Information Architecture
The economics of classificationJune 11, 2007: Everything that is added to a classification subtracts from what is already there, prompting the question: Has more been added than subtracted? More
Do you really need search on your website?
May 08, 2006: You need to decide whether the value of having search on your website is greater than the cost of making sure that you do it well. More
Search engine optimization: beyond search keywords
May 01, 2006: The words people type into a search box are not always the words they like to read when they click on the search result. Here's why. More
Web navigation is about moving forward
April 02, 2006: The primary purpose of web navigation is to help people to move forward. It is not to tell them where they have been, or where they could have gone. More
Usability doesn't have to be ugly
November 07, 2005: There is a balance that needs to be struck between a website that is truly functional and one that is elegant and stylish. More
Why personalization hasn't worked
October 20, 2003: Personalization hasn't worked because most people don't have a compelling reason to personalize. It hasn't worked because the cost of doing it well usually significantly outweighs the benefits it delivers. It hasn't worked because managers have seen it as some Holy Grail of content management. More
Information architecture: webpage mental maps emerge
October 13, 2003: When people come to your website they have a mental map of how their 'ideal' webpage should be. They expect to see certain things in certain places. They expect to read certain killer words in your classification and content. The more you meet their mental map, the more successful your website will be. More
J R R Tolkien was an information architect
June 3, 2002: Information architecture is concerned with the organization and layout of content. It is a discipline that has evolved over centuries, finding its roots in writing and printing. J R R Tolkien was a master information architect. He created complex genealogical and geographical architectures. If you want to master information architecture you need to acquire the type of skills Tolkien exhibits. More
Information architecture versus graphic design
December 17, 2001: Much web design has suffered from an over reliance on graphic design principles. Too many graphic designers have tried to force the Web to be what it is not, in the process creating ineffective and sometimes unusable websites. Quality web design is driven by information architecture design principles. Graphic design should support these principles. More
Broken links and poor information architecture design
August 20, 2001: Broken hyperlinks (links) are a serious problem on the Web. There are a number of reasons for this:
- A large number of websites are being closed down
- Websites are not being properly maintained
- Website information architecture is constantly being changed. More
Common standards
November 13, 2000: The recent US Presidential election is the perfect argument for the need for common standards. The US voting system is not really a system but a mix ‘n’ match of the archaic and the modern. More
Why XML is important
November 06, 2000: What has made the Internet useful to hundreds of millions of people is that it used standards for the presentation of content. No matter what you sort of content you had, once you presented it using HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language), people all over the world could read it using a web browser. Having a standard such as HTML caused a genuine revolution. More
What do you want?
May 29, 2000: I used to think that personalization was a great idea. I used to personalize websites. Then, I just stopped. And in the back of my head this nagging negative feeling towards personalization took root. More
Getting personal
March 06, 2000: I’ve just come from a conference on online travel where all the talk was about personalization. Like many of the words and phrases that have been used with regard to this whole Internet phenomenon, personalization has taken on a mantra-like feel. More
