AKAKI KALITY POLYTECNIC COLLEGE

ICT DEPARTMENT
Development website Information Architecture
Introduction
What exactly is information architecture?
➢ Information architecture (IA) focuses on organizing,
structuring, and labeling content in an effective and
sustainable way. The goal is to help users find
information and complete tasks.
➢ The combination of organization, labeling, search,
and navigation systems within web sites and intranets.
➢ The art and science of shaping information products
and experiences to support usability and findability.
LO1. Identify content needs
1.1 Identifying strategic intent of website from
business requirements and client expectations
Website is a group of World Wide Web pages usually
containing links to each other and made available
online by an individual, company, or organization.
Strategic Intent
Strategic intent refers to the purpose for which the
organization strives for. The hierarchy of strategic
intent covers the vision and mission, business
definition and the goals and objectives.
Setting and Managing Client Expectations in Web Design
1. Identify the Type of Client You’re Working With
Before you begin to set expectations, it’s smart to first and
understand the type of client you’re working with. You want
to be aware of this early enough so that you can make a
decision about whether or not to stay on. Another common
example is the know-it-all. This type generally thinks they
can do your work better than you, and won’t hesitate to let
you know it. Regardless of the type of client, you’re working
with, there are usually effective steps you can take to
healthily manage the relationship. The key is identifying and
anticipating their needs.
2. Establish the Client’s Goals and Objectives for the
Project
Next, you’ll want to get your client to articulate their goals
and objectives for the project. This can help you sort out
project expectations and might involve learning about their
company, target audience, business model, and more. This
is a hurdle you want to cross early, as it can ensure that
your design fulfills or even surpasses the original vision.
Next, you’ll want to get your client to articulate their goals
and objectives for the project. This can help you sort out
project expectations and might involve learning about their
company, target audience, business model, and more.
3. Clearly Define Project Deliverables
Once you’ve established the goals and objectives of
your project, the next practical step is to define all the
required or expected deliverable.
Examples of project deliverables can include design
mockups, software documentation, prototypes, the
website itself, or something else. Regardless of what
it is, clearly-defined artifacts can help to ensure that
the team fully understands what is required to meet
the client’s expectations.
4. Create a Detailed Plan for Completing Tasks
Effective project management is necessary when multiple
people are working on a project. The entire effort needs
to be coordinated. Therefore, consider creating a detailed
plan of action along with timelines. This will make it easy
to keep the client informed about project status at all
times.
This can ensure that everyone knows what to do, who’s
responsible, and when it should be completed. Keeping
everyone informed and updated is an effective way to
prevent unnecessary miscommunications and to help
your web design clients maintain a realistic expectation of
deliverables.
5. Set Realistic Expectations and Be Transparent About What Can Be
Accomplished
It is important to be upfront from the get-go and aim for under-
promising versus over-delivering. Be clear about what you can
and can’t do.
Additionally, you want to clarify the limits of the project and make
sure the client is aware that some aspects, such as timeline and
scope, might change as the project advances.
6. Keep the Lines of Communication Open
This is one of the most important tips on our list. Keeping the lines
of communication open between your team and your client can
prevent misunderstandings and smooth feathers before they’re
even ruffled.
As a project manager, good communication cannot be
overemphasized. You want to encourage over-communication so
that your team and the client always know what is happening.
7. Establish Limits and Boundaries
It is easier to manage expectations when you set
limits and boundaries. In general, you want to
make sure everyone is focused on the same goals
8. Regular status meetings can provide
the client with reports about what features or tasks
have been completed or are still pending.
During these conversations with the client, be sure to
refer to the original goals for the project.
Finally, don’t be afraid to deliver bad news. If
something’s wrong, it’s usually better to make it
known. You could add a ‘risks’ or ‘obstacles’ section in
your status report, so you don’t surprise your client
with news that the project has overshot its budget or
is running late.
9. Make Sure to Sign a Contract
It’s important to get everything that has been agreed
to in writing. This includes the project’s goals, what
you can deliver, promises you make, all relevant
deliverables, the scope of the project (what is within
or outside limits), post-launch services, and more:
1.2 Developing information requirement based on
1.2.1 Website Intent
Essential Objectives of a Website
Objective 1: Let People Find You
Having a website makes you available. Once you
become available there is no stopping you from
Opportunities
Objective 2: Create an Online Presence
Creating an online presence takes a bit of work. Don’t
let that scare you off, though. It is totally worth it.
