Information Architecture
When it comes to the design of a web site, Information Architecture is crucial to the planning and conceptual design of web development. Information Architecture determines the plan, structure, and assembly that goes into designing a web site. This is what a web designer must think about every time they construct a web site. The designer must take into consideration anyone that may use the web site, and design it in a way that a novice user can understand.
Information Architecture is deciding what you want your web site to do then constructing it in a way that allows users to see your view. Sometimes users can feel lost in a web site that is not very well organized. If there is not enough information, a user has to guess where they will be able to locate the information they seek. This can cause the user to feel frustrated that the web site is not properly designed. In addition to this, users may not even enter the web site through the home page. This is why Information Architecture is so important. A web site must be understandable from any direction a user enters it.
Here are some steps to help you create a good Information Architecture for a web site.
1.Find out what the purpose of the web site is.
-Why will users come to your web site?
2.Determine the immediate and future goals of the web site.
-Will they begin to change as the web site grows?
3.Pinpoint the intended audience and conduct a requirement analysis for each group.
-This will help you determine how you should design the web site.
4.Collect content and do inventory.
-Figure out what you need to put into the web site.
5.Determine the organizational structure of the web site.
* Hierarchical
* Sequential
* Narrow and Deep
* Broad and Shallow
6.Create an outline of the web site.
* Site Maps: maps that show navigation and main content areas. They usually look like flowcharts and show how users will navigate from one page to another.
* Content Maps: detailed maps that show what is on each page and how the context on the page is related.
7.Creating a blueprint of the web site.
* Page Schematics: Black and white diagrams to give to a visual designer.This will show what each page contains and how it will be used.
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