This document discusses various aspects of web architecture including information architecture, usability, findability, URL structures, site architecture, and thematic siloing. It emphasizes that a successful web strategy focuses on prioritization by concentrating efforts on the 20% of content that generates 80% of results. Information architecture is defined and its importance discussed in organizing websites and intranets to support findability and usability. Various navigation and interface design best practices are presented. Thematic siloing of content into focused topics aligned with keywords is recommended for improved search engine optimization and user experience.

1. web architecture

2. What I’ll be covering
• Information
Architecture
• Usability
• Findability
• URL Structures
• Site Architecture
• Thematic Siloing

3. The Pareto Principle
(the 80/20 rule)
• A successful web
strategy is about
PRIORITIZATION:
focus your time on
the 20% responsible
for bringing you the
80%

4. Information Whut?
• The structural design of shared information environments
• The combination of organization, labeling, search and navigation
systems within websites and intranets
• The art and science of organizing and labeling web sites, intranets,
online communities, and software to support findability and
usability
• An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles
of design and architecture to the digital landscape

5. Why is IA Important?
• Many Different
Applications of
Information Architecture
• Touches on User
Experience, Design, SEO...
• Can Strongly Influence
Page Spidering
• It’s kinda Complex and a
bit Technical!

6. audience, tasks, needs, document & data types, content objects,
information seeking behavior, experience volume, existing structures
Users Content
IA
Context
business goals, funding, politics, culture,
technology, resources & constraints

7. Noteworthy...
• IA is an essential factor
influencing search spidering and
page indexing
• IA encompasses labeling and
navigation
• IA is directly related to usability
and conversion rate

8. Pop Quizz
•True or False?
• Information
Architecture (IA)
and Usability are
the same thing?

9. FALSE!

10. Don’t Make me Think!
Usability?!?

11. 1. Where the hell am I?
2. Where’s the stuff I’m looking for...
3. I can’t find what I’m looking for...
4. What’s next?
5. Where should I click?

12. Navigation
Basics
Global Navigation Area
Local Navigation Area
Local Content Area

13. A Balancing Act

14. • Site Logo • Copywriting
• Home • Whitespace
• Primary • Search Box &
Navigation Forms
• Sub-Navigation • Error Recovery
• Breadcrumbs • Progress
Indicators
• Language
• Typography • Call-to-Actions

15. Let’s look under the hood...

16. perfect example
• expected at top left of the page • clickable back to home

17. home is first &
shows it’s selected
• is expected • first item in the main navigation

18. simple &
clearly selected
• is expected (horizontal) • limit the number of items • “selected” status

19. clearly selected
close to main nav
• is expected (vertically) • close to main navigation • “selected” status

20. shows traveled path
plain & simple
• indicates travel path • show site / content hierarchy • alternative way back

21. top right
clear option
• expected near main nav • ISO standards (EN / FR) • indicate current languages

22. titles in orange
meta information
in grey
links in blue
• difference between titles & • use colors and fonts to show
paragraphs • Links should look like links
importance

23. keywords as
navigation
• use keywords for • match navigation • avoid duplicate • group your
titles and page titles content content wisely

24. PERFECT!
• use whitespace to create • more screensize doesn’t
structure mean more content • whitespace is SEXY!

25. top right
as expected
• expected top right • average search query is 35 characters

26. clearly shows
required fields obvious CTA
• different length for each
• default OS design is expected
input format • pre-format input fields / data

27. inline errors
• show what the • indicate how they • stop punishing • use inline errors
user did wrong can fix mistakes users with care

28. current step 4 clear steps
clear CTA
• group your information
• show a progress indicator • people love making progress
(obvious vs personal)

29. good color usage
• people should know how to • people should know where to
join join • consistan style for your CTAs

30. www.useit.com - Dr. Jakon Nielsen - usability expert
GREAT Usability...WEAK Findability

31. Findability
the ease with which
information contained on
a website can be found,
both from outside the
website and by users
already on the website

32. In English please?
• A website that is easy to find in the search
engines
• A website that’s easy to navigate
• A website that has content organized
intuitively
• Puts the user in the mix
• A better term than search engine
optimization (SEO) ;)

33. Bots vs. Users
• The user is often left
out in SEO
• Findability is less
myopic than SEO
• Findability and IA are
crucial parts of web
production

34. Web Accessibility 101
• Text Equivalent for every
non-text element
• Organize documents so they
may be read without
stylesheets
• Use clearest and simplest
language
• Ensure that dynamic content
is accessible
• Identify the target of each
link

35. How does a Search
Engine see your site?

36. People Matter... A LOT!
• Balancing the needs of
a spider with the needs
of a visitor is a key
feature behind any
successful web strategy
• Who do we create
websites for?

37. Get to know
your
audience

38. The Problem Solver Way
• Information Needs
are common tasks
and topics
• How do I solve
%problem%?
• Who are...
Ask People who know the answers...
people that are facing the problems

39. How is your website holding
together?

40. URL Structures
• Keep URLs as short as
possible
• Keep session ID’s in URL to a
minimum (max 2)
• Never use spaces, quotes,
ampersands or other bad
ascii characters
• Use hyphens to separate
fields
• URL’s are the foundation for
crawling and indexing

41. URL Characteristics
• http://www.phpnuke.com/modules.php?name=PHP-
nume_HOWTO&page=php-nuke-vs-xoops.html
• http://www.joomla.org/content/view/2446/1/
• http://drupal.org/node/65059
• http://www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix/cms-matrix?
func=viewDetail;listingId=1050
• http://www.wordpress.org/?p=2

42. Benefits of Clean URLs
http://www.domain.com/topic-keyword/supporting-longtail-keyword
• It’s logical for users
• Each link contains a keyword
• Becomes an automatic keyword rich link

43. Homepage
about products services contact
history product 1 service 1
management product 2 service 2
awards product 3 service 3
Traditional Structure

44. inbound linking campaign
Homepage
about products services contact
history product 1 service 1
management product 2 service 2
awards product 3 service 3

45. stop confusing users

46. thematic site siloing

47. siloing and theming
• Look at the site as a whole and to
compartmentalize it into... SILOS!
• Start broad and work your way down
• Link to the topics above and below,
never across

48. “SEO Friendly” Architecture?
related topic articles / content
• narrow website
content into a single
content topic silos
theme
• establish your theme site
theme
and maintain focus
each content topic silo supports the
site theme with related topics articles

49. Let’s examine the keyword hierarchy...
• Market
• Market Category
• Market Segment
• Theme
• Niche
Micro-Niche Phrase

50. Subject Matter Expert
Authority Site Quality Content
widgets theme
red green yellow
keyword1 keyword1 keyword1
keyword2 keyword2 keyword2
keyword3 keyword3 keyword3
Quality Incoming Links

51. siloing
is an inbound
linking campaign
on your own site

52. Take Aways
• Follow the best practices of usability
• Use keyword rich navigation structure
• Build your site with a clear hierarchy
• Use keyword rich clean URLs
• Create an information-rich website
• Implement thematic siloing
• Offer a site map that is grouped into themes

53. Now, about those
questions...

54. my 411...
Charles Edmunds
@edmundsfly
www.edmundsfly.com
nerdec web consulting
www.nerdec.com