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Organizing Your Content
What is a good web site from a content and architecture standpoint?
Importance of the content and its organization One of the greatest challenges of any web
site development project is to organize the content in an intuitive, intelligent manner.
On the scale of importance, information design is right up there with visual design, and success of the site is riding on your decisions.
Organization of the Site
A well-structured site is easy to spot:The purpose of the site is easily apparent
from the very first pageTarget audience is reached Information is easy to findYou don’t get lost in the depths of the site
=> This is the type of site a user will bookmark and return to time and again.
Sites with bad architecture and content Sites where the architecture and content seem
to have been an afterthought or worse yet, given no thought.
Examples: Sites with a jillion of links scattered across the page Sites with one or two links with obscure titles
=> No effort to pre-digest the information into logical groupings and sections
First Step towards an well-structured Web site
Understand the business strategy
Web Site and Business Strategy Business Strategy
MissionVisionFuture planMarketsCustomers
=> Understanding the client’s business
Web Site and Business Strategy
How do I learn about my client’s business strategy?
I interview
the client.
Interviewing Your Client
What are the key or fundamental questions you need to ask a client to understand his/her business strategy?
Interviewing Your Client
Interview = Fundamental toolGain insight on how the Web site should be
constructed Showcase strengths Minimize weaknesses Who is the target audience? What are the functionalities I should include on the
Web site?
Who is your target audience?
Define target audience “Everyone is my target audience” Breakdown of target audience:
Geographical guidelines Technological guidelinesDemographical guidelines
=> Buying patterns
Who is your target audience?
80/20 Rule Focusing on the 20%: We need to
understand the customers very well and get them what they want.
What about the other 80%?
What functionalities should I include in the Web site? Photo Gallery Videos Blog Images Forms Social Media: Facebook, twitter, etc.
“Dancing Bear Philosophy”
What functionalities should I include in the Web site? Photographers
CPAs
Additional Questions..
• What is my budget?• What is my timeline?• Who is on my project team?• How often should the site be updated?• Who will update the site?• What is for you a successful Web site?
Next Step towards a well-structured Web site
Go ahead and establish the structure of your Web site
So how to find the right architecture and content for your site…
Putting it together: Create a storyboard Identify all the sections and pages of the site
and show how they relate to each other Structure: A storyboard is similar to a flow
chart.https://www.tigertech.net/ssl/jabberwockygrap
hix.com/sitemap.html
So how to find the right architecture and content for your site…
Indicate relationships and linkages: Difference between a book and a web site
Start with broad categories Build for the future Limit the top-level links: About five to seven Short link names: One word is the best. Be specific on your site map
Practice
Work in group of 3-4 students Your group has been hired by Hansel &
Petals, a florist business, to develop its Web site.
Practice
Listen to the client interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1bS_W3_kmY
1. What did you learn from the interview which is useful for the Web site development? Classify the information into the following categories: Mission, Vision, Future Plan, Markets, Customers.
2. What are the company’s strengths and weaknesses?
3. Who is the target audience?
4. What functionalities should we use?
5. Draw a possible storyboard of the Web site based on what you learn