Organizing Web Content, or, the Web is not Aunt Mildred's closet

ORGANIZING WEB CONTENT OR: The Web is not Aunt Mildred’s Closet Matthew Reidsma April 19, 2011

THE WEB IS A BUNCH OF DOCUMENTS

ORGANIZING DOCUMENTS IS EASY, RIGHT?

Paul Freund in his ofﬁce, courtesy of Harvard Law School Special Collections

I WROTE A DOCUMENT

I WROTE A WEBSITE

I BUILT A WEBSITE

THE WEB FEELS LIKE A PLACE

ARCHITECTURE

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTSORGANIZE BUILDINGS • FUNCTIONAL • TECHNICAL • SOCIAL • AESTHETIC

INFORMATION ARCHITECTS ORGANIZE WEBSITES • FUNCTIONAL • TECHNICAL • SOCIAL • AESTHETIC

ARCHITECTS ARE CAREFUL

ARCHITECTS ARE METHODICAL

ARCHITECTS PLAN AHEAD

ARCHITECTS HAVE GOALS

ALL BUILDINGS REQUIRE PLANS

ALL BUILDINGS REQUIRE PLANSLARGE BUILDINGS REQUIRE ARCHITECTS

ALL WEBSITES REQUIRE PLANS

ALL WEBSITES REQUIRE PLANSLARGE WEBSITES REQUIRE INFORMATION ARCHITECTS

HARD TO ADD A ROOMAFTER CONSTRUCTION

EASY TO ADD A WEBPAGE AFTER LAUNCH

JUST BECAUSE IT’S EASY DOESN’T MEAN IT’S A GOOD IDEA

CAN WE PUT THISON THE WEBSITE SOMEWHERE?

EASY TO JUSTSHOVE IT IN THE CLOSET

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE IT SHOULD GO HOW WILL YOUR USERS FIND IT?

THE WEB IS NOTAUNT MILDRED’S CLOSET

GREAT.

NEED TO ORGANIZEOUR WEB CONTENT

I’M GLAD YOU ASKED.

01 WHY DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?

01 WHY DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?02 WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

01 WHY DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?02 WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?03 WHO ARE YOUR USERS?

01 WHY DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?02 WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?03 WHO ARE YOUR USERS?04 WHAT ARE THEIR GOALS?

05 WHAT CONTENT WILL YOU HAVE?

05 WHAT CONTENT WILL YOU HAVE? • LETS USERS MEET THEIR GOALS • LETS YOU MEET YOUR GOALS

BUT THIS WEBPAGE DOESN’T HELP ANYONE MEET THEIR GOALS. WHERE DO I PUT IT?

TWO APPROACHES

TWO APPROACHES • TOP DOWN • BOTTOM UP

TOP DOWN

HIERARCHY OF CONTENT

DECIDE ON CATEGORIESFIT YOUR CONTENT IN THEM

(HELPS WITH BROWSING)

BOTTOM UP

INVENTORY OF CONTENT

SEE WHAT CONTENT YOU HAVECREATE CATEGORIES THAT FIT

(HELPS WITH SEARCHING)

BOTH APPROACHES AT ONCE

BOTH APPROACHES AT ONCEDESIGN A HIERARCHY BASED ON YOUR GOALS,BUT KNOW WHAT CONTENT YOU HAVE

HOW DO I MAKE CATEGORIES?

TWO APPROACHES

TWO APPROACHES • EXACT SCHEMES • AMBIGUOUS SCHEMES

EXACT SCHEMES

DIVIDE INFORMATION INTOWELL-DEFINED & MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE GROUPS

EXAMPLES:• ALPHABETICAL• CHRONOLOGICAL• GEOGRAPHICAL

AMBIGUOUS SCHEMES

DIVIDE INFORMATION INTOCATEGORIES THAT DEFY EXACT DEFINITION

EXAMPLES:• TOPIC• TASK• AUDIENCE

FRUIT VEGETABLE BERRY

WHICH SCHEME TO CHOOSE?

