Analyze and Plan
Now that you have gathered your information, its time to analyze and plan your new site map.
– Remember, LESS IS MORE. Web users want to find relevant information quickly and easily.
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Evaluate Current Content
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Relevance
- Does the content support the site objectives?
- Is it relevant to one of the target audiences?
- Is the content current? How far back should relevant content be maintained?
- Is the content being used by the target audience? Utilize your analytics.
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Presentation
- Is content missing?
- Does new content need to be developed or existing content need to be reworked to better support objectives/message?
- Does the presentation of the content facilitate the objectives/message? Does the target audience(s) recognize the relevance of the information at a glance?
- Is presentation of like content consistent? e.g., Degrees, Departments, Alumni, Student Resources
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External Web Services can help you analyze your site’s usability content. Learn More.
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Develop Site Map
The site map is a list of all main topic areas of the site, as well as sub-topics, if applicable. This serves as a guide as to what content will be on the site, and is essential to developing a consistent, easy to understand navigational system.
- Use the Main Navigation Menu to guide your site map development.
- Use the Top Level options to highlight areas of interest to your audience — consider information gathered on User Experience and Analytics on your current site.
- Within each Top Level area, identify topics or sub-areas most frequently accessed based on your audience.
- Include areas for links to commonly used resources and/or required information in the Menu rather than cluttering your pages with links — Save your valuable real estate for your most compelling information.
- Build out the Main Navigation Menu for your site in WordPress so you and others can visualize and refine the new site structure. Learn more about Menus.
Examples: