How can you make your website's information architecture more flexible?

1 Assess your current IA

Before you make any changes, you need to understand how your current IA works and where it falls short. You can use various methods to evaluate your IA, such as card sorting, tree testing, analytics, user feedback, and heuristic evaluation. These methods will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your IA, such as how well it matches user expectations, how easy it is to navigate, how consistent it is across pages, and how scalable it is for future growth.

2 Define your IA goals and principles

Once you have a clear picture of your current IA, you need to define what you want to achieve with your new IA and what principles will guide your design decisions. Your IA goals should align with your user needs and business objectives, and your IA principles should reflect your brand values and voice. For example, your goal might be to increase user engagement and retention, and your principle might be to provide clear and concise labels.

3 Explore different IA patterns

There is no single solution that works for every website when it comes to IA. Depending on the website's purpose, content, and audience, you might need to use different IA patterns or combine them to create a flexible IA. Hierarchical patterns organize content into categories and subcategories based on a top-down logic and are best for websites with a lot of content and a clear structure. Sequential patterns organize content into steps or stages that users need to follow to complete a task or process, and they are ideal for websites with a linear flow or guided experience. Matrix patterns organize content into multiple dimensions that users can choose from to customize their view or access, making them suitable for websites with diverse content and user preferences. Lastly, faceted patterns organize content into facets or attributes that users can filter or sort by to narrow down their options, making them great for websites with complex content and user queries.

5 Iterate and refine your IA

Based on the results of your testing, you need to iterate and refine your IA to improve its flexibility and usability. You might need to make changes to your content categories, labels, navigation, or layout to address any issues or gaps that users encountered. You should also consider how your IA can accommodate new content or features that you might add in the future without disrupting the existing structure or user experience.

6 Document and communicate your IA

The final step is to document and communicate your IA to ensure that it is consistent and coherent across your website and that everyone involved in your project understands and follows it. You can use tools like style guides, content inventories, or content models to document your IA and its elements, such as content types, labels, metadata, relationships, or rules. You should also communicate your IA to your stakeholders, developers, content creators, or other team members and get their feedback and buy-in.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?