Seasoned web developers will know that it is important to spend a significant amount of time in the beginning of a project to understand a client's website and business needs thoroughly. An example of this would be to start by systematically mapping out the information architecture of the client's website visually. Though this process is time-consuming and sometimes rigorous and intense, it will easily return its value many times over. Here you will find detailed information on mapping out the information architecture of a website and also a different tactics to explain why mapping is useful from the perspective of SEO (search engine optimization).

Often, information architecture is confused for many things. Sometimes it is used interchangeably with website navigation, technical architecture, and more. Doing this is not only misleading, but it is absolutely incorrect. These misconceptions are part of the reason that information architecture may be overlooked in the website design process. In fact, IA is one of the most vital parts of the process, and should take place before many of the other steps. It means organizing, prioritizing, labeling, and connecting website content so that it is easy to use and easy to find. To condense it even further, it is sometimes called the science and art of organizing websites. It is the time when context, content, and users all overlap.

Everyone is talking about good website design, but do you know what it actually means? Do you know how to tell if your own web design is working? Do you know what to look for? Without having a clear metric for measuring the quality, it is hard to recognize the quality. There is more to a successful website than simply looking nice or being able to function. Ideally, a successful website would be built with a specific strategy in mind, it is focused on usability so that visitors can navigate the website with success, it incorporates a style that is pleasing to the user's eye, it is filled with content that is relevant to the users, and it is optimized for search engines. Keeping that in mind, these are a few of the key aspects of a strong website design, complemented with some questions that you may ask yourself when measuring the quality of your website.

When hearing the word taxonomy, depending on who you are and what your life experiences are, your association with that word might differ from person to person. Information architects will have different associations with the word taxonomy than web developers and computer programmers will have. Some people might be confused by the word taxonomy, this might not be a term that they use in their daily life. There are so many potentially different definitions of the word taxonomy that it's not surprising when there is confusion as it applies to web design.

Information architecture, otherwise known as IA, is a field of study and professional practice that focuses on finding a solution for basic problems of accessing and using the large amount of information available on the Internet today. It is commonly spoken about in connection with web design, wireframes, labels, and taxonomies. Some people may argue that information architecture is not simply a science, but an applied art or industrial design. This is because it is, for the most part, a production activity, or craft, and it is dependent upon an inductive process and set of guidelines, best practices, and professional expertise.