website architecture

Step 1 · How-to

Website Architecture: Practical Guide

Organize pages so visitors can find information and understand relationships. A narrow first pass makes it easier to see whether the method works before applying it more widely.

Step 2 · Checklist

Website Architecture: Checklist

Use this website architecture checklist before a new release, a handoff, or a scheduled review. Its purpose is to verify the decisions that affect successful navigation tasks. Check an actual page or interaction record; a box marked complete without evidence does not show that the customer journey works.

Step 3 · Worksheet

Website Architecture: Template and Field Guide

This website architecture template turns a broad task into a record another person can use. It captures page, parent, audience task, then connects that information to a decision. Copy the table into your working document or system and create a separate record for each item in scope.

Step 4 · Examples

Website Architecture: Worked Examples

The following website architecture examples illustrate how to move from an observed problem to a practical decision. They are hypothetical operating scenarios, not customer results or performance benchmarks. The central question is whether the work helps improve successful navigation tasks without losing the context needed to judge it.

Step 5 · Procedure

Website Architecture: Team Workflow and Handoff

A team workflow for website architecture needs more than a list of tasks. Each person should know what to receive, what to produce, and what evidence allows the next person to continue. Use the procedure below to make responsibilities explicit and keep successful navigation tasks connected to the work.

Step 6 · Automation

Website Architecture: Automation Workflow

A website architecture automation workflow should handle repeatable preparation and record movement while preserving the decisions that require context. Start by defining a reliable trigger around a page or interaction record. Then specify the required information, the permitted action, and what happens when the conditions are not met.

Step 7 · Prioritization

Website Architecture: How to Prioritize the Work

Prioritize website architecture work by connecting an observed problem with the people or business outcomes it affects. The objective is to organize pages so visitors can find information and understand relationships. Give the team a short ordered queue with a reason for each decision, rather than treating every suggestion as equally urgent.

Step 8 · Evaluation

Website Architecture: Review Process

A useful website architecture review ends with a supported decision for each item examined. Define the evidence required before opening the report: page, parent, audience task, navigation label. These fields give reviewers a shared basis for agreeing what is working, what needs attention, and who should act.

Step 9 · Measurement

Website Architecture: Metrics and Measurement

Measure website architecture by defining successful navigation tasks precisely enough that two people can reproduce the result from the same records. Keep the reporting unit, date basis, and scope visible. Without those definitions, a change in the report may reflect a changed calculation rather than a changed customer outcome.

Step 10 · Mistakes

Website Architecture: Mistakes and How to Fix Them

A common failure in website architecture is structuring navigation around internal departments customers do not know. The consequences often appear later, when someone tries to act on incomplete or misleading information. This guide explains how to recognize the failure, correct the immediate problem, and prevent it from becoming a repeated working practice.