On Oct 1, 2008, at 4:01 AM, Sachin wrote:
Site Map: I have been wondering how important the link "Site Map" is
which I
am planning to do away with on a corporate website?
What I am looking at is to have those few sections and their sub-links
upfront at the bottom of the page for all the subsequent pages
besides the
home page. Is this going to be too much information for the user to
handle?
Hi Sachin,
Earlier this year, I wrote about what you're trying to do here:
The Site Map: An Information Architecture Cop-Out
http://www.uie.com/articles/Sitemap/
If users are going to your site map, then there's likely to be
something seriously wrong with the information architecture of your
site. We tell clients that if they find a substantial number are going
to the site map from their home page to try an experiment and populate
their home page with the site map content. They typically see both a
reduction in the site map visits and an increase in the user
satisfaction. It sounds like that's the direction you're heading.
Your plan to put all the links on the home page is fine. The problem
with links isn't the quantity. It's the "scent". Users need a clear
way to tell what each link does and how it's different from the other
links. Make the scent clear by providing great trigger words, and
you'll be fine.
Testing is essential. Wouldn't try this without it.
Resources on scent:
Designing for the Scent of Information (costs $)
http://www.uie.com/reports/scent_of_information/
Lifestyles of Link-Rich Home Pages
http://www.uie.com/articles/linkrich_home_pages/
The Right Trigger Words
http://www.uie.com/articles/trigger_words/
Hope that helps,
Jared
Jared M. Spool
User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845
e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] p: +1 978 327 5561
http://uie.com Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks
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