{
    "meta": {
        "type": "knowledge_hub",
        "language": "en-GB",
        "last_updated": "2026-10-01",
        "ai_endpoint": "/knowledge-hub/information-architecture-explained/ai.json",
        "source_page": "/knowledge-hub/information-architecture-explained/"
    },
    "retrieval_summary": {
        "what": "Information architecture is concerned with how information is grouped, labelled, ordered and connected across a website, helping people answer three basic questions: Where am I? What can I find here? Where should I go next?",
        "who": {
            "organisation": "Feel Created"
        },
        "relevant_for": [
            "Digital and web managers",
            "Website owners",
            "Marketing and communications teams",
            "Content teams",
            "UX and design teams",
            "Organisations planning a new website or digital platform"
        ],
        "problems_solved": [
            "Website structures become confusing over time due to overlapping sections, duplicated information and staff-only labels",
            "Visitors may not understand internal language or which team handles a service, making it hard to find help",
            "A sitemap may not show why information is grouped in a particular way or how people move between related subjects",
            "Information may belong within more than one journey, requiring multiple routes to the same content",
            "Everything ends up in the main menu",
            "People need to know which team is responsible to find information",
            "The same subject appears in several places",
            "Labels are unclear or inconsistent"
        ]
    },
    "page": {
        "title": "Information architecture explained",
        "slug": "information-architecture-explained",
        "url": "/knowledge-hub/information-architecture-explained/",
        "canonical_url": "https://www.feelcreated.com/knowledge-hub/information-architecture-explained/",
        "status": "published"
    },
    "article": {
        "type": "Knowledge Hub guide",
        "primary_topic": "Information architecture planning and maintenance",
        "intent": "Information architecture is concerned with how information is grouped, labelled, ordered and connected across a website, helping people answer three basic questions: Where am I? What can I find here? Where should I go next?",
        "audience": [
            "Digital and web managers",
            "Website owners",
            "Marketing and communications teams",
            "Content teams",
            "UX and design teams",
            "Organisations planning a new website or digital platform"
        ]
    },
    "topics": [
        "Information architecture planning and maintenance",
        "Sitemaps",
        "Website structure",
        "Content organisation",
        "Labelling",
        "Hierarchy",
        "Findability",
        "User journeys",
        "Card sorting",
        "Tree testing",
        "Audience sections",
        "Navigation components"
    ],
    "content_focus": [
        "Definition and scope of information architecture",
        "Relationship between sitemaps and information architecture",
        "Causes of confusing website structures",
        "Task-based organisation and user needs",
        "Testing methods: card sorting and tree testing",
        "Audience segmentation considerations",
        "Relationship between IA and navigation",
        "Planning information architecture",
        "User journeys",
        "Website structure"
    ],
    "canonical_claims": [
        {
            "claim": "There is no single structure that suits every organisation, but people should be able to recognise the available options without learning internal terminology first.",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "what-makes-a-website-structure-work",
            "id": "claim-001"
        },
        {
            "claim": "Without clear responsibility for website structure, individual additions can gradually recreate the same problems the original work was meant to solve.",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "what-makes-a-website-structure-work",
            "id": "claim-002"
        },
        {
            "claim": "Good information architecture helps people answer three basic questions: Where am I? What can I find here? Where should I go next?",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "what-is-information-architecture",
            "id": "claim-003"
        },
        {
            "claim": "Website structures often work better when they reflect what people are trying to do rather than how the organisation is arranged.",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "organising-information-around-what-people-need-to-do",
            "id": "claim-004"
        },
        {
            "claim": "A main menu has limited space, so it needs to focus on the choices that will help the greatest number of people.",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "how-information-architecture-and-navigation-work-together",
            "id": "claim-005"
        },
        {
            "claim": "A sitemap is not the information architecture itself; it does not replace the research and decisions behind it.",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "a-sitemap-is-only-part-of-the-picture",
            "id": "claim-006"
        },
        {
            "claim": "Website structures usually become confusing over time rather than because of one poor decision.",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "why-website-structure-can-become-confusing",
            "id": "claim-007"
        },
        {
            "claim": "Audience sections become less useful when they repeat the same information in several places.",
            "evidence_type": "page_content",
            "evidence_strength": "medium",
            "source_section": "when-audience-sections-are-useful",