According to the former Information Architecture Institute, information architecture (IA) organizes and labels content so that it is: (a) easier to use and (b) easier to find. Banner Design Ideally, information architecture should PREVIOUS (before) website design and development. Many web design and development issues arise because the content isn't well organized in the first place. Also, a website's tagging system won't be as effective because the content isn't organized properly. I am an Banner Design educated, trained and experienced Information Architect. I can practically look at a website and tell if its information architecture and corresponding navigation system are problematic. What I want to know before submitting a proposal are two questions. Questions: Are website owners ready to change the information architecture? Will there be an executive and/or managerial champion(s) to ensure the recommendations are implemented by the design, development, and content teams? Answer: Both answers should be a resounding YES.
I once had a client with a successful Banner Design e-commerce site. However, Banner Design search traffic had leveled off and was starting to decline. What was great about working with this great organization was that they had a very talented UX/ergonomics staff. This group knew when to use specific tests to solve specific problems. They knew how to use qualitative data to understand quantitative data in context. For example, they learned that a faceted classification system was the best AI to organize most of their website. They even minimized the delivery of duplicate content to human users and search engines. Figure Banner Design 2: A faceted taxonomy allows an item to be assigned to multiple taxonomies (sets of attributes), allowing the classification to be ordered in multiple ways, rather than in a single predetermined order (as in a strict hierarchy ). This definition is taken from one of my favorite books: Introduction to Cataloging and Classification by Arlene G. Taylor. The problem? The web development Banner Design team took it upon themselves to mix in a facet that had little to do with the classification system.
You can even observe the confused expressions on users' faces (the test sessions were videotaped) after adding the facet. The solution was simpler than expected. The unusual facet Banner Design should be removed. Instead, facet links should be changed as contextual navigation (upsells, specifically). We might even show the decrease in search traffic corresponding to the addition of the confusing facet. We were able to present this solution to all teams in the company (marketing, content, design, development, UX, etc.). I admit I was surprised when we dealt with the development team. Banner Design They didn't argue. They did not debate or ask for further clarification. It was as if they agreed.