is the first step toward optimizing your site architecture for SEO performance. To achieve this, search engine spiders crawl the content on your site and then store the information in the search engine’s index. It encompasses all aspects of a site’s hierarchical structure, including how related content is grouped, and how different pages link together.

Therefore, we could argue that navigation is one of the most important design elements on the page. The Services Page further reassures potential clients that the firm is focused on meeting their specific needs. Cs design provides more services than your typical architecture firm. Service offerings start in the pre-design stage with evaluative services beginning before potential clients even purchase a build site. This ensures any site a client chooses has been thoroughly researched upfront to prevent surprises down the road.

Ensure your site is responsive and is designed for touch

Further breadcrumbs also give search engines more context about your site’s hierarchy. So implement a breadcrumb structure that matches your site navigation. Website Architecture is how a website’s pages are structured and linked together.

This means that user needs, business goals, and different types of content must be taken into account while structuring a product’s information. Information architecture is the science of structuring content as it is applied to news websites or blogs, online stores, booking apps, downloadable software, etc. Not applied solely when creating a product from scratch, IA is used in redesign. Navigation primarily exists to help your users find the pages they’re looking for.

Ways to “Rethink” Digital Marketing for the AEC Industry

When planning your website architecture, make sure that you have only 1 URL for 1 piece of content. URL structure can suggest to both human and bot users where a page belongs in the website architecture. Parts of the page structure like the menu, sidebar, main content, and footer.