Organizing Your Website
Now that your new website has a name, you need to figure out what your website will say. A website is made up of ‘pages’ which link together, and these pages are organized in a hierarchy which will make sense to the user. For example, a website for a store which sells a variety of items can be organized like this:
| Home Page |
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| Apparel |
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Men's Apparel |
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Women's Apparel |
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Children's Apparel |
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Baby Apparel |
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| Around the House |
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Linens |
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Bedding |
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Sheets |
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Blankets & Comforters |
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Towels |
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Kitchenware |
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Small Appliances |
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Housewares |
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Dishes |
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Glassware |
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Flatware |
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Cooking Utensils |
| Outdoors |
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Outdoor Furniture |
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Gardening Supplies |
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| About Us |
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Ordering Information |
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Shipping Rates |
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Store Hours & Directions |
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| Contact Us |
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This basic outline would translate into a 27-page website – and certainly there are many more subcategories that I could have listed! A similar outline could be made for any website – whether it is a business-to-business service-oriented company or a small local beauty salon. Mapping out the general outline of your website will help you to keep focused upon the most critical feature – serving up information to your customers in a clear and easy-to-find manner.
There are many things to think about when planning your website:
- What types of information are people looking for or expecting when people visit my website? (contact information, maps, directions, store hours, prices, etc.)
- What can I offer to my visitors which would make them more likely to return to my website and encourage others to visit my website as well? (coupons, specials, news, photos, etc.)
- What can my website do for me to save me time and/or paper? (post “Frequently Asked Questions”, submission forms for ordering/receiving quotes, printable brochures, etc.)
- What are my favorite websites to visit, and why do I enjoy visiting them? (Quality content, user input, fun anecdotes, lots of links, etc.)
These are just some questions to get you started – it would be a good idea to share questions such as these with other people who may see things in a different light and share some new perspectives. Also, a good website is never truly ‘finished’, as your business and your customers are constantly evolving.
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