PART 2 - STRUCTURE

In Part 1 we took a good look at grocery store layouts. Structure takes Layouts 1 step further.

While the layout for your website will include such things as header and navigation, structure is a detailed plan with organization and purpose.

Let's take a good look at our friend the Grocery Store.

All Grocery Stores are laid out in a relatively similar manner. You enter in through the produce section and then travel through a series of aisles.

And for the most part, all websites are are laid out in a relatively similar manner. You have an entry page, landing page or a home page where the visitor enters your site. They click on a series of links and make a purchase (hopefully).

In either situation, the visitor (customer) does the same exact things. They follow series of laid out options to get to an end result - a SALE!

How Does the Structure of Your Site Affect its Performance?

Lets take a look at a typical layout in a Grocery Store. Listed below are Aisles 1 - 6 and the typical products you will find in each aisle.

1. Cereal
2. Pasta
3. Baking
4. Frozen
5. Cleaning
6. Dairy

Each of these 6 aisles are what you would put on your website as "Categories". In most cases they will be product categories. In the case of a blog, they may be information, event, video, audio and other categories to fit the content of your site.

Because of the structure of the Grocery Store, you are able to quickly find related products. Using the following chart you can see where each product fits into the store.

1. Cereal -> Instant, Cold, Hot, Granola Bars
2. Pasta -> Gluten Free, Whole Wheat, Different Shapes, Sauces
3. Baking -> Cake Mixes, Oils, Icing, Flour
4. Frozen -> Dinners, Vegetables, Ice Cream, Pizza
5. Cleaning -> Paper Towels, Bleach, Mops, Buckets
6. Dairy -> Milk, Cheese, Yogurt, Eggs

You will notice that a grocery store uses the EXACT same structure as you would use if you were laying out a website. For example, let us say you get in a new style of ice cream. You know instantly that it goes into aisle 4 and placed with the other ice cream.

Now as obvious as that may seems, you need to apply the same discipline to your website. You need to develop a structure or a process for adding new items or content to your site. When you have a system in place, not only is it easier for you to bring new products to market, but you also make navigation easier for customers to find the products they are searching for.

Websites just don't happen. They take a ton of work and planning. By keeping everything in order and organized you will build a stronger site than your competition on the front end and on the back end. This dedication to structure will give you a great advantage.

Please feel free to check out Part 1 - Layout. This will guide you through

Jeff Revilla has spent the past 10 Years focusing on Long-Term Sustainable Growth on the Internet.

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