When creating a website, the structure is a crucial step in classifying information. It determines navigation and data accessibility for site visitors.
It’s the way in which the various files and pages are organized, in the form of main categories and subcategories. The most popular kind of site structure is the hierarchical or tree-like structure, consisting of an initial homepage that then branches out into different sections.
When creating a website, computer data is stored in the form of folders and files. All these files are organized together, graphically forming a kind of tree.
This element hierarchizes all the data used in the site. The tree can be made up of many different types of files, whether text, images, or programs.
The structure of a site is very important, because it will have a direct impact on the customer experience. If the structure isn't optimal, users won't enjoy navigating around the site, which can lead them to exit and go to a competitor's site.
A good site structure, along with other elements, such as a good backlink strategy, also plays a key role in the site's SEO rankings and its appearance in search engine results in a way that complies with search engine guidelines, as opposed to black hat SEO.
Google's crawlers use the site's structure to crawl the website’s pages. The organization of the structure is therefore an invaluable tool in facilitating the passage of the bots in a way that complies with search engine guidelines, as
It's generally accepted that a page should take no more than three clicks to reach. That's why your site structure shouldn't be too deep. It should appear logical and intuitive.
Building a site structure means more than simply classifying content into categories and subcategories. It's also about anticipating the customer journey and helping visitors easily find what they’re looking for on your site.
To create your site structure, we recommend the following five steps:
- List all the content that should appear on your site.
- Analyze the structure of competing sites.
- Organize and prioritize your content.
- Formalize your structure on paper or using specific software.
- Analyze and adjust if necessary.
