Structure and Content

The process whereby content falls into place and the structure works is perhaps the most important development phase for web editors. Here are some tips to help you handle navigation and information architecture.

As always on the web, it is the user's needs that determine how we should organize the content. The purpose of our structure and the content we choose to publish should be the following:

To help the user find the information he/she is looking for
To show the user information on your site that is relevant to him or her
To tell the user what additional content you have.

In order to achieve this, it is vital that we web editors understand the principles describing how the user orients him or herself in a web-site. The most convincing arguments on this topic concern the theory of "the scent of information", or how the user practically sniffs out what he or she is interested in.

I have produced a free tutorial on this topic. It is the short version of the tutorial that I use for my lectures, and contains my own theory about "visual markers" and instant communication. You can download it here (please note that it's rather big - about 2 MB):

"The scent of information" - free tutorial (PowerPoint)

In addition, I would advise you to invest $30 in the report "Designing for the Scent of Information", which was made by User Interface Engineering. It is the primer on this subject, and works really well!

Structure and Content

Free report:

How To Get A Better Web Site In Three Easy Steps.