In our last video we talked about the relationship between IA and

concepts like UX, UI, and usability.

Information architecture is a concept that's going to be instrumental in

how you build and design effective and positive experiences for people.

So let's talk about how IA impacts your job when it comes to web design and

development projects.

One way you could think of it is that IA is the bridge between design and

development.

When you're attempting to design a menu system or properly lay out a page full of

information, you need to know what content you've got.

What the user needs and how it should appear, or

how the user will gain access to it.

So with IA you got to consider how information is store,

how it get displayed and how it gets access.

There's a lot of responsibility there, right?

Well, if you're responsible for the IA on your website or

app, there are specific tasks that will become a priority.

First, you'll need to figure out how content will be organized

behind the scenes and on your website.

When you're working with writers or

other content creators, you'll need to understand what they make, and

how it can be logically categorized or tagged with the users in mind.

What terms would they look for, and what categories make sense to them?

Don't just go with the categories your writers come up with because

it might not match user expectations.

A writer might call his work weekly blog posts, well, you know your

users are looking for Weekly Industry Updates, there's a big difference.

So when you work with developers, you can make sure that whatever content management

system you use supports the content organization and

categories you've come up with.

If you need five or

ten more sections full of content, you'll need a system that supports it.

If you know you'll be expanding what you deliver

like a clothing website planning on adding more types of shirts and pants.

You'll need a system flexible enough to support that too.

And if you're content types range from text to images, to video, and beyond.

You'll need a way to organize that content as well.

And as you work with designers, you'll rely on your categories so

menu systems can be created, and

navigation can be added to specific templates and other pages.

The separation between certain kinds of content will be important to understand

as will the relationships and links between other kinds,

like when you see related links or products on certain pages.

And so another priority here is to understand your users' needs and

expectations.

This goes back to the first point where you'll be working with content creators,

developers, designers, to make something that makes sense for your users.

If you know your audience, you'll be able to look at a design idea, a wire frame.

Or review a beta version of the website and

know with good certainty if it should work or not for our users.

If you don't know who your audience really is, what kind of people they are.

Or what language they use to refer to things,

you start guessing about what to call things and that is a bad idea.

If you don't understand their needs or

intentions, and guess about why they're on your site.

You may prioritize the wrong thing, and that will cost you as well.

Now, another priority for

someone in an IA role will be to create site maps or other documentation.

So everyone on your team knows what your site looks like, the relationships between

content and sections, and where important features can be found.

Site maps are visual representations of website pages and sections,

showing the links between them to help a team understand how it all works.

You'll wanna understand the flow of your website and how people landing on

the homepage will naturally find their way to important conversion points,

like making a purchase or newsletter registrations.

And you'll also wanna know how people finding your site through a link or

search engine will land in the middle of a site.

But still be able to find their way easily, and

be successful at finding the content they need or the product they want.

And if you know your audience, the relationships and

links between content and how everything is organized.

You'll have insight that can turn your simple website into a selling or

a conversion machine.

Think about it, if you know the things that your audience likes,

then product pages will become more than just places to describe your product and

put a buy now button.

They'll become opportunities to expose users to relevant and helpful information.

Like guides on how to use the product,

videos of people creating amazing things with it.

Or related items and

accessories that would make the product even more enjoyable.

Understanding the IA of your site

is more than just knowing what categories you've got or how many sections you have.

It's seeing between the lines,

seeing those spots where you can make the experience more valuable for the user.

And create a source of content and

other information that becomes indispensable to them.