Content - What will your site show the world?

Once the content and information for the site has been outlined, we can start to organize the site. Site organization is important because:

• Organization determines navigation through the site
• Navigation determines how people use your site

Organization of a site usually follows similar patterns - in fact, these patterns are repeated across the Internet, making it easier for users to adapt and use your site. Users expect things to work the way they've seen them work in the past. For example: If a graphic looks like a button, it should behave like a button. Site organization is no different - users expect to be able to find generally what they are looking for quickly without having to study your site for clues.

Common patterns for organization:

• Services
  • with pages arranged by categories
  • with a page per service offered
• Products
  • with products arranged in a catalog with or without e-commerce capability
  • with a page per product offered
• Support/Customer Service
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Product or Service support
  • Customer Service
  • Order Fulfillment or Expediting
• About the Company
  • Qualifications, affiliations.
  • History
  • Staff
• Contacting the Company
  • by e-mail form
  • by directory
  • for any of the following:
    • service
    • support
    • sales
    • general inquiries
    • human resources for job applicants

Navigation

Once the general organization of your site has been mapped, we can then begin to consider types of navigation. There are three main types of navigation:

• Graphical (buttons or image maps)
• Text (basic inline text links, text navigation bars)
• Forms (drop down boxes with or without buttons)

The navigation scheme of a site should be consistent across the site, and should provide a simple to use interface, consistently in the same location, using the same elements throughout the site.