Organizing Information Effectively

People are busy. When they land on a website, there's only a moment to capture their attention and help them accomplish their goal. Confusing menus and cluttered layouts create barriers that slow people down. For users with cognitive differences and those relying on assistive technology, these obstacles can be even more pronounced. A well-structured website reduces friction, making navigation clearer and less frustrating for everyone. This post outlines key principles for designing an intuitive, effective, and inclusive user experience.

Understanding key concepts

When considering how to structure a website, two important concepts come into play: “categorization” and “information architecture”. Categorization refers to how content is grouped using terms or ”tags”. Taxonomies refer to how we organize these terms.

For example: 

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• The system used to organize these terms is called "Taxonomy”,  or fruit.
• In Drupal:  a "Taxonomy term" is equivalent to a tag (or a peach). A "Vocabulary" is a collection of taxonomy terms, or fruit.
• In WordPress: “Tags” and “Categories” are types of terms (or peaches). Tags are a more free-form taxonomy while categories are compact/controlled.

Information Architecture refers to the navigable structure of the content within your website; most importantly, the main navigation and search or “listing” pages.

Best practices for taxonomy development

Here are some helpful tips for naming categories and tags:

• Use unique terms: Each term should be distinct and self-explanatory.
• Keep lists concise: The average human can read seven items before forgetting the first. Limit terms as much as possible, without losing their meaning.
• Avoid jargon: Use terminology that is easy for your audience to understand.
• No marketing buzzwords: Use plain language.
• Ensure uniformity: Ensure all terms follow a similar pattern of specificity/granularity.
• Sort alphabetically: Alphabetically ordering taxonomy terms allows for easy scanability for your audience. Use this by default unless there is an important user-centric reason not to.

“When you’re creating a site, your job is to get rid of the question marks.” 
― Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think 

Designing for accessibility

Accessible design principles benefit all users and are crucial for those with cognitive disabilities and/or people relying on assistive technology. A clear, well-structured Information Architecture significantly enhances usability for these audiences.

Best practices for information architecture:

• Use clear labels: Names should consistently and accurately reflect the content and be easily understood by all audience members.
• Make it audience-centric: Use what you know about your audience to inform the structure and naming of categories and menu items to meet their specific needs and behaviours.
• Prioritize for your audience needs: What is your audience seeking most often? Organize categories to make these tasks easily accessible.
• Limit complexity: Too many terms or menu items can often confuse and overwhelm audience members, particularly those with cognitive differences.
• Use evidence-based design: Conduct user research, such as card sorting, to validate your decisions.
• Test your assumptions: Gather feedback from a diverse group of audience members, especially those with disabilities, to ensure usability.
• Be adaptable: As your site evolves, be prepared to revise and update categories and menu navigation to stay relevant and user-friendly.

Refining your categorization strategy

Here is an example of refining a set of terms or navigation items for an environmental non-profit.

Initial list of topics:

• Air Quality Monitoring
• Climate Change Research
• Community Recycling Initiatives
• Eco-Friendly Building Techniques
• Endangered Species Lists
• Energy Efficiency Measures
• Environmental Legislation
• Forest Conservation Projects
• Green Living Tips
• Public Environmental Education
• Renewable Energy Resources
• Sustainable Farming Practices
• Volunteer Clean-Up Events
• Water Pollution Studies
• Wildlife Rehabilitation Programs

A more user-friendly approach involves distilling these topics into broader, more manageable categories.

Refined list:

• Climate & Air Quality
• Community Action
• Sustainable Living
• Water & Marine Life
• Wildlife & Habitats

This refined structure is more intuitive,  easier to navigate, and future-proof for accommodating new content. It allows audience members to quickly grasp the scope of your work without getting lost in specifics. By creating broad terms, you provide a clear, memorable framework that enhances the user experience and the longevity of your content organization.

Final thoughts

Designing an effective categorization strategy and well-crafted information architecture goes beyond organizing content; it's about creating an intuitive experience for your audience.

Planning ahead ensures better usability. If you need guidance, we’re here to help transform the complexity of your website into an organized, user-friendly experience.