| In this workshop we will look at site structure as the key
design element. How the pages in a site are connected to one another and
hence how a user will navigate among them. What information is going to be
on the home page? What links lead from the home page to other pages in the
site? How is the site divided into sections? Is there an overriding
principle behind the site organization? Is it evident to the user?
Consider a website for a college course. How can it be
structured? Here are some possibilities:
- Structure the site according to the structure of the content of the
course, usually the one favored by the instructor. The structure will
likely vary widely with different subjects, from history to philosophy to
mathematics to biology to art.
- Structure the site according to the assignments in the course. Have
each assignment listed on the home page and linked to the instructions and
information that students need to complete it.
- Structure the site chronologically, linking each week or even each
class to information about the topics covered there.
Choosing one of these possibilities will guide how your design the site:
where information is stored, what it is linked from and to, and so on. |
