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Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day. But They Probably Used Blueprints

© Christopher Cummings

Last time, we discussed site architecture — that is, the design and layout of a given website, including the layers of related pages connected by links.

We determined that a solid site architecture provides users with a site that is:

• easy to use
• easy to understand
• easy to navigate

Since your goal is to capture user attention, and retain it, your site needs to be easy to use as well as engaging.

Think about it: How many sites have you visited and quickly left because you couldn't find what you were looking for? How many books or movies or television shows have you set aside because you weren't interested in the story or, like Slingblade, couldn't make sense of it?

Same thing applies online — only more so, because everyone's in a rush. Nobody has time to spend learning your site; either they get it or they don't, and if they don't, they're out of there.

(Don't give up; help is on the way.)

Once you know what you're trying to say, and you've decided how to organize (layout) your site, you can start creating your site map.

Why is a site map important?

Because ... well ... it's a map. A guide to your site. A useful tool that helps you build a usable, solid website. Yet, it's almost always overlooked.

Many sites are slapped together ad hoc, piecemeal, with no larger plan in mind. And it shows.

This is fine for a small personal site (although, even then, I'd argue against it). But for a professional site, it's inexcusable.

Again, think about it: Would an architect build a house without a blueprint? Only if he's an idiot. Because the architect understands the necessity of knowing, understanding, breathing, living what she's trying to build.

If you can't invest energy up front in knowing your site inside and out, and committing it to paper, do the Web a favor. Don't build your site. Because all you're going to do is waste everyone's time. And like I said, time is in short supply.

If you decide to create the site map, you create options for yourself: You give yourself a thumbnail view of your site which can ...

• reveal inconsistencies in your original layout, helping your create a better site;
• help you find thin areas in your site that need fleshing out;
• help tremendously when you upgrade your site ... or hand over your site to someone else's care, someone who's not as intimately familiar with it as you.

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