As I mentioned in my earlier post, I asked information architecture expert Debbie Kong to help me with my re-design. Here’s her findings…
When Becky asked me to help her create a better user experience for her small site she asked me to share that process with her on her blog. In this post I’ll define what user experience is and talk about the site map, it’s one of the first deliverables that is created in redesigning the information architecture of the site.
First, what is user experience design and information architecture? It’s designing a great on-line user experience that is intuitive, usable and an efficient system for users visiting your site. A well designed site meets the needs of the users and the business requirements of the client. Information architecture is the framework for how the content is organized and structured, a well designed site has a clear hierarchy.
There are various approaches to building and redesigning a website, most often sites analytics are reviewed, user research is conducted and then a competitive analysis is often completed. After synthesizing all the information, a site map and wireframes are created.
Becky designs and develops websites for small business owners, offers consulting and training services and promotes the classes she teaches on her site.
The findings:
- The primary navigation labels of the site were not intuitive, in particular “Education”
- The structure was flat, with one exception – “Education” linked to many other offerings including blog posts, seminar info and multiple resources
Here’s what the old site structure looked like:
Here’s what the new site structure looks like:
So why is this so much better? Well for one thing, the content on this site has been sorted and categorized in a more sensible way. What do I do? Look under services. What do I want to share? Look under resources. Blog posts get their own home. Most importantly (well at least to me), my portfolio has a more important position and now viewable on mobile devices.
Whew! Did I solve all of my originally stated issues? Well, most, but not all – more on that next time. (Oh and welcome to the new site, I’d love to hear your feedback!)
