Information Architecture

Information architecture describes the way content is organised on a website or user interface and the labelling used

Information architects arrange content (like pages) into groupings that best fit user needs and understanding.TIP: Information Architecture Read more about IA on our information
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cxpartners consultants have extensive experience in creating information architecture that really works for users. From vast sites with diverse audience groups, to ecommerce sites, to persuasive marketing sites.

The benefits of great IA

The key to making a website more usable is in making the information architecture match users’ expectations. We’ve helped clients to increase their sales enquiries threefold, just by fixing problems with IA.

Good information architecture is essential to ensuring that users can navigate and understand a website or user interface.

A great IA will have further benefits such as:

• Happy users who will return again and again
• Reduction in calls to call centres
• Improved usability
• Better brand perception
• Improved ethical SEO

How we do it

cxpartners will look at any existing content, analytics or previous research that will help inform the information architecture. We work with our clients to understand their needs and the key tasks they want their users to complete.

We recommend conducting user research, such as card sorting, to help inform the information architecture. This will help optimise the final information architecture and reveal elements of user behaviour or understanding not previously understood.

cxpartners create categories and labels that users understand, and develop a site map for discussion.

Let’s work through it together

Site maps are a great document to take into stakeholder workshops. They allow client teams and development partners to discuss the structure of the site and ensure that its meeting the needs of the business as well as its users.

How search helps information architectures be even greater

TIP: Ethical SEO Find out more about ethical SEO Ethical SEO starts with the appropriate labelling of content. cxpartners look at keyword analysis to understand the terms users are typing into search engines to find specific items of content.

Using these terms to label categories and pages helps users to land on your site rather than a competitor’s.

Related to this is the appreciation that users may not arrive on the homepage of your site, and recognising this affects both the information architecture and the navigation structure used on the site.

Information Architecture documentation

cxpartners’ IA documentation is tailored according to our client’s needs but typically includes:

• Content listings
• Content gap analysis
• Site map
• Customer journey mapping, showing user paths through the content

Next steps:
We’d be happy to talk to you about information architecture in more detail. Call us on 0117 946 3930 or email info@cxpartners.co.uk

Find out more about how we can use card sorting to research and validate information architectures.