Technically, if you have a website some could consider you
have an online presence already
3. Objective 3: Engage Your Audience
Regardless of the type of service or product that you
are providing, there is always room for conversation
and education.
Engage your clients, customers, followers, or even
haters by providing valuable content.
4. Objective 4: Cultivate Relationships
If you do business with honesty, integrity, and fairness
it is very likely that the right people will see the value
in this and share the news with their own friends and
family.
A few ways you can build relationships and keep
people engaged are things like:
• ➢ Free stuff & Specials
• ➢ Newsletters
• ➢ Email Campaigns
• ➢ Continual Blog Posts
• ➢ Answer Questions
Objective 5: Generate Revenue
Websites earn revenue when visitors engage with
their ads, commonly by generating impressions,
engagements, or clicks.
Top Earning websites that makes a lot of money
1.2.2 Intended Audiences
What is a Target Audience?
target audience is made up of groups of people
(sometimes called personas)
who are most likely to use your products and
services. It is the group of people who find value in
what you have to offer his is a common mistake;
many organizations think their product can be used
by all people, or their services are needed by
everybody.
In fact, this kind of thinking can really cripple your
marketing efforts
Who is My Target Audience?
Now it’s time to figure out who your target audience is. (Don’t worry,
it’s easier than you think!)
Let’s start by reviewing your organizational goals along with your
services and products.
Write it down: What’s important to you value-wise? Why is your
organization here? What’s your mission statement? What do you care
about? Write it all down, and be as specific as possible. If you haven’t
figured this stuff out yet, now is the time! No organization can expect to
be a major player in any industry without a reason or purpose for
existing.
Next, let’s figure out how you fit in with the rest of society.
Ask Yourself: What problems do my products or services solve ? Who is
the best fit for my organization? Are there groups of people who
benefit more than other groups? Individuals who share the same
values as I do?
1.2.3 Types of Client Interactions and Types of customer
service interactions
➢ Text/SMS messaging systems
➢ Online chat boxes
➢ Email interactions
➢ Social media conversations
➢ Mobile app contacts
➢ Website contact forms
1.2.4 long- and short-term goals for the site
Know Exactly What You Want to Achieve
The first step of setting both long and short-term goals is
knowing exactly what you want to achieve. This means that
your conscious should be clear before setting any type of
goal. The importance of this is that you will know the things
you need to consider while setting the goals.
Realistic Goals
Make realistic goals. Being realistic means that you
are setting goals which you know you can achieve,
plus a little bit more. By setting realistic goals, you
avoid the frustrations that come when you repeatedly
fail to achieve your goals.
In fact, many people give up because they always set
goals which are too high and as a result most of the
times they fail to achieve their objectives. Therefore,
while setting your goals, regardless of whether they
are short or long-term, you should ensure they are
achievable.
Short Term Goals
Setting the short term goals is simpler mainly because
such goals might be achieved even within minutes or
hours.
This means you can wake up in the morning and set a
short-term goal of something you want to achieve by
the end of the day. Because of the short period you
can easily tell the factors that might hinder you from
achieving your goals.
Therefore, you will be setting the short-term goals
being almost certain of whether you will be in a
position to achieve the goals.
Long Term Goals
Making long-term goals can be a bit challenging. This
is because the factors you had considered while
setting the goals might change with time. Therefore,
while setting long term goals it is advisable to
consider that some factors might change.
You can achieve this through setting long-term goals
which are not too rigid. This means you should set
goals with options of changing as time progresses. A
lot can change in 5 years. Be flexible. Long term goals
are made to be rewritten and adjusted anyway!
1.3 Identifying required information and grouping into
business schemes
The design of information architectures should be determined
by research involving members of the team and
representatives from each of the major audiences.
To try content chunking, buy a few packages of index cards and follow
these steps:
1. Invite the team to generate a content wish list for the
website on a set of index cards.
2. Instruct them to write down one content item per card.
 …cont’d
3. Ask each member of the group or the group as a
whole to organize the cards into piles of related content
items and assign labels to each pile.
4. Record the results of each, and then move on to the
next.
5. Repeat this exercise with representative members
and groups of the organization and intended audiences.
6. Compare and contrast the results of each.
7. Analysis of the results should influence the
information architecture of the web site.
1.4 Determining content requirements for each
processes Content
Content Requirements
when we talk about content, we’re referring to text.
But images, audio, and video can be more important
than the accompanying text. These different content
types can also work together to fulfill a single
requirement.
For example, a content feature covering a sporting
event might have an article accompanied by
photographs and video clips. Identifying all the content
types associated with a feature can help you determine
what resources will be needed to produce the content.
