INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE has

everything to do with your theme!

Steven Slack . @slacktronic . S2 Web . S2webpress.com

We are talking mainly about custom WordPress projects for businesses and organizations

Each Building serves a different purposeEvery building serves it’s own

purpose

Ok, great … what does this have to do with

websites?

USER NEEDS and

USER EXPERIENCE

Pitfalls into a poor user experience

We decide the direction of the website based on our intuition or preference.

Pitfalls into a poor user experience

We decide the direction of the website based on our intuition or preference.

We let clients direct the design and discovery process.

Pitfalls into a poor user experience

MY AWESOME WEBSITE

→ ENTER ←

It’s NOT about what YOU want

All websites exist within a particular business or organization context.

Information Architecture happens!

What are the goals of the web site?

What are the needs and information seeking behaviors of the audience?

Find the balance:

How do we define IA?

1. The structural design of shared information environments.

2. The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within web sites and intranets.

3. The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability.Information Architecture for the World Wide Web - Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfield

How can we use IA to create a better user experience and a more

organized navigation system ?

Discovery

Discovery● Content Inventory● Review of technical/functional requirements

such as third party integrations or other specific functionality needed

● Analytics and user research● Determining target audience● Develop site content organization

WHEN YOU SKIP THE DISCOVERY PHASE

Information Architecture &

WordPress

TaxonomiesCustom Meta DataCustom Post Types

Custom Post Types help us to better organize different content types.

Custom Archive template:

archive-staff.php

What does this do for us?

● Better navigation● More organized● Appropriate assignment of content types

When to use Custom Post Types, Taxonomies, and Custom

Meta● If post types need custom attributes use custom

meta data.

● Taxonomies are good for grouping and categorizing custom content

● When numerous content types are related to a specific thing such as “staff” use a custom post type.

ThemeImplementation

WP tools for better IAMenus:Use this tool to help users move through the site content easily.

WP tools for better IAMenus:Use this tool to help users move through the site content easily.

Categories & Tags:This is a great way to organize your content and make it easier for your users to find what they are looking for.

WP tools for better IAMenus:Use this tool to help users move through the site content easily.

Categories & Tags:This is a great way to organize your content and make it easier for your users to find what they are looking for.

Posts & Pages:Determine what is static content and if you have content that can be archived in reverse chronological order.

WP tools for better IAWidgets:Can provide better site navigation, provide search systems or present the site’s information in a variety of ways.

WP tools for better IAWidgets:Can provide better site navigation, provide search systems or present the site’s information in a variety of ways.

Other important tools:Authors, Date & Time, Comments, 404 pages, Search forms

WP tools for better IAWidgets:Can provide better site navigation, provide search systems or present the site’s information in a variety of ways.

Other important tools:Authors, Date & Time, Comments, 404 pages, Search forms

Add-on features and functionality for better organization →

PluginsE-Commerce

Front-end Registration

Portfolio

Directory

Slider

Advanced Search Shortcodes

Events Calendar

Presentation & Functionality

Generally, when we refer to functionality in WordPress we are speaking of plugins while themes handle the presentation.

Add theme support for plugins

TGM Plugin Activation

The best way to require and recommend plugins for WordPress themes (and other plugins)

tgmpluginactivation.com

Don’t bloat the site with too many

plugins

Many plugins come with a UI with many options that the client or business DOES NOT NEED

This can lead to a poor user experience

Put custom functions into a plugin.

Put custom functions into a plugin.

Data Portability

Even in custom projects we need to think about data portability

Organization & Maintenance

● Portable Plugin● Easier to debug● Separation of concerns

A well organized data structure is good IA

What does the business or organization get out of well organized code?

A more stable environment will save you time on debugging, fixing

problems or moving data, hence saving your client money.

Marketplace themes and Information

Architecture

Too much custom functionality baked into the theme that is not needed

Too many features can create a cluttered and confusing UI

Design for your content

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE has

everything to do with your theme!

Thank YOU!