Information architecture is the most important and effective way to build website success, driving deliberate traffic in ways you deliberately want to showcase. The logistics and mechanics of good web design rely on information architecture. Think of it as your website’s blue print. How does your website guide information from page to page. What is the link structure and web content of the website as a whole? What are the website’s goals and who is the audience? Information architecture should be both conceptual (first) and organizational (second).
Web Site Family Tree
Similar to the structure of a family tree, information architecture links website content by their relationships to the primary page. The diagram, sketched out, is connected by lines to illustrate the relationship each web site page has between eachother. This illustrates the hierarchy of a website and helps the conceptual process before building a website.
Implementation
Once you’ve got the basic structure of a website, you can now begin to build it. For information architecture and user interface, it is all about navigational choices. Good information architecture can help direct users to certain areas of a website. For example, if a non-profit wants users to donate to their cause, information architecture will put the donation button in a prominent place where a user’s vision is sure to notice, hopefully swaying the navigational choice towards donation. Everything from link verbiage, placement, size, color, and imagery can affect a user’s choices on how they will navigate through a website.
Using design principles and tying them into web design through information architecture is an excellent foundation for website design. Designers should keep design principles in every step of website design, including link navigation and information architecture.