Information Architecture and UX
A website works when people can find what they came for and act on it. I design the structure underneath the pages: how content is grouped, labeled and linked, and how each template moves a visitor toward the next step.
Information architecture is the structure behind a website: the sitemap, the navigation, the labels, the taxonomy and the templates that hold the content. UX is how that structure feels to a person trying to get something done. I work on both together, because a clean sitemap with confusing page layouts fails the visitor, and a polished page nobody can reach fails the business. The output is a set of decisions your team can build against.
I start with evidence rather than opinion. Analytics show where people enter, where they leave and which paths they take. Internal search terms and support questions show the words they use. A content inventory shows what exists and what is duplicated. From there I draft a structure, test the labels and paths with real people, and revise until the model holds. UX was one of my responsibilities when I ran subscription-based web communities, alongside CMS publishing and on-page SEO.
This work only matters if it ships, so I write for the people who build it. Designers get annotated wireframes and template definitions. Developers get requirements with acceptance criteria. Content owners get a taxonomy and labeling guide they can apply without me. At UnitedHealth Group I owned the website roadmap and translated it into requirements for development teams, and I bring that same habit of specification to every architecture engagement.
What architecture and UX work includes
Sitemap and Taxonomy
A proposed sitemap with every section, page type and URL pattern, plus a controlled vocabulary for categories, tags and filters that the CMS and the navigation both use.
Navigation Model
Primary, secondary and utility navigation defined down to the label. Rules cover what earns a slot in the menu and how deep a section can go before it needs a landing page.
Page Templates
A template inventory for the site, each one documented with its purpose, required and optional content blocks, calls to action and the fields the CMS needs to hold it.
Annotated Wireframes
Low-fidelity wireframes for priority templates and key journeys, annotated with content hierarchy, interaction notes and the questions each page has to answer before a visitor moves on.
User Flows
Step-by-step flows for the tasks that matter most, such as finding a product, requesting a quote or getting support, showing the pages, decisions and dead ends along each path.
Usability Findings
Results from tree tests, card sorts and task-based sessions with real users, written up as findings with severity ratings and the specific change recommended for each one.
How I approach information architecture
Learn how people and content behave
I review analytics paths, internal search terms, support questions and the existing content inventory, and I interview the people who own each section, so the structure starts from evidence.
Draft the structure
I propose a sitemap, taxonomy and navigation model, then walk the main user tasks through it to find the places where the model breaks down.
Test with real people
Tree tests and card sorts check whether the labels and groupings make sense to users who have never seen the site. I revise the model based on what they do.
Specify and hand off
The final structure becomes template definitions, annotated wireframes and requirements with acceptance criteria, and I stay through build and user acceptance testing to confirm it ships as designed.
Where this comes from
Information architecture and UX sit on my resume alongside content strategy and web roadmaps. At TN Marketing I ran subscription-based instructional web communities and oversaw CMS publishing, on-page SEO and UX. At UnitedHealth Group I owned the website roadmap and turned it into requirements for development teams. At Polaris I authored requirements and design briefs for consumer-facing web properties. As a consultant I build persona-based web strategies and manage delivery across design, content and development teams.
See my experienceBrittany was an outstanding employee and will be missed in our organization. She has a great work ethic, is passionate and knowledgeable about Internet Marketing, and applies thoughtful and perceptive analysis regarding her work. She has a wonderful attitude about work and was always cheerful and upbeat.
Founder and Senior Business Leader, Pyron Technologies
Managed Brittany directly
Frequently asked
Do you do visual design?
No, I define the structure and the wireframes and work with your designers on the visual layer. My deliverables are sitemaps, navigation models, template definitions and annotated wireframes. A designer then applies your brand to those templates, and I review the result against the structure and the user tasks it has to support.
When should information architecture happen in a redesign?
Before visual design starts, and ideally before you choose a platform. The sitemap and template inventory tell designers what to design and tell developers what the CMS has to hold. When architecture comes last, it is squeezed into whatever the design and platform already allow, and the navigation ends up reflecting the org chart rather than the visitor.
Can you work inside our CMS?
Yes. I have worked in Adobe Experience Manager, WordPress and Drupal, and I write template and taxonomy definitions in terms of the fields and content types the platform supports. If you are choosing a platform, the architecture work produces the requirements that the evaluation should test against.
How do you test a structure before it is built?
With tree tests and card sorts, which need only a list of labels and a set of tasks rather than a working site. Participants try to find things in the proposed structure, and the results show where labels mislead or groupings fail. I run these early, revise, and run them again before anything goes to design or development.
Related services
Content Audits and Inventories
Before you can plan new content, you need to know what you already have and how it performs. I inventory every page, score it against your goals and audience, and tell you what to keep, fix, merge or retire.
Learn morePersonas and Customer Journeys
Personas and journey maps are only useful when they change what gets built and published. I research who your customers are and how they decide, then document it in a form that content, design and campaign teams will use.
Learn moreWebsite Roadmaps and Requirements
A website roadmap is a set of decisions about what gets built, in what order and why. I write the roadmap, the requirements behind each item and the acceptance criteria that tell everyone when the work is done.
Learn moreLet's talk about how your site is organized
Tell me where visitors get lost, or where your team argues about what belongs in the menu. I will tell you what a structure review would cover and what it would take to fix.