What is it?
Information Architecture is an emerging field that has become a necessity in the information age in which we live. There is so much content on the web. How are we going to find what we are looking for? According to the Information Architecture Institute, an information architect designs the structure of shared information systems. He also designs the labeling and organization of online web sites to make it easier for people to use the site and find the information that they are looking for.
When do they work?
According to the folks at IBM an IA needs to be brought in on the project as early as possible. They are an architect first and foremost and so they develop the framework that the site is built around. You would not start building a house without an architectural plan so there is no reason to build a complex website with out a detailed plan of how to organize the content.
How do they work?
The start by gathering information. Then they do a bottom up approach. After they have an initial taxonomy completed they start a top down approach to clean up every thing with a higher level overview.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/us-inarch.html
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Top 5 web writing tips
Summary from Erin Anderson’s section of Interact With Web Standards
1. Make it short and to the point
Web writing does not need to be elegant. State your main point as quickly as possible. Web users are not sitting down to read novel or critique a doctoral thesis. Most web readers scan articles instead of reading every word. They are typically in a hurry or just looking for something very specific. If something in the article does not jump out quickly they will move on to something else. On the other hand most print readers are a little more relaxed are are reading for enjoyment or education. They tend to read the articles more closely.
2. Provide action points
If you are able to capture a readers attention and they read the whole article or at least the first part they are probably looking for a link to something. That something could be a link to twitter so they can follow you or a video to reinforce your point. Most people are looking for more when they find something that interests them so you need to provide it. This is also a great way to get referring credit.
3. Outline with active words
Since most web readers scan articles you need to provide them with short descriptive headings and subheadings. The best way to accomplish this is the use verbs to start your headings. There is no need to have a sentence long heading. Start with the verb and make it relevant to the content in the paragraph.
4. Use the inverted pyramid
Start your paragraph with your conclusion. There is no need to give people background information if they are not interested in the problem. Tell them upfront what you have concluded and then if they are interested they will keep reading. Then you will provide them with the supporting information and finally you can throw in any technical or background information on the problem at hand.
5. Balance SEO and readability
Search Engine Optimization and how easy it is to read your content do not always work together. Many times it is easier to read an article if the writer uses the same word to refer to something. However SEO requires you to have lots of synonyms through out the article. This will allow the search engine to tag the article with many different keywords that a user might use to search for the topic. The more descriptive words you use the easier it is to find what you are looking for. Using additional descriptive words unnecessarily will stick out like a sore thumb to the user.
Follow Erin on twitter @erinarie
Visit her site http://braintraffic.com
Summary from Erin Anderson’s section of Interact With Web Standards
1. Make it short and to the point
Web writing does not need to be elegant. State your main point as quickly as possible. Web users are not sitting down to read novel or critique a doctoral thesis. Most web readers scan articles instead of reading every word. They are typically in a hurry or just looking for something very specific. If something in the article does not jump out quickly they will move on to something else. On the other hand most print readers are a little more relaxed are are reading for enjoyment or education. They tend to read the articles more closely.
2. Provide action points
If you are able to capture a readers attention and they read the whole article or at least the first part they are probably looking for a link to something. That something could be a link to twitter so they can follow you or a video to reinforce your point. Most people are looking for more when they find something that interests them so you need to provide it. This is also a great way to get referring credit.
3. Outline with active words
Since most web readers scan articles you need to provide them with short descriptive headings and subheadings. The best way to accomplish this is the use verbs to start your headings. There is no need to have a sentence long heading. Start with the verb and make it relevant to the content in the paragraph.
4. Use the inverted pyramid
Start your paragraph with your conclusion. There is no need to give people background information if they are not interested in the problem. Tell them upfront what you have concluded and then if they are interested they will keep reading. Then you will provide them with the supporting information and finally you can throw in any technical or background information on the problem at hand.
5. Balance SEO and readability
Search Engine Optimization and how easy it is to read your content do not always work together. Many times it is easier to read an article if the writer uses the same word to refer to something. However SEO requires you to have lots of synonyms through out the article. This will allow the search engine to tag the article with many different keywords that a user might use to search for the topic. The more descriptive words you use the easier it is to find what you are looking for. Using additional descriptive words unnecessarily will stick out like a sore thumb to the user.
Follow Erin on twitter @erinarie
Visit her site http://braintraffic.com
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