Information architecture (IA) is how a website’s content is organised, grouped and named. It comes before navigation menus and visual design. A sound IA means visitors can predict where something lives, and it gives you a structure to build navigation on. The simplest reliable method is to list your content, let real users group it, then label groups in their words.
IA is not the menu
The Nielsen Norman Group describes information architecture as the underlying structure of a site: what content and functionality exist, how they relate, and how they are named. Navigation is the visible layer that helps users find things, “the tip of the iceberg” resting on the IA. Their advice is to define the IA before designing navigation, and not to pick navigation for looks alone, because a pattern that handles only a few levels of depth can force a costly redesign when content grows.
For the menu patterns themselves, see navigation design patterns for business websites.
A step-by-step process
- Inventory the content. List every page and content type you have or plan. For a rebuild, include existing URLs.
- Define user tasks. What do visitors come to do: compare services, check prices, book, get support, learn?
- Group the content. Cluster related items by the way users think, not by your internal departments.
- Choose a hierarchy. Keep it as flat as the content allows. Each level adds a click.
- Label clearly. Use plain words visitors would use.
- Test it. Check that people can find key items before you design around the structure.
- Document it. A sitemap diagram or spreadsheet becomes the reference for design, development and SEO.
Card sorting: let users show you
Card sorting is a research method where participants group labelled cards representing pages or content. According to the Nielsen Norman Group’s card sorting overview:
- Open sorts, where participants create their own group names, are the most common and give a holistic view of how users think.
- Closed sorts, with predefined categories, are mainly for validation, and tree testing is usually a better choice for that.
- Their guidance suggests about 30 to 50 cards, and at least 15 participants for qualitative studies or 30 to 50 for quantitative ones.
A small business may not run a formal study. Even sorting printed cards with five or six customers, or colleagues who do not know the site, is more informative than debating the structure internally.
Labelling rules of thumb
- Use the words customers use, not internal jargon or product codenames.
- Make sibling labels distinct. If two items could plausibly contain the same thing, merge or rename them.
- Put the most informative word first.
- Avoid “Solutions”, “Resources” and other buckets that could mean anything, unless the label is explained by clear sub-items.
Common structures
| Structure | Suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Flat (few top-level pages) | Small sites with a handful of services | Outgrows itself as content is added |
| Hierarchical (sections and sub-pages) | Sites with several distinct service lines | Too many levels hide content |
| Hub and spoke | Topic-led content where a main page links to detail pages | Spokes need links back to the hub |
| Task-based | Sites where visitors come to do one thing | Content for other audiences gets neglected |
Test before you commit
Ask a few people to find specific items using only a draft sitemap or wireframe, and note where they hesitate. Tasks might be “find out whether this business works in your suburb” or “find how to request a quote”. Where people pause or go the wrong way, the label or the grouping needs work.
How IA connects to content and conversion
A page can only be in the right place if you know what it is for. That is why content planning should happen first, as argued in why content should come before design. And because visitors who cannot find the contact path do not enquire, a clear structure supports website conversion.
Where Radiance Impact fits
Radiance Impact’s Technology division plans site structure as part of business website builds and redesigns. See /technology, or get in touch to discuss how your site could be organised.
Sources
- Information Architecture vs. Navigation, Nielsen Norman Group
- Card Sorting: Uncover Users’ Mental Models for Better Information Architecture, Nielsen Norman Group
