Web Design & Development I

UNIT 1 > MODULE 4

Lesson 1: Organizing a Website

Overview

A key to designing a large website is to be sure the information is organized logically, so that users can easily locate the information they're looking for. The first step in organizing a website is a concept called "chunking", dividing the site's content into manageable chunks of information, with all chunks related conceptually to one another. Content within each chunk can then be arranged hierarchically, so that the most important topics within a chunk will appear first in a navigational system.

Learner Outcomes

At the completion of this exercise:

• you will have learned theories and techniques for effectively organizing content on a website.

Activities

1. Read Chapter 3 of the Yale University Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition:
   http://www.webstyleguide.com.
2. Reading Check. Respond to the following questions and tasks on paper or a word processed document. Have your instructor review your answers.
   1. What is the fundamental principle for organizing website design?
   2. List the five basic steps to organizing information.
   3. Briefly describe the three essential structures for organizing websites.
   4. What is the risk of "eye candy"?
   5. How might programmers utilize site diagrams as they move a new website project from planning to production?
   6. How does the "above the fold" concept impact page design decisions?
3. Receive a set of index cards from your teacher, and read the following scenario:

   You have been hired by a client whose website has gotten unwieldy after years of willy-nilly development, The client is wanting the site to be better organized, starting from the ground up. Each of the cards you received includes a different topic that is addressed on the client's website.

4. Organize the cards into meaningful chunks and propose to the client a new navigational system, where each chunk represents a link on the navigational menu of the home page. Record your navigation links on paper or an electronic document. Show your instructor the links. The navigational system should successfully balance the following needs:

   • There should be no more than ten chunks.
   Every page on the website should be no more than three clicks away from the home page.

Resources/Online Documents

• Yale University Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition

All done?

Turn in your answers to the reading check and show your instructor your proposed organization of the website.

Copyright © 2006 by University of Washington. Permission is granted to copy these materials for educational, noncommercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged. This product was funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education (grant #H133D010306). However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume their endorsement.