Information architecture is the structuring and organization of your website’s content, functionality, navigation and search schemes. The information architecture that we develop for you will be based around both your business goals and user needs. Ultimately for your website, this will:
Following on from the information architecture process, we can design and build web page templates for all wireframe designs through our accessible CSS web design service.
The information architecture process typically begins with us meeting with and interviewing key stakeholders. This will help us gain a thorough understanding of your business and user needs, as well as any technical constraints you may have. We would also conduct highly focused user research (usually in the form of user interviews & contextual enquiry) to give us and you a complete understanding of your user’s needs, goals and behaviours.
Based on your business strategy and customer needs, we'll create a content inventory that lists key content and functionality to appear on your site.
To create the best possible information architecture for your site, we'll conduct card sorting to understand how users organize the site information 'in their heads'. We'll analyze the results and produce a site map designed around how your users think (and not how you as an organization are structured).
During the card sorting, we'll check that users can understand the planned navigation labels and descriptions. We'll record these labels and descriptions in a controlled vocabulary that we and you can use to decide the labeling of new content and functionality as your site grows.
If you need it, we'll also create a metadata scheme that describes your site features and content in a scheme that will support flexible site structures and navigation.
Based on both your customer needs and your business goals we'll design a navigation scheme that enables users to move around the site's information architecture quickly and effectively. We'll produce wireframes that show global and local navigation, as well as supplementary navigation (to link related items together using your metadata scheme).
Wireframes are blueprints (or schematics) of page designs that contain all the major elements of a real page, without any graphic design. We'll design the wireframes in such a way that they're comprehensible, well-structured and support both user and business goals. Wireframes work in much the same way that architectural blue prints define a building's structure.
Finally, we'll convert the wireframes into a working prototype and carry out usability testing on the prototype. We'll recruit a small number of individuals from your target audience and have them complete typical tasks they would carry out on the finished website. The wireframes are then adjusted accordingly.
