One of the most important aspects in creating a site has to do with the web architecture, which is what determines how the information contained in the different pages that make up the site is structured.
Among the three aspects that compose it, the wireframes, the functional, and the content tree, this chapter will focus on the latter.
Without a doubt, the web tree is one of the most useful and necessary tools in information architecture. Hence, it is one of the first phases that are implemented when creating a website. To define it, we could say that it is the graphic representation of the navigation structure of a website, with which we can see in a general and schematic way what information will be offered to the user and how it will be distributed among the different sections.
The term tree has to do with its shape, which shows various branches connected to each other and leaves that represent the information we want to convey. The hierarchization of the sections and sub-sections, their order of appearance, and the definition of the different levels of navigation are conclusive decisions that will have been taken during the meetings to capture the needs that we carry out with the client. Thanks to the structure of the web tree, the people involved - the client, the programming, and other teams - can easily appreciate the magnitude and depth of the project, thus taking care of its real complexity.
When building the website, we cannot lose sight of the objectives of the project at hand. At the same time, we must make clear the elements involved, what we want to communicate and what we want the user to do. How we materialize the tree will be the least. That is to say: it does not matter what technical means or program is used to build it, since it can even be drawn by hand on paper.
The information architect will ensure, as far as possible, that the user has access to the largest possible volume of information interesting to him with the minimum amount of clicks possible. In order for the browsing experience to be positive and the memory of the visit pleasant, the Internet user must be able to find what they are looking for on the website in the most comfortable and fast way possible. The web tree allows us to weigh up to what extent access to certain information is sufficiently agile and free of obstacles.
In short, it must be borne in mind that the success of a web project will largely depend on a good organization of the information, careful and based on common sense. It is convenient to be clear about the need to carry out prior planning, in which it will be decided how the contents of a website will be distributed and delivered to the user.
For this reason, one of the most efficient techniques to achieve the optimal result is the creation of a web tree, which must be agreed upon by the client/ you, at the beginning of the process.
You can spend 0 $ or a million $ for a website, depending on the importance that you give to the idea of having your “own” website. You can learn how to build a website or hire a person/ company to do it. Entirely depends on whether you understand what you want/ need.
I did want to try the super hard way, so I moved to a place where nobody understood the basics and tried to reinvent a simple concept that spectacularly imploded, wastes unlimited resources. Another topic, another day.
