If there is one thing that can significantly impact the success or failure of your online business, it is the design of the information architecture on your website.
What is Information Architecture (AI)?
Generally speaking, information architecture is about organizing information logically and intuitively. However, that is only when you look at it in isolation. In reality, Information architecture (IA) is the process of creating, labelling and organizing information logically and such that it makes sense to the user accessing it. The objective of IA is to help users find information and perform tasks easily and quickly ultimately benefiting both the user and the business.
Role of Information Architecture for Large Businesses: Navigating Complexity
Consider retailers like Ikea that sell multiple categories. They offer a huge range of home goods that have to be categorized based on purpose, trend and on attributes such as material, colour, size and more. Another example could be an online bookstore that sells books and magazines belonging to multiple categories like fiction, non-fiction, adventure, drama, sci-fi etc. The books have to be further classified by the author’s name, by which age group it is meant for and many more such classifications. If such businesses don’t showcase their products in an organized and meaningful way, it will lead to frustration with customers getting overwhelmed. They would either keep scrolling to find the right products or drop off without making a purchase, leading to a loss of potential business and a damaged brand image.
Importance of Information Architecture for Small Businesses
Information Architecture is equally important for small businesses. For instance, consider a small fast-food chain. A fast-food restaurant usually offers an average of 8-10 types of dishes and 2-3 types of beverages along with options for customers to customize their meals. All these food items need to be categorized accurately to make the entire user experience not only easy but also compelling enough for customers to keep coming back.
Business Impacts of a Poor Information Architecture
Poor execution of Information Architecture can cause significant business consequences. A confusing layout and navigation could make users frustrated which can further lead to lower conversion rates. A poorly organized website is a sure-shot recipe for negatively impacting a brand’s credibility and trustworthiness. Most importantly, a lack of a robust Information Architecture can increase customer support costs because a poorly structured site that is hard to navigate will compel customers to call customer support for help.
How to Identify Poor Information Architecture?
There are multiple ways to identify a poor information architecture. User testing can help determine user’s pain points by observing how they navigate your website. Tools like Heat Maps and Click Maps can analyze user behaviour data to see where they are getting stuck while User Surveys can help in gathering feedback from users to understand their experiences and issues they face when navigating through your website.
How Maya Studios Can Help Your Business Grow
Whether you are a small, medium or large enterprise, Maya Studios can help you address Information Architecture issues and take your website’s usability to the next level. Our experts are adept at conducting Information Architecture audits that can identify issues in your website’s IA. Our team can conduct Card Sorting exercises to understand how your users categorize information and Tree Testing to test the effectiveness of your website’s navigation structure. Our experts can also do Wireframing and Prototyping which will work as visual representations of your website’s IA to ensure clarity and consistency.
By addressing Information Architecture problems, Maya Studios can help improve the user experience of your website which will further help increase conversions and drive business growth.