 ...cont’d
Your content requirements should provide rough
estimates of the size of each feature: word count for
text features, pixel dimensions for images or video,
and file sizes for downloadable, stand-alone content
elements like audio files or PDF documents.
Self-Check -1

Give Short Answer.

1. What exactly is information architecture?
2. List down the main components of IA.
3. How to identify content needs?
4. List down the objectives of website.
5. What is a Target Audience?
6. What are the types of client interactions?
LO2. Plan content structure
2.1 Understanding use of website design software and hardware What
Is Web Design?
Definition and Elements
Web design is the creation of websites and pages to
reflect a company’s brand and information and
ensure a user-friendly experience.
web design software solutions for developers
Website coders will need experience in one (or more)
programming languages, including HTML, CSS, or
JavaScript.
 …cont’d

Wix is a website-building tool that does not require

coding to build websites. If you want to build a
website but do not have a lot of experience in it, Wix
could be one of the best options.
It enables you to incorporate site elements using the
drag-and-drop feature to create your desired website
layout.
Adobe Dreamweaver
• All in all, Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the best
web design software for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
projects. You should be able to custom-build
websites that respond accordingly to different
types of displays.
Bootstrap
• Bootstrap is the most popular HTML, CSS and
JavaScript framework for developing a responsive
and mobile friendly website. It is absolutely free to
download and use.
• It is a front-end framework used for easier and
faster web development. It includes HTML and CSS
based design templates for typography, forms,
buttons, tables, navigation, modals, image and
many others.
WordPress
• Working with WordPress doesn’t require any prior
experience in coding, and this platform is mainly used for
creating blogging websites for individuals or organizations.
• Even though the website is open source, there are some
costs related to building and running a website on the
WordPress platform.
You can embed any type of media file on the page’s content
area. There is also no limit on the number of pages, posts,
etc.
It is an open-source platform where you can find lots of free
plugins that can improve the functionality of your website.
What Hardware Is Needed to Build a Website?
Computer
• Most current computers and laptops have high
enough specifications to be used to create a
website. The most important specification to check
on the computer would be the size of the RAM,
which should be over 2GB, though more is better.
This will ensure that the computer runs quickly and
smoothly, even with heavier programs such as
website editors or photo editors. The computer
should have a keyboard and mouse attached and
working as well.
External Hard Drive or DVDs for Backup
• You should always keep a fairly current backup of
your website in case there is an issue where the site
crashes or files become corrupted. You can keep
this backup on an external hard drive or a set of
DVDs, depending on your preference.
• Server
You will need a server computer to host your website
on to make sure that it is available all the time for
anyone trying to access it.
What are the elements of web design?
The web design process allows designers to adjust to any
preferences and provide effective solutions.
There are many standard components of every web design,
including:
Layout
The layout of the website is how the material is displayed on a
page. Choosing the layout is an essential task for the designer.
It should be simple, intuitive and accessible. Web designers
can use blank areas called white spaces to organize the
elements of the site with grid-based designs to keep them in
order.
Images
Images are illustrations, graphics, photographs, icons
and others used to provide supplementary
information to the text.
To create the effect desired, designers can pick
images that complement each other and the brand
that the website represents.
Visual hierarchy
Visual hierarchy is the order in which the user will
process the information on the site. The designer
creates it by applying a visual pattern to the website.
The visual pattern is the way the design directs
visitors' eyes and behaviors.
Color scheme
The color scheme is a combination of colors that is in
harmony with the brand and industry it represents.
To achieve this, they will pick a dominant color and a
few others to create a palette.
Typography
The typography is the style or font of the written content.
Web designers pick one or a combination that is attractive
and easy to read. To make the best choice, they should
choose a font that corresponds to the target audience.
Readability
Readability is when the text of content is easy to see and
read on a webpage. The text on the website should be
readable because visitors usually spend little time on it
and should find information quickly.
Navigation
The navigational elements are the tools allowing users to
choose where they want to go within a
website. They may be present in the header, body and
footer of the website, depending on the site's layout and
structure. These elements are essential as they direct
visitors to the information they want as quickly as possible
Content
Content is all of the information available on the website.
It is a pivotal element because visitors want to get
information quickly. When the website communicates
clearly and grabs the readers' attention, it is more likely to
convert them into consumers.
2.2 Clustering information and documents in related topics.
Cluster Website Architecture
A cluster architecture arranges website content into related
groups or clusters. This architecture is very similar to silo
architecture, with a few key differences.
