Plan for the Future
When creating your initial web site architecture, plan for the future.
You may wish to map out all of the future goals and objectives and then
allocate them to a Phase 1 and Phase 2 which may be planned for 6 to
12 months down the track. This allows for the structure and design of
the site to be built with the future growth and development already factored
in. Planning for the future is also a good way to plan and save for web
development costs. Never use "under construction" signs on
the site if the content is not ready, and do not load empty pages online
as it reduces visitor confidence.
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An important part of developing and maintaining a web site is planning for how much maintenance your site will require. Outdated information can be a real turn off for visitors, so work towards keeping your information generic or easily and cost effectively updated. Realistically determine how often your web site will require updates and factor maintenance into your budget. |
Understanding the Power
of Relevant Content
If your site contains relevant and informative content, then other
sites or individuals are more likely to create links to your site. This
has many benefits. Not only does it drive more targeted individuals to
the site, but search engines such as Google see a link from one site to
another as a vote of confidence, indicating the site is offering quality
content on a given topic. This can have ongoing benefits in search engine
ranking positions. Think about what relevant information may be valuable
to your clients and will inspire others to link to it. What valuable information
can you provide for your site visitors?
Following are some examples of relevant content pages that add value to visitors and encourage linking to a site:
20
Ways to save on Shoestring
Hints
and Tips on Selling a Car Online
My
Career Quick Cover Letter Tips
Choosing Navigation
Models
One important aspect of web site architecture and the user experience
is the navigation model you choose. Usability is a distinct discipline
in web development and there are now entire books and organisations dedicated
to this topic. Usability simply means "how usable" the site is.
A general rule of thumb is to stick to the standards that have been developed over time. Making navigation too fancy or interactive can backfire and be frustrating and create barriers for your users. Online users are fickle, if they can't find what they want in a few clicks they are out!
Use logical navigation labels, make sure the purpose of the site is clear, and don't assume that the first page that people will land on will be the home page.
Examples of different types of navigation structures:
Left Navigation
List of Contents
Horizontal Top Bar
Tabs
Multi-level Tree
Buttons with drop-down reveals
Breadcrumb Trails
There is a well known book by Steve Krug called "Don't Make Me Think" which sums up the sentiment of web usability well.
Example of navigation tabs
The Importance of Navigation
Labels
labelling and sorting your navigation system is an important decision
which can have ongoing positive or negative repercussions. A number of
sites make a lot of standard mistakes and the most common one is assuming
that people know what the product, services or site is about. There is
no point labelling a navigation item with a generic label such as "Quote".
Labels should be descriptive and include the topic such as
"Carpet Cleaning Quote". It can be difficult to keep the label
sizes concise; however it is well worth working towards finding an appropriate
keyword rich solution for your products and services.
The second mistake is using product names that have no naming relevance to the type of product. This is particularly common in corporate sites where they label the pages with the name of the product such as "Easy Start" which has no indication that it is a home loan product.
Using keyword rich phrases in your navigation which effectively represent your services and products ensures that the search engine spiders can easily determine what the content of your site is about.
