This was a semester-long project completed in a group of three for a Content Strategy and Information Architecture class. The aim of the project was to choose a website and restructure its navigation based on research conducted throughout the course of the class. The website that we restructured was Open Books, a Chicago based nonprofit that works to promote literacy. We chose this website because the information architecture left something to be desired: there were many redundant links and pieces of navigation buried in sub-menus that made using the website more difficult.

Introduction

Our methodology for this project included conducting a content inventory to identify problems in navigation, followed by three rounds of card sorting and tree testing to get an understanding of how to better structure the website from a user’s point of view. Our final deliverables were a presentation and final sitemap. 

Methodology

In the content inventory, we found that the website organization had a lot of redundancies and content in places that one wouldn’t expect it to be. We reorganized the content into a different organizational framework and ran that framework through several rounds of card sorting and tree testing, changing the framework and sitemap as the results indicated were necessary. In the end, we had a proposed sitemap for the new organization of the website which would make tasks like donating and volunteering much easier to achieve. 

Process

In the course of this project, I learned how to conduct content inventories for navigation, as well as how to conduct card sorts and tree tests. I also learned how to iterate through these methodologies to come up with a more efficient final sitemap. If I had more time on this project, I would test the sitemap with first click testing and then perhaps contact the organization with the proposed sitemap. 

Key Takeaways