Information architecture (IA) is the structural design of shared information surroundings; the science and logic of how to organise and label webpages, intranets, social networks, and software products to support usability and findability. Bad information architecture is also a number one cause of user task failures. To find out why, we have investigated 10 major mistakes in IA that cost businesses lots of money each year. We have divided these mistakes into two key areas; structural and navigation mistakes.
Structural Mistakes
Lack of structure One of the most significant structural problems is making a website with no organizing principles. This mistake is most common on news sites and e-commerce websites where each item is a stand-alone product with no connections to similar items. When a website lacks organizational principles users tend to leave the site very quickly.
Missing landing pages
It is highly recommended that your site has its own landing page from which visitors can access the rest of your site. Equally, the sections of your site which users can visit from the main landing page should also have a subsequent category page that offers users another clear selection of options to find the content they want. Doing this may result in having more pages to map but it does make your site far easier for users and means that no important information on your product or service is missed.
Category pages can also help your SEO because they are the landing place when people search for your product. They’re also a good way to avoid mistake number 3.
Not integrating structure with search
Visiting a page from a search engine is like dropping into a place you do not know. It can be easy to get lost. Local navigation can help you find your way around but it will work only if the site has a good structure. Search engines like Google will not always be able to expose specific pages within the site structure because they don’t know the page structure or which navigational dimensions are important for common site tasks.
It is an unfortunate fact that search and navigation fail to interact completely on many websites. This problem is increased by navigation designs that do not show where the user is currently located because after they click a search result, they can’t find out exactly where the user has gone.
Polyhierarchy
One of the many benefits of the digital world is that a single product can be sold from many different locations at once. Websites can sort products and other services using multiple dimensions as this can help users to easily find related items. This is great, but polyhierarchy can easily become a big issue. With too many classification options and too many dimensions, users are required to think hard about what they are doing before moving forward.
Subsites not Integrated with Main Page
Using a dedicated micro site might have been a great idea back when you released a new service or a product, but it will soon undermine your online strategy and hurt your online presence. For example, on both micro sites and subsites, you can often find product-specific pages that fail to link to information about your company.
The best approach would be to abandon micro sites completely and place new product information on your subsites inside the main page.
Navigational Mistakes
Navigation Options cannot be found
The greatest navigation mistake is to have no visible navigation options. Thankfully this mistake is so rare that we only need to discuss it briefly. Invisible navigation and navigation that is difficult to find is basically the same thing as having no navigation at all.
Always make your navigation visible.
Navigation Elements that can´t be controlled
Using moving elements on your site can reduce your Web usability. Users should focus on your products and services and not about how to manipulate the website´s interface. Sensitive rollovers and page elements that spin and move are two of the main sources of user complaints when looking at a site. Do not underestimate the effect these two offenders can have on your users.
Inconsistent Navigation
Navigation is there to help your users, not to make their life difficult. Users should be able to understand it immediately, and apply that understanding throughout your site. Many website owners change their navigation regularly which makes their users feel like they are losing control.
Global navigation can act as a very important element that will help users understand where they are and how they can easily return to the top of the site.
Large numbers of Navigation Techniques
All navigation techniques have their own set of usability advantages and disadvantages but one thing is certain: each technique is only effective if used on its own. If you use them all at once, you will get only the disadvantages of the navigation techniques you implement.
Made-Up Options on the Menu While this mistake was very common in the past, we can still see many sites that continue to make up their own words for navigation items. These made-up terms also hurt search rankings because users cannot find a product if they don’t know what you have named it.
Old words are better as they are simpler. If users don’t understand your website, they’re less likely to make a purchase or interact in the way you want.
By understanding the common mistakes you can make in UI design you will be able to maximize the potential of your site and improve the UX for everyone who visits your site. If you want to know more about the best ways to design a site that suits users then you should take a look at our post about the things every UX design agency should know about people.
Are there any common mistakes you see happening frequently on other people’s websites? Or are there some tips and tricks you can offer to help resolve these frequent mistakes? Let us know on Twitter and make sure you follow us while you’re there @EldingoLondon.