In cluster architecture, the main difference is that pages are not
grouped into strict categories but rather into themes or topics.
This allows for greater flexibility in terms of thinking about
categories.
The main elements are:
➢ Categories / Subcategories
➢ Menus and Navigational items
➢ URL Structure
➢ Keywords
Categories
Categories are used to group together similar content on your
website.
Subcategories
Subcategories are used to further group together similar content
within a category.
Categories and Sub Categories
Categories are easier to manage and change as necessary in the
cluster architecture as they aren’t hardcoded in the URL
structure.
Menu / Navigation
Subcategories are presented as dropdowns for main Categories.
Ideally, it’s recommended to have only one subcategory following
the main category in the menu.
This is because a lot of dropdowns tend to confuse users and
might result in a higher bounce rate.
Website URL
The URL is very simple to implement in the cluster
architecture as you can simply include the keyword
without the need for any categories and
subcategories.
Keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases that people use to
search for content on your website.
2.3 Developing hierarchy of information and checking data
sequence.
First of all, what is website structure?
Website structure is the way all a website’s pages are
organized and connected to each other and how navigation to
different pages is managed.
The four types of website structures fall into two categories:
top-down or bottom-up.
Top-down approach
A top-down approach focuses first on general categories of
the content. Designers can logically divide the content by
gradually breaking it up into categories.
 … cont’d
Bottom up Approach
Bottom-up approach focuses first on creating a
structure based on the content that is available for
the website by grouping the elements into categories
of the lowest level first and in turn grouping these
categories into higher level ones.
The 4 Types of Website Structure
Below is a breakdown of the four main types of website
structures used today with use cases .
1. Hierarchical
A hierarchical structure, which is sometimes referred to as
a tree structure, is the most popular website structure. It
moves from larger, more general category pages into
smaller, individual pages.
An example of this is with e-commerce websites that have
high-level product categories (e.g., shirts) that flow into
smaller categories (e.g., t-shirts, blouses, knits) that flow
into individual product pages.
2. Sequential/ liner Structure
A sequential, or linear, website structure is one that
follows a simple page-to-page path. These are more
common for simple websites
The best use for this structure is when you want your
content to have a chronological order. For example,
an online course or sales funnel.
To get started with this structure, look for areas of
your website where having a logical sequence would
help improve the user experience.
3. Database
A database structure is one of the most complex
website structure types using a bottom-up approach.
This approach requires special attention to tagging
and metadata in order to create a searchable
database for users to access. Site search is becoming
more and more popular and can be a valuable tool
for increasing conversions.
4. Matrix
A matrix structure is one of the oldest structure types
on the internet. It’s complex and nontraditional that
is best navigated using search and internal links.
A Matrix Structure allows users to determine their
own path since content is linked in numerous ways
Wikipedia is a prime example of a matrix structure.
There are seemingly endless possibilities for the next
steps a user can take and with more than 80 percent
of their traffic coming from organic searches, it
works.
2.4 Ensuring that labels are clear, consistent,
coherent and relatively intuitive for client to access
Labeling is a form of representation. Labels represent
a relationship between users and content.
So, the goal of a label is to communicate information
efficiently that is without taking too much of a web
page space or of a user's time.
There are two types of labels:
➢ Textual and
➢ Iconic labels.
Textual Labels
Textual are the most common labels.
Types of textual labels include: contextual links,
headings, navigation system choices, and index terms.
Contextual links are the text within the body of a
document or chunk of information. They are usually
used to create a connection between different pages
of a site.
Navigation system labels require more consistency
that any other type of label.
Effectively designed labels are integral to building a
sense of familiarity, so they should not change from
page to page. Here are some examples of this type
labels: Home, Search, Site Map, Contact Us, About
Us, News and Events, Announcements.
Do not use the same label for a different purpose.
Labels as index terms are often referred to as
keywords, descriptive metadata, taxonomies,
controlled vocabularies. These labels are used to
describe any type of content: sites, pages, content
components, etc.
Index terms support precise searching.
Index terms can also make browsing easier: the
metadata from a collection of documents can serve as
the source of brows able lists or menus. A very good
example of these labels is an index of a site with links
to each page.
Iconic Label
Represent information like textual labels, but with
more limited language
Self-Check -2
II. Give Short Answer.
1. What are the elements of web design?
Define each term in detail.
2. Define Cluster Website Architecture?
3. What is website structure?
4. Explain the difference between Top-down approach and
Bottom-up approach.
5. List down The 4 Types of Website Structure with their
definition.
6. Explain labeling in detail