Information architecture (IA)

You know when you're in a good site, when you find things where you expect them to be, when you always know where you are, how you got there, how to get back and what your options are at all times.

And that's even if you land on a web page from a Google search!

This is good navigation and it comes about through extensive consultation, planning and information architecture.

Underpinning user experience

The term Information Architecture, or IA, is now widely used in user experience website design. It refers to the task of organising the pages of a website (the content) into a logical structure as a clear, accessible, means of navigating that website.

Tree of knowledge

This structure usually looks a bit like a stylised tree, much like a family tree. Similar content is grouped together in a way that will make sense to the user first and foremost. The user should determine the structure not the way the business is organised or by the strong opinions within it.

Getting to grips with the issues

The process of investigating, creating and agreeing a structure helps those involved understand many aspects of their website and their business needs. Things like business structure, content provision, terminology, importance, relevance, priority, workflow, all feed into the IA.

Core of a good website

So in short, IA:

• illustrates content need and responsibility
• puts content in a logical place
• defines navigational structure
• defines website boundaries
• helps with terminology
• allows for future needs
• gets business buy-in

Without information architecture there is no clear picture of the website that is to be built or the work that will be needed to build it.

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Want to read more...

Some useful information from the leading experts.

» Usability expert Jacob Nielsen writes on card sorting, a paper based process for helping users put content into structures that make sense to them which then can be used to define the IA.

» It's a hot topic, even the Wikipedia entry can't quite agree on the definition of IA.

» An interesting article, Where am I? by Derek Powazek for the infuential online magazine A List Apart which explains why the detail of navigation can be so important to the users experience and commitment to your website.