Information Architecture & User Experience Design

The roadmap to a usable website

Information Architecture refers to the pathways and labels that are used in websites to help users find the information they are looking for simply and intuitively. A well designed information architecture allows users to scan navigational links on the home page to learn more about the site and what information is on offer.

Captovate prides itself on designing a robust information architecture for all the sites we build, and we particularly understand the need to take a strategic approach, especially when planning for large, complex projects.

Our team has years of experience in designing complex yet usable information architectures for high profile government and private enterprise web sites. Our Director, Michael Hawkes, is considered one of the Northern Territory's leaders in this field.

Steps to a great information architecture

There are a number of steps we might take in planning information architecture, depending on how large and complex a site is, but even for the simplest most basic sites we make sure that the architecture is spot on.

User comes first

We clearly define what the client hopes to accomplish with the website, as well as what the end users' goals are. These are not always the same things, and it's important to understand both. From this, we define the tasks and information that will be needed most often.

Logical labels

We define the key categories and labels that reflect the organisation of the content in a logical way. We may even do some card sorting or other testing to ensure label language and categories are right for the user.

Home sweet home

We develop a home page architecture that reflects the reasons why people come to the site and the tasks they want to complete there.

Map it out

Last, we create a site map. This is a visual representation of all the content, features and functionality on the site in the architectural hierarchy. Sometimes we might also create wireframes for more complex sites. These are visual representations of individual web pages, demonstrating the placement and priority of content and features.