When publishing content, devote some serious thought to your project’s information design phase. Information design is the planning, structuring, and organizing of content that is efficient for people to locate and for you to maintain. Information design applies regardless of the medium that contains it, such as websites, blogs, user guides, training manuals, or a Content Management System.
On your next content development project, consider how information is structured, searched, and consumed. Design the content that conforms to the medium, such as a website, web-based training, technical document, or an infographic.
Website Navigation
Locating information should be repeatable rather than by accident. Have you ever searched a site’s content only to lose how you found it? And sometimes, you can never locate that piece of information again due to the complexity of the site’s navigation or lack thereof. Small static websites may require the content to be stored in HTML files with only a simple single-tier navigation menu. Larger, dynamic sites require a content management system with multi-tier navigation menus and search capabilities. In either scenario, organize your content in a way that your visitors quickly locate. Another method to increase your content’s ability to be found is to optimize your content for search engine indexing and add a site map.
Search Engine Optimization and Site Maps
People locate information on the Internet by entering a search term or phrase in any available search engine. If your content is optimized correctly, your content stands a greater chance of being placed higher in that search results. Optimize your content and consider adding a site map.
The site map is a file that lists all linked content on your website. Site maps crawled with spiders or bots that list each page for search engines to index. Those indexed pages are stored in the search engine database and retrieved when your page matches a search criterion. The site map also provides an organized tree or outline of your site’s content and increases your content’s visibility.
This visual layout enables users of the website to scan the content of interest visually. If your site does not contain a site map, consider installing one to increase your site’s visibility. You can use online tools such as http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ or http://www.web-site-map.com/ to generate one manually. If you have a Joomla or WordPress content management system, many plugin tools can take on this task for you. And be sure to enter your site maps in Google’s Search Console.
Content Management System
If your website contains lots of information, you will need some method to manage that content. A content management system (CMS) provides the management capabilities required to store, locate, edit, and post information. The CMS software keeps track of all content and organizes it by sections, categories, articles, pages, or posts. Consider a Joomla or WordPress website platform for websites that have or will have numerous blog posts or articles. These platforms make managing content much easier for you and make locating information easier for visitors.
Documentation
Technical documentation such as hardcopy manuals, PDFs, or websites, requires an organized structure with an engaging format so that the reader of the material can locate the information they are looking for with as little effort as possible.
Developing functional documentation includes an information design with a consistent page layout, typographical conventions, structured content, table of contents, and an index. Consistent page layout and typographical conventions make locating information easier for the reader. Structured content and adequately formatted paragraphs are easier to read as well as easier on the eyes. Headers, footers, headings, tables, lists, and other paragraph formats increase the reader’s comprehension of the content. Structured content also improves one’s ability to cross-reference material listed in the table of contents or index.
Novice users typically use the table of contents to search for topics of a more general nature or to identify how the manual is structured. The index, by contrast, is a more precise instrument for locating specific content and is used by those experienced in the domain. Experienced users know what they are searching for and need only the page reference to find a particular piece of information.
An extensive manual is worthless if people are unable to find the information in it. Structure meaningful section titles and headings for the table of contents and dedicate serious thought and time to creating an index.
Providing structure to documentation can make all the difference in your audience’s ability to locate, read, and comprehend information. Apply these information design practices on your next project and improve your ability to manage and find content.