How I Created Ockham Design
Information Architecture
Duration: 4 hours
Information architecture is the development and organization of content.
For me, information architecture involves a pen, some paper and quiet time.
The question that needs to be answered at this phase is: what content should I put on my site that will attract my intended audience and get them to take a desired action?
Step 1: Brainstorming content that has value to the intended audience
For many sites, this step is skipped completely. For example, a service based company would have a homepage, services page, about us page and contact page. This seems to be the extent of of the brainstorming session.
However, a competitor will also have a homepage, service page, etc. The question is how do I differentiate my content from my competitors? If you can't differeniate your content from your competitors, potential clients won't be able to differentiate your service from your competitors.
The object is to provide value. Clients need to be able to look at your site and say, I've looked at dozen of sites and I've never seen that content before.
I looked that central theme of my content which is transparency to buyers in order for them to make an informed decision. Then I started writing down my ideas.
- How I designed this site
- A breakdown of what it costs for a designer to create a site with real numbers
- Do-it-yourself guide
- Tips on how to find and evaluate a designer
- A la cart hiring
- Recommendations for designers I know
- Personal projects I'm working on so clients can get a sense of how a designer designs for himself.
The list was very long when I was done. After which, I pared it down to what I thought my intended audience would find most valuable and which didn't benefit or didn't belong on this site.
Step 2: Brainstorm main category names that content will fit under
I always limit myself to no more than 6 main categories. Any more than six tends to paralyze the user with too many choices to process. It's called option paralysis where given too many choices, a person usually picks none.
Who To Hire
Content: Ockham Design Network, À la cart hiring
Originally I called the category "Ockham Design Network", but that name isn't self-explanatory. I needed users to read the menu name and get a gist of what content would appear in that category.
I also put the category first because I considered it the main task that a visitor can accomplish-- hire someone I recommend.
Web Site 101
Content: Web site Q & A, Do-it-yourself guide, Hiring a designer
This section is for content that would educate novice buyers on practical aspects of owning and creating a website, whether they decide to hire someone or do it themselves.
My projects
Content: How I created this site, 30 Sites Project
There's two ways to teach someone how to do something. I could either tell someone or show someone. I've always preferred the lead by example.
This section was where I would show I how create sites for myself so clients could see how it's done. If they liked the results, I would hope they repeat the steps I took instead of re-inventing the wheel.
About
Content: About the site, about me
Though I've never liked about sections, they are necessary. Clients want to know who is giving them this information and more importantly -- why.
Step 3: Organize the content by Category Links and Content Links
Category links are menu links lead to a page containing content links in that category. Content links are links that lead to actually pages of content.
For small sites, the main menu is just content links, i.e. the about us link leads to an about us page.
For larger sites like this one, the main menu contains category links which are the major topics to organize content links under.
Main Menu - category links:
- Home
- Who To Hire
- Website 101
- My Projects
- About
Secondary Menu for the "About section":
- Ockham Design
- About the Site
- What's Next
- Contact
- Corin
- About Me
- On the Web
Step 4: Determine the content to be promoted on the homepage
The purpose of the content on the homepage is to do three things:
- Quickly identifies the purpose of the site
- Drives the user to a particular action
- Drives the user to valuable content
My homepage would contain the following:
Intro Text
This text is needed to explain the site quickly. Also, the text needed to contain key words for search engine optimization.
How Much Does A Website Cost?
I wanted to differentiate this site quickly by establishing a level of transparency. I wanted clicks to see that this section broke down costs in real numbers which other sites don't
How I Designed This Site
This is another content differentiator. I wanted to establish a lead by example tone for this site.
Hiring a designer
I wanted the homepage to link that provided immediate value. I've had friends who've hired bad designers and developers. I want to provide tips on how to avoid the bad ones.
Next: Logo and Branding
Case Studies
Attic Box Stories
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Answer: Expand your client-base to a market segment with more disposable income.
World Short Track
How do you make your favorite hobby even better?
Answer: By getting someone else to pay for it.
X
