Building a Strong Website Structure: Types and Best Practices

According to Ahrefs, a staggering 96.55% of over 14 billion indexed pages receive no traffic from Google. Experts outline several reasons for this, with the main one being ineffective website structure. This component of the discovery phase defines:

1. The What (Goals and success metrics). Here, we discover what your website aims to accomplish and what must happen to succeed.
2. The Who (Target audience). In the “who” discovery phase, we learn about the ideal website visitor, their motives, and how your website satisfies them.
3. The Why (Distinguishable characteristics). No business is entirely unique, but consumers tend to prefer one over their competitors because of some distinguishable business characteristics. Through intuitive website structuring, your business can communicate these unique distinctions to gain an edge over competitors.

Proper structuring and planning creating a website is crucial to success for both startups and mature brands.

4 Types of Website Structures

In UI/UX design, these four types of website structure determine how your visitors navigate through the website.

1. Hierarchical Website Structure

In a hierarchical website structure, you arrange content in a tree-like structure from top to bottom. Pages narrow in focus, moving from general to specific. This can be the main page to the child page or the main category to the sub-category.

For example, an e-commerce website can have general category pages for men’s wear and then specific child pages for sub-categories like Jackets, Suits, and Sportswear.

2. Linear Website Structure

The linear website structure (or “sequential”), follows a step-by-step format to provide a desired experience for the visitor. It is most effective when narrating a story, displaying a process, or progressively guiding the audience through a journey. A good example of a linear website structure is the checkout process on e-commerce sites and sales pages. For example, take the checkout page on Amazon, where customers will move through the following sequence:

• Verify items in the cart
• Select shipping address
• Select shipping method
• Select payment method
• Review order
• Confirm order

3. Matrix Website Structure

The matrix website structure is commonly used on informational websites such as Wikipedia or Healthline. It isn’t hierarchical or linear, as links flow in multiple directions without any specified order. Blogging sections of most sites also feature this type of structure.

4. Database Website Structure

The database structure is widely used on sites with a lot of content that must be dynamically displayed. They feature a search function and a database housing, managing, and retrieving data dynamically. Pinterest is a good example of this type.

Can a Website Use More Than One Website Structure?

You will hardly find a website that uses just one structure. Each website structure caters to a different isolated experience you desire for the visitor or customer, meaning you’ll most likely implement two or more. For example, you may have an online fashion website with:

• A linear structured checkout page
• A matrix-structured blog information page
• A database-structured blog or product display page

Website Structure: Step-by-Step Guide

We recommend you do the following:

1. Analyse Your Competitors

There is a wealth of information startups and established businesses can derive from competitors who have been playing the game for much longer or new ones developing innovative approaches. This may involve studying the linear structured checkout process on mega websites like Nike.com, which cater to a global audience. Or taking inspiration from the unique way a much smaller brand displays its hierarchical structured homepage for its specific target audience.

2. Define Your Target Audience

When you know your audience, you can understand your role as a business and how best to fulfil their needs. There are many different approaches to defining your target audience, including:

• Building customer personas
• Carrying out interviews
• Paid or voluntary surveys
• A/B tests, etc.

Use as many methods as necessary to get a good picture of your target audience.

3. Work Out the Semantic Core

Once you’ve analysed your competitors and defined your target audience, the next step is mapping out the semantic core. Think of it as a database of search queries consisting of the words, phrases, and statements your target audience uses across the web when searching for products or services similar to yours. Follow these steps:

1. Identify the topic or area of service. The first step is to understand the topic surrounding the product or service you offer.
2. Build the semantic core. Using industry-standard keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs, research the terms and phrases your audience is searching for.
3. Analyse your competitors. Check the search terms your competitors are ranking for to know which words or strategies are most effective. Focus on well-established at the top of the search results.

4. Plan Your Content

Content is king. Strategically, it’s a costly mistake to put minimal time and effort into content development or neglect it at all. Whether it’s a new or established website, your business will not succeed without well-optimised content. Aim to keep producing high-quality content consistently to remain competitive. Some experts even advise you to begin the content planning stage immediately after you know your target audience, as the content is what will attract visitors to your website.

5. Choose the Right Tools for Your Business

Tools are made to make any task easier, and this remains true for your online website business. Going the manual route might be cheaper in the short term but will cost you efficiency in the long term. So, incorporate as many resource-saving tools as possible without overstretching your budget. Here are some top picks in different categories that can improve the effectiveness of your business operations:

• Project management: Trello, ClickUp, Asana
• Wireframing: Balsamiq, UXPin, Sketch
• Photo editing: Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Capture One
• Notes: Google Keep, Evernote, Microsoft OneNote

6. Create User Flow

Your website structure should be tailored to your audience and how you want them to interact with your pages. This is why it is crucial to create a “User Flow Diagram,” which determines the path a user will take when completing a task:

• Understand your and your audience’s objectives as a business and customer/user.
• Understand how your visitors discover your website or landing page.
• With your audience’s objectives in mind, determine what information your users require and at what stage they need it.
• Create the user flow diagram using the information you’ve gathered.
• Collect feedback and refine your diagram. Finally, share your findings with the team of UX designers, developers, and marketers for stress-free website development.

Summary

A well-planned website structure helps startups and businesses avoid unnecessary expenses, attract and retain users, and boost conversion rates. However, to create it, designers must understand their audience goals and choose website structures accordingly.

Building a strong website structure can prove difficult without the help of a professional, so use this guide as a solid foundation.