by Alexea Grech 

I was in Italy in the middle of the Tower of Pisa scare - would it crack and fall over or could the architects and engineers save it? The magnificent leaning tower that attracted so many tourists to the town was about to collapse.

It was saved in the nick of time, but it took billions of pounds and countless experts. All could have been avoided if at the outset, effort and investment were put into the project so that the foundations were strong and secure enough to support the tower. As the years went by, money went into building more layers, including a bell tower at the top, despite the inadequate foundations.

This is a scenario that is all too common with the web sites and intranets of many businesses. Instead of building or recreating a site with solid foundations, businesses are adding more and more layers of information to their web sites which makes them impossible to navigate.

Before thinking of the design or interface, you must develop a solid structure. This requires the specialist knowledge of an Information Architect, however it is also crucial to involve the business development and marketing team. The marketing team needs to define the focus, user groups, site objectives, as well as prioritise the categories of the web site - these will determine what structure is appropriate.

The information architect ensures that the organisation of the site information is intuitive, the layers are labeled and hierarchy design ensures the site is easy to navigate as well as scalable. This involves creating site maps that work like flowcharts to show the priority categories and navigation paths. The next step involves creating content maps that link the relevant pages to enhance anticipated user paths and logical process flows e.g. submitting, verifying and confirming order details. This results in guiding the users to the next layer of information or step in a process.

When building the Information Architecture for your site you need to think of the following:

	User groups - Building specific areas on the site for the different user groups
	Your customers - Creating a structure which is user friendly for customers to navigate.
	Yourself - Developing the structure of the site so that it is flexible and efficient for the company to update.

Think of the likely information you will need to add in the future. If your company adds products and services to their portfolio regularly, you need to develop a structure that will allow for this, without compromising on the usability e.g. avoid forcing users to scroll down endlessly. In this situation you could create an additional layer of product categories rather than listing all products on one page. Overviews and key points should be on top layers, with the option for detail for those who want to read on.

We are all human, we all love personal attention and it is important that your web site gives different user groups personalised attention. Not all users visit your site for the same reason - there are business partners, clients, potential customers, employees, recruits, investors, and press. The home page of your web site should allow each user group to access the information that interests them without having to hunt for the information that is irrelevant for them. None of these user groups need all the information therefore it is important to guide them to their navigation path that will lead them to the relevant section.

There is no point in attracting people to your site if it is not customer focused. When users visit your web site, their eyes dart across the page through the structure and within seconds they will decide whether to venture further down one of the paths or to click away. It is at this moment where you must reach out and grab them - grab them to venture down a path that has been tailor made for them.

If you were viewing your web site home page for the very first time;

	If you are a customer, would you be able to find the relevant products/services you are looking for?
	Could you find out enough about the products/service to order online?
	Is ordering online possible and is the process simple and intuitive?
	If you are a journalist could you find out about the company and latest press?
	If you are a potential business partner, do you feel "Yes, this is a site I want to do business with?"
	Can you enquire about affiliate programs or can you be contacted immediately - is the telephone number or ring back service visible?

Some may say content is king, but the king must have a well-constructed castle to be effective. Good content needs a solid framework and goes hand in hand with sound Information Architecture. It is important for businesses to include experienced information architects before building a site. It may seem tempting to omit the Information Architecture stage of site development, but it will always turn out to be a false economy.

In addition, a clear user friendly structure and information architecture significantly reduces the amount of time that users spend navigating through the layers of web sites, which means they will save precious time and return to your site because it is efficient. It will also reduce the amount of time the company must spend dealing with customers or partners on the phone, which not only is cost effective but will also keep customers and partners satisfied.

Contact NMS about information architecture and usability.