What is Information architecture?

Information architecture is the way information is organized and presented. It provides a system for structuring, organizing, and finding information in meaningful ways. Information architecture organizes the Web's signs and metaphors in a way that allows users to easily interpret what the designer means.
Information architecture for the Web is different than that for printed materials. The structure of information on the Web is highly customizable and flexible based on users' needs. It has to be. Users enter from different data points and leave and revisit sections of sites often. The content at a site has to be structured to suit these usability needs.

Websites use a much richer range of navigational tools than print-based text. For example, hyperlinks are used in websites to provide self-directed paths to information. In websites, several different tools can be used in conjunction with one another, or used in a sequence determined by the user. The following section discusses the various navigation tools.

1. "Hyperlinks provide a way for users to get to another area of a site or to a different site. In this example, when the hyperlink is clicked, another page of the Asteron site is displayed. Hyperlinks are represented by underlined text or with little graphics, such as a button."
2. "Here is an example of a navigation bar. The area on the left contains hyperlinks to the major parts of this particular Web site. A navigation bar is usually accessible from all the pages of a Web site."
3. "A navigation path, sometimes called bread crumbs is a visual indicator of the path a user traveled to reach a destination."
4. "Firsthand Funds, the only fund family based in Silicon Valley"
   A main menu is usually part of a home page. It lists content and provides users with hyperlinks (sometimes graphical, sometimes text) to that content."
5. Site Map : Select your destination by clicking the words below.

   SEOTrance Home — About Us — Mission Statement
   
   — Annual Report — Letter to Stockholders
   
   — Corporate Directory — Financial Analysis
   
   — Current Stock Prices — Print Materials
   

   A site map is either text or a graphical "map" of a Web site. Generally very simple in design, it shows users how the content is organized and gives them a quick and easy way to access the content."
6. Similar to a main menu, an index is a list of a site's content with hyperlinks to the content. If they are used, indexes are often placed in a frame that appears on every page.
7. Instead of typing in their own key words or phrases, users can navigate to different areas on a Web site by choosing from a list in a pull-down menu."

Navigation and information architecture are the components of web pages that support the user in finding information and in browsing through the content of a website. A well designed navigation system is more than a good taxonomy: it encourages customers to explore parts of the site they may otherwise have missed. In the next lesson, you will learn how to design a website to make information easy to access.