Strategy & Structure for Web Sites & Applications
Suzanne M. Engels
Information Architect
Creating easy-to-navigate sites, better search rankings, lower costs & happy customers
through the professional practice of
information organization, labeling systems, navigation and search models
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE IN WEBSITE & WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
Information models provide a blueprint for a company web presence that includes websites, landing pages, social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and other strategic marketing on the web. Web designers, graphics designers, programmers, content writers, marketing managers and strategists rely on architectural models for a coordinated view of the system under development and the presentation of a consistent brand.
High level navigation maps and user flows improve the clarity of the business specification by providing visual aids - useful for marketing managers, graphic designers and programmers alike. As important, these models assist in client reviews, validating the client's business requirements and expectations.
During development and acceptance testing, communication between team members is facilitated with detailed navigation maps & labeling systems to assure consistent terminology. Use cases, interaction scenarios, activity diagrams for interdependent processes across actors and detailed functional specifications provide the engineering framework for building robust dynamic web applications.
BENEFITS OF INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Applying Information Architecture practices to your website or web application ensures a pleasant visitor experience and increases the visitor-to-prospect-to-customer ratios. These practices also save money.
Search engine rankings are improved due to consistent, appropriately named labels and links. A well-architected site saves money by anticipating growth and designing placeholders into the model.
Your information model provides a blueprint for a coordinated, easy-to-navigate business presence on the Web - whether you use Facebook, a web site, an online store, LinkedIn, Local Maps, Flickr and any business marketing app on the web.
Case Study: IA Modeling process for the Glen Rock Library
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Web Application Models | Work Flows & Activity Diagrams | Wireframes, Prototypes & Blueprints |  |
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© 2002 - 2010 Suzanne M. Engels | ||||