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In this video, we will cover how to apply IA best practices to website navigation, menus, and links between content.
New terms:
- User persona - a representative of the common website or app users; a profile that defines basic attributes of common users and helps designers and developers prioritize navigation and search options
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In this video I wanna talk about
how to improve the navigation and
0:00
search options you provide as part
of your information architecture.
0:04
The options you provide to your
users will give them a clue
0:08
as to how they can find information,
so you could use navigation and
0:12
search to direct users down certain paths.
0:16
Let's say you're Domino's pizza,
for example,
0:20
the majority of people hitting the site
are trying to do one thing, order pizza.
0:22
So the navigation and
search features they provide
0:28
are designed to help a user
accomplish that specific goal.
0:32
cdbaby on the other hand is a website for
independent music artists
0:37
to sell their work, and for people who
want to buy music from those artists.
0:41
When you go to their site you're forced
to choice between two clear paths.
0:46
And when you do cdbaby will
present navigation and
0:51
other content that appeals to
the corresponding type of user.
0:54
So understanding who your users are will
help you determine the navigation and
0:58
search options you provide.
1:04
This is great because it can
help you define a scope.
1:05
You don't need to provide access to
everything imaginable if your users
1:09
only care about a certain
subset of information.
1:14
So for your website, how many different
kinds of users do you expect to have,
1:17
is there one, two, maybe three?
1:23
In design and marketing, we might
create what's called a user persona
1:27
to help us better define these
primary users of our site.
1:31
A user persona is a representative
of our common users.
1:36
It's a kind of profile that
answers questions to help us
1:39
prioritize navigation and search options.
1:42
Who are they, what attributes can you
define about them, like are they male or
1:46
female?
1:50
How old are they, where do they live,
and what do they do for a living?
1:51
And most importantly what are their
intentions on your website,
1:55
what goals are they trying to accomplish?
1:58
How familiar are they with your content,
and what terms and language do they use?
2:01
By defining those details and anticipating
their needs, you can create a site
2:07
navigation structure that emphasizes the
things they're looking for and provide.
2:12
And provide a collection
of search features so
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they can find what they want as
quickly and as easily as possible.
2:19
For example, let's say you've built
a website to list local apartment rentals.
2:23
If you're looking for
an apartment to rent, there are so
2:29
many different details
you need to consider.
2:31
The location, the price, the amount
of space, the number of bedrooms,
2:34
the number of bathrooms,
the options, and so on.
2:37
All of those variables and
more impact the final decision.
2:42
So how do you meet all their needs
without overwhelming the user with
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every choice possible?
2:51
Well, smart designers and
developers do two things,
2:53
first, they focus on
information priorities.
2:56
Certain attributes carry more weight than
others and it'll depend on the scenario.
3:00
For instance, think about if you wanna go
see a movie that's opening this weekend.
3:06
As you're ordering tickets,
the movie is a given,
3:11
it's the priority, but you can be
flexible with the location and show time.
3:15
But other times, you may not are what you
see, you just wanna get out of the house,
3:21
so the theater location and
time become more important.
3:25
And then based on what's available,
3:29
then you'll pick a movie that
matches your interest too.
3:31
But another smart thing you can
do is to make your navigation and
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search process as easy
to start as possible.
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If you can get people to make a few easy
choices the chances are better they'll
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keep going until they find what they want.
3:45
Take a look at apartments.com,
this website doesn't ask you to define
3:48
everything you want when you're
looking for a place to rent.
3:53
They simplify the information
search by starting with priorities,
3:56
the location, price range,
number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
4:00
Those attributes can quickly
get a search started, so
4:05
the progress should be promising enough
that users will then want to keep going.
4:07
And that's when you give them filtering
and personalization options, so
4:13
they can pinpoint the exact
place they'd want.
4:18
The important lesson here is that no
matter how much information you're trying
4:21
to connect for your users.
4:25
You always want them to feel like they are
making progress with their navigation or
4:27
your search.
4:31
So get familiar with your users needs and
priorities, and you'll know
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which options will help them make
the most progress through your website.
4:37
But you don't have to guess or
4:42
make assumptions here rely on
data to fine tune the experience.
4:44
Using your website analytics and
4:49
search data,
you can provide additional navigation and
4:50
search options to make a journey through
a website faster and more successful.
4:53
Search features, like auto completes or
4:58
suggestions can help users get to
the results they want more quickly.
5:01
Listing popular content or search results
is another way to exposed related or
5:05
trending needs to your user base.
5:10
Even a list of previously viewed pages or
5:13
past purchases can help users rediscover
content and get them back on a path.
5:15
By taking what you know about your
users through experience and personas.
5:22
And combining that knowledge
with real web site data,
5:26
you can predict the needs of your
users and highlight their priorities.
5:29
And if you can do those things,
you'll have a navigation and
5:34
search experience that's powerful and
effective.
5:37
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