Stop 04 · Information Architecture & UX StrategyTopics · 1/8

Information Architecture Basics

In short

If people can't find it, it doesn't exist. Information architecture is the quiet skeleton of a product: how things are grouped, named and connected so people find stuff without thinking.

How content and features are organized and labeled so users can find what they need — navigation structure, categorization and labeling, mostly invisible when done well.

The jaadu, as a librarian, slides a book onto a tidy shelf in a well-organised library.

Think of it like this

A well-run library

A library splits books into sections, shelves and call numbers, puts clear labels on every aisle, and keeps a catalogue for when you know exactly what you want. That's grouping, labelling, browsing and search: the four parts of IA.

Watch it happen

A college website's structure

Home

Admissions

Academics

Campus Life

Fees

How to Apply

Courses

Exam Schedule

Hostel

1/4Top level: a few broad groups based on what visitors come for. Too many top items and people freeze.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Organisation

How content is grouped: by topic, task, audience or time. Pick what matches how users think.

Labelling

What each group is called. Use the user's words, tested with card sorts, not internal jargon.

Navigation

How people move through the structure: menus, tabs, breadcrumbs and links between related pages.

For people who know what they want. Good search needs good content structure behind it.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Copying the company's org chart into the menu.

Do this instead

Organise around user goals. Visitors don't care which department owns a page.

Oops

Using clever or vague labels like 'Explore' or 'Resources'.

Do this instead

Use specific words people would search for, like 'Fees' or 'Exam Schedule'.

Your mission

Restructure your college website

~40 min

Quick check

A college menu has 'Office of Student Affairs' where students expect 'Hostel'. What's the problem?

Go deeper

1Sketch the navigation structure (a sitemap) of an app you use.
2Try a card sorting exercise (Phase 3) to see how you'd naturally group a set of features.
3Notice how poor information architecture causes 'I know it's in here somewhere' frustration.