Choosing the Best Website Structure

When designing a website, one of the most important decisions that you will have to make involves what kind of Website Structure to use. There are basically three types of Website Structures - Tiered, Webbed and Linear. What kind of information you need to share, how much information you need to share as well as how you plan to share it - all these aspects play a direct role in determining the best structure for your website.

Why Is A Proper Structure To A Website Important?

The basic principle around which the science of web designing revolves is that people go online in order to find information. A web designer's job is to make sure that a user can find the relevant information easily. A proper website structure is a vital step towards achieving this goal. By choosing the Best Website Structure, you save the users from getting lost, misled & frustrated when they visit your website.

Different Website Structures - When Best To Use Webbed Website Structure

If you are designing an interactive website, then a Webbed Structure is the best option to choose. This type of Website Structure is more complex as compared to the others. Some examples of the kind of websites which would benefit from this structure include - Informative sites (e.g. Wikipedia), Membership sites (e.g. EBay), Catalog sites (e.g. Amazon)

Tiered Website Structure

When the information which needs to be presented to the users is vast and is sub-divided into main topics and sub-topics, then this is the best website structure to select. Though there can be many tiers, the 3 tiered structure is the most commonly used of all. A typical 3 tiered website structure includes a home page which links to the web pages on tier 2 & these pages in turn link to the web pages on tier 3.

Linear Website Structure

In a Linear Website Structure, the information is presented in a logical or linear manner. Suppose the website is an instructional kind where the users are taught in a step by step manner, then this structure will be the best one to choose. Keeping these points in mind, you can choose the best structure for your website.