ASKWHAT MAKES SENSE?WHAT HELPS USERS?

OFFER BOTH APPROACHES

EXACT SCHEMES:• TITLE• AUTHORAMBIGUOUS SCHEME:• SUBJECT

GOT IT.

LET’S ORGANIZE OUR WEBSITE

LET’S ORGANIZE OUR WEBSITE • RESOURCES WITH MARC METADATA • MCNAUGHTON BOOKS • SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS WITH STANDING ORDERS • ELECTRONIC RESOURCES WE OWN • ELECTRONIC RESOURCES WE SUBSCRIBE TO

LABEL MUCH?

SPEAK THE USERS’ LANGUAGE

DESCRIBE THE CONTENT

BE CONSISTENT

IS THAT IT?

NOT QUITE.

NAVIGATION

EVER BEEN LOSTON A WEBSITE?

REMEMBER,WEBSITES FEEL LIKE A PLACE

ORGANIZATION IS ABOUT BUILDING ROOMS.

NAVIGATION ADDSDOORS AND WINDOWS

NAVIGATION SYSTEMSOFTEN MIRROR ORGANIZATION SYSTEMS

NAVIGATION SYSTEMSSHOULD MAKE SENSE TO YOUR USERS

USERS ARE ALWAYS ASKING WHERE AM I NOW?

THAT’S A LOT TO REMEMBER.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

CONTENT INVENTORY KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE

CONTENT INVENTORY KNOW WHAT YOU HAVECONTENT STRATEGY KNOW WHY YOU HAVE IT

ALWAYS KNOW WHYEVERYTHING IS ON YOUR WEBSITE

CARD SORTS

LABEL INDEX CARDS WITHHEADINGS FROM YOUR CONTENT

ASK USERS TO ORGANIZE THEMIN WAYS THAT MAKE SENSE TO THEM

10 MINUTES + 50 CENTS= HOW YOUR USERS THINK

USER INTERVIEWS

JUST ASK.

JUST ASK.WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM YOUR SITE?

PERSONAS & SCENARIOS

PERSONAS

PERSONAS• STAND IN FOR REAL USERS• BASED ON INTERVIEWS AND RESEARCH

Courtesy of Usability.gov

SCENARIOS

SCENARIOS• BRING YOUR PERSONAS TO LIFE• SEE HOW USER GOALS ARE ACCOMPLISHED

HELPS YOU SEE YOUR WEBSITETHROUGH YOUR USERS’ EYES

BLUEPRINTS

MAP OUT THEORGANIZATION LABELS NAVIGATION

(KIND OF LIKE SITEMAPS)

WIREFRAMES

TRANSLATE THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE INTO A VISUAL LAYOUT

Wireframe by Will Evans: http://blog.semanticfoundry.com/2009/01/01/shades-of-gray-wireframes-as-thinking-device/

Mockup by Mark Brooks: http://blog.semanticfoundry.com/2009/01/01/shades-of-gray-wireframes-as-thinking-device/

SO...HOW DOES THIS HELP ME?

DO YOU CREATEWEB CONTENT?

DO YOU WANTPEOPLE TO USE IT?

CREATE PERSONASFOR YOUR TYPICAL USERS

ALWAYS ASKWHAT WOULD MY USERS DO?

RARELY ASKWHAT WOULD I DO?

GET FEEDBACKFROM YOUR USERS

MAKE MISTAJES MISTAKES

MAKE MISTAKES

MAKE MISTAKESGET FEEDBACK

IMPROVE SOMETHINGBASED ON FEEDBACK

RINSE.REPEAT.

QUESTIONS?

THANKS.I WRITE ABOUT THIS STUFF A LOT matthewreidsma.com @mreidsma

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Organizing Web Content, or, the Web is not Aunt Mildred's closet

by Matthew Reidsma on Apr 18, 2011

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Organizing Web Content, or, the Web is not Aunt Mildred’s closet — Presentation Transcript