Lingua Inglese 2 - Organizing a website (Appunti)

Organizing a web site

Skills for organizing information

Two skills to organizing information on a web site are:

• You know how to structure information so that the flow of content is logical and coherent;
• You've learned to write/edit with the reader constantly in mind.

These skills when combined are extremely important. What we need to know is not more information but the ability to present the right information to the right people at the right time, in the most effective and efficient form.

Importance of organizing information

Fleming notes that organizing information is about demonstrating the relationships among items in such a way that they're easy to find. Wurman says that while information may be infinite, the ways of structuring it are not.

Five ways of organizing information:

• Alphabet
• Time
• Category
• Location
• Hierarchy

Transformation of information

Shedroff states that just as data can be transformed into meaningful information, so information can be transformed into knowledge and then, further, into wisdom. Knowledge is a phenomenon we can build for others, and as we can build information for others from data.

Technological routes for web sites

Web sites deliver information through three technology routes:

• Without database: few pages coded with HTML
• Database supported: middle size in HTML, but supported by DB
• Database generated: big size, information compiled in pages created by DB

Web site components

Web sites allow users to access information through different underlying technologies. All sites are composed of three major elements that contribute to the user's ability to access content easily: the information architecture (IA), navigation design, and graphic user interface (GUI).

Information architecture (IA)

IA is the organizing of information into logically related groupings so users can navigate effectively through the content and find the information they seek. IA is what we do to develop a document (or communication) that works for its users. According to this definition, information design is the overall process of development.

Navigation design

Navigation design is the connection between IA and the design of the graphical user interface (GUI). The production team determines the pathways, from the simple to the intricate, that will allow users to move easily among groupings of information. That works by using:

• Main navigation links: provide pathways to and from the main site sections. Such links must be clearly visible and have short, informative titles.
• Shortcut links: allow users to access important information without drilling down through the site. These links provide significant information.
• Converging links: bring users from different locations to the same point.
• Hypertext links: create additional connections both down and across a site's sections and add layers of information.
• Redundant links: are links that are duplicated on one web page.

Graphical user interface (GUI)

The graphical user interface (GUI) is what the user sees on his screen from the “Home” page and throughout the site. It acts as a shield, representing the architecture and navigation of the site and providing access to the site's information without actually revealing the organization of information behind it. The GUI has three major functions:

• Help users develop a mental map of the structure of the site;
• Provide a good overall look-and-feel to the site;
• Assist users in reaching the information they want.

Elements of a well-designed GUI include:

• Visual metaphors → that users can understand immediately;
• Internal consistency in the look-and-feel of different sections;
• Consistency in the use of icons throughout the site;
• Lack of clutter → so that users can find the content and links that they need.

Unique organizational structures

All organizations are essentially unique, but they fall within generic categories. And the generic categories of organizations have information that falls within typical content groupings that are relevant to users. Each content grouping has the potential of becoming one of a web site's major sections. The more you know about an organization and its competitors on the Web, the more focused, directed, and efficient you'll be in discussing the client's or team's needs.

Navigation priorities

Persistent navigation = navigation elements that should or could appear on every page of a site. Krug's five elements of persistent navigation are:

• The organization's ID or logo;
• A way home;
• A way to search;
• The web site sections;
• Utilities that provide assistance such as “Help”.

Content organization and priority

You may have a model in mind that would suit the client's content. However, that content is still in a raw form. It may be:

• Grouped into categories, but these categories aren't appropriate to the web site;
• Not grouped in any way, and the client expects you to create the organizational structure;
• A mixture of above.

There is a priority among navigation elements:

• Obligatory: Home – Main menu – Site map – Index – Contact us – Shopping cart or equivalent
• High priority: Search – Language section – Plug in – Help
• Medium priority: What's new – Useful links – Search (for small sites)
• Low priority: Chat – FAQ – Glossary – Users surveys
• Nice to consider: Print button

One of the best ways to make sense of content is to use a technique called mind-mapping, which was created by learning expert Tony Buzan. Buzan explains that a mind map is a powerful graphic technique that provides a universal key to understanding.