Why Site Maps?
12/12/07 10:44 Filed in: Design
First what is a site map?
In this case it's a graphical representation of what content is needed for the site, and how the content inter-relates with the other content. Except it doesn't really show all the inter-relations, it just shows the ones that we want the user to see.
At the top of the document is the home page.
This is strange. Ten years ago, it wasn't. Today it is. Looking at the traffic logs for the site, roughly 4% of the inbound traffic goes to the home page, the rest of the inbound traffic bypasses the home page. The top 'entry' page is the calendar. So why isn't that at the top of the site map?
Given the existing traffic to the site, and the various 'entry' pages, we would have to produce five or six different site maps, putting the top 'entry' pages at the top of the site map. But that would be silly, (and a bunch of work). And no one I've met yet wants to do that.
So, if the site map, can't and won't accurately reflect actual user behavior, then why produce one?
I've heard a couple answers to that question.
1. So users can find the content they're looking for.
2. They're simple to produce, so why not?
If the site is so poorly organized that users can't find content on the site, then a site map may be a necessary compensation. But then why not organize the site to make make it easy to navigate?
Yes, they are easy to produce, but the provide a false sense of productivity.
So if you find yourself thinking about sitemaps, please, think about it for a couple minutes. Are you doing this for your benefit, or for the benefit of the people who are visiting your site? If you're doing it for the people visiting your site, then, maybe, there are better approaches. Try use cases or user scenarios when organizing and devleoping your content. Try a search engine or bread crumbs or tag clouds, as devices to make it easier for the user to play on your site.
In this case it's a graphical representation of what content is needed for the site, and how the content inter-relates with the other content. Except it doesn't really show all the inter-relations, it just shows the ones that we want the user to see.
At the top of the document is the home page.
This is strange. Ten years ago, it wasn't. Today it is. Looking at the traffic logs for the site, roughly 4% of the inbound traffic goes to the home page, the rest of the inbound traffic bypasses the home page. The top 'entry' page is the calendar. So why isn't that at the top of the site map?
Given the existing traffic to the site, and the various 'entry' pages, we would have to produce five or six different site maps, putting the top 'entry' pages at the top of the site map. But that would be silly, (and a bunch of work). And no one I've met yet wants to do that.
So, if the site map, can't and won't accurately reflect actual user behavior, then why produce one?
I've heard a couple answers to that question.
1. So users can find the content they're looking for.
2. They're simple to produce, so why not?
If the site is so poorly organized that users can't find content on the site, then a site map may be a necessary compensation. But then why not organize the site to make make it easy to navigate?
Yes, they are easy to produce, but the provide a false sense of productivity.
So if you find yourself thinking about sitemaps, please, think about it for a couple minutes. Are you doing this for your benefit, or for the benefit of the people who are visiting your site? If you're doing it for the people visiting your site, then, maybe, there are better approaches. Try use cases or user scenarios when organizing and devleoping your content. Try a search engine or bread crumbs or tag clouds, as devices to make it easier for the user to play on your site.
