1.
INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURE has everything to
do with your theme!
Steven Slack . @slacktronic . S2 Web . S2webpress.com

2.
We are talking mainly about
custom WordPress projects for
businesses and organizations

3.
Each Building serves a different
purposeEvery building serves it’s own purpose

4.
Ok, great … what does
this have to do with
websites?

5.
USER NEEDS
and
USER EXPERIENCE

6.
Pitfalls into a poor user experience

7.
We decide the direction of the website based on our intuition or preference.
Pitfalls into a poor user experience

8.
We decide the direction of the website based on our intuition or preference.
We let clients direct the design and discovery process.
Pitfalls into a poor user experience

9.
MY AWESOME WEBSITE
→ ENTER ←

10.
It’s NOT about what YOU want

11.
All websites exist within a particular
business or organization context.

12.
Information Architecture happens!

13.
What are the goals of the web site?
What are the needs and information
seeking behaviors of the audience?
Find the balance:

14.
How do we define IA?
1. The structural design of shared information
environments.
1. The combination of organization, labeling, search,
and navigation systems within web sites and
intranets.
1. The art and science of shaping information products
and experiences to support usability and findability.
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web - Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfield

15.
How can we use IA to create a better user
experience and a more organized
navigation system ?

16.
Discovery

17.
Discovery
● Content Inventory
● Review of technical/functional requirements such as
third party integrations or other specific functionality
needed
● Analytics and user research
● Determining target audience
● Develop site content organization

18.
WHEN YOU SKIP THE DISCOVERY PHASE

19.
Information Architecture
&
WordPress

20.
Taxonomies
Custom Meta Data
Custom Post Types

21.
Custom Post Types help us
to better organize different
content types.

22.
Custom Archive
template:
archive-staff.php

23.
What does this do for
us?
● Better navigation
● More organized
● Appropriate assignment of content types

24.
When to use Custom Post Types,
Taxonomies, and Custom Meta
● If post types need custom attributes use custom
meta data.
● Taxonomies are good for grouping and categorizing
custom content
● When numerous content types are related to a
specific thing such as “staff” use a custom post type.

25.
Theme
Implementation

26.
WP tools for better IA
Menus:
Use this tool to help users move through the site content easily.

27.
WP tools for better IA
Menus:
Use this tool to help users move through the site content easily.
Categories & Tags:
This is a great way to organize your content and make it easier
for your users to find what they are looking for.

28.
WP tools for better IA
Menus:
Use this tool to help users move through the site content easily.
Categories & Tags:
This is a great way to organize your content and make it easier
for your users to find what they are looking for.
Posts & Pages:
Determine what is static content and if you have content that can
be archived in reverse chronological order.

29.
WP tools for better IA
Widgets:
Can provide better site navigation, provide search systems or
present the site’s information in a variety of ways.

30.
WP tools for better IA
Widgets:
Can provide better site navigation, provide search systems or
present the site’s information in a variety of ways.
Other important tools:
Authors, Date & Time, Comments, 404 pages, Search forms

31.
WP tools for better IA
Widgets:
Can provide better site navigation, provide search systems or
present the site’s information in a variety of ways.
Other important tools:
Authors, Date & Time, Comments, 404 pages, Search forms
Add-on features and functionality for better organization →

32.
Plugins
E-Commerce
Front-end Registration
Portfolio
Directory
Slider
Advanced Search Shortcodes
Events Calendar

33.
Presentation & Functionality
Generally, when we refer to functionality in
WordPress we are speaking of plugins while
themes handle the presentation.

34.
Add theme support for
plugins
TGM Plugin Activation
The best way to require and recommend plugins for
WordPress themes (and other plugins)
tgmpluginactivation.com

35.
Don’t bloat the site with
too many plugins
Many plugins come with a UI with many options that
the client or business DOES NOT NEED
This can lead to a poor user experience

36.
Put custom functions into a plugin.

37.
Put custom functions into a plugin.
Data Portability

38.
Even in custom projects
we need to think about data
portability

39.
Organization & Maintenance
● Portable Plugin
● Easier to debug
● Separation of concerns

40.
A well organized data
structure is good IA

41.
What does the business or
organization get out of well
organized code?

42.
A more stable environment will save
you time on debugging, fixing
problems or moving data, hence saving
your client money.

43.
Marketplace themes and
Information Architecture

44.
Too much custom
functionality baked
into the theme that
is not needed

45.
Too many features can create a cluttered and confusing UI

46.
Design for your content

47.
INFORMATION
ARCHITECTURE has everything to
do with your theme!

48.
Thank YOU!