A Quick Look Behind Web Architecture

Website architecture plays an important role in influencing the behavior of visitors to a site

. Users must be able to find what they need from your site in 3 mouse clicks at the most starting from the home page. If the architecture of the site is too complex or doesn't make any sense, it will drive away visitors to other sites which are easier to use and navigate.

A key part of website architecture is architectural hierarchy, which works just like how folders are organized in a computer. There's a main folder where underneath it is another folder and then another folder one level down. Again, it is ideal to keep the structure to just three levels for quick user navigation.

For big websites with a lot of information that do need more than 3 tiers, having a site map is strongly recommended where links to all web pages can be found and from which search engines can index all the links within the site. This will ensure that even with a deep site hierarchy, search engines can still find relevant content in your site to match queries.

Good organization is very important when designing web architecture not only because it makes the site user-friendly but also because it makes site maintenance much easier, too. To organize the different components of the site, create relevant subdirectories under the root of the site instead of putting all files at the root folder. For instance, there should be a subdirectory just for images or a subdirectory just for the CSS files. This way, files are easier to locate and update.

It is also important early on in the planning stage of the web architecture to determine whether the site will basically compose of static html files for simple access and browsing of data or if it will be dynamic to provide services and features. If the site is the latter type, the architecture will require certain extensions and programming to have these dynamic pages built.

In working with website owners, web architects must go through a lot of consultation in order to determine the best structure for the site. A common technique they use is web prototyping which basically involves creating a storyboard of the website that will allow concepts and page flows to be graphically presented for review and testing. A web prototype is done before the real development begins in order to identify what links and navigational elements are needed to meet the desired functionality.

by: Davis Ali

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