1 / 16

Effective Website Information Architecture: Designing for User Needs

Information architecture is essential for organizing and navigating websites to help users find and manage information efficiently. This science ensures the overall site design aligns with user context and needs, enhancing user experience and site functionality. Effective information architecture focuses on content, functionality, site structure, organization, and navigation, rather than mere aesthetics like color choices or page layout. Designing navigation with visible cues and a user-centered approach is crucial for maintaining a well-structured and user-friendly website.

lrittenberry
Download Presentation

Effective Website Information Architecture: Designing for User Needs

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Information Architecture

  2. Information architecture • Information architecture is the science — some would insist art — of defining the design of organization and navigation systems to help people find and manage information successfully • From Design Matters. http://stc-on.org/id/information-architecture/2006/07/25/what-why-and-how-of-information-architecture/#more-128

  3. Information Architecture • Overall design of the site • Must connect with the user’s context • Don’t let sites just grow • No order to pages • Information is scattered • Based on content and functionality

  4. Information architecture • Without an effective and efficient architecture, the site will not support a person’s needs. • Must be user-centered (UCD).Reflect the user’s information needs and not the organization’s.

  5. Information architecture • About • The site structure • Overall organization • Navigation • Not about • The page layout • Color choices • Creating content

  6. Sample Hierarchy

  7. Show overall structure

  8. Navigation is visual • Keep reader oriented • Provide cues to location on the web site • Nav bar marking • Bread crumbs • Design problems • Complex system is hard to maintain • Reader must understand your coding

  9. Designing Navigation • Always have way to homepage • Don’t rely on the back button • Build a hierarchy • Construct in user terms • Don’t construct in system terms • Avoid menu-menu-menu scheme

  10. Doing the initial design • Figure out the categories • User-based, not system-based • Draw it out. Your mind will not work for a very complicated site. • Post-it notes • Paper sketches • Software is ok, but often clunky

  11. Knowing what to design • We started the way I had started with my first webpage: we pored over the documentation to discover who the audience was and what their key needs were. We wrote the names of three people who we thought would use the site, and wrote their needs underneath each of the names. Dave, the CEO who wanted to know if he should buy the product. Jill, the potential employee who wanted to know if it was a cool place to work. Carla, the investor who wanted to know if this was a hot buy.

  12. Conceptual model • Which of these does the IA control and why? • The implementation model is how the product works from a technical point of view. • The mental model is how the user thinks the product works. • The conceptual model is the message the designer or IA sends to the user

  13. Information flows • How does a person look at the information. • What order • Where are the branch points

  14. Site map • Drawing of the entire site • Don’t be afraid to use a wall and Post-its • Software is not a good way to go • Often huge and constantly updated • Need to keep big picture

  15. Wirefames • Simple mock up of the page

  16. End

More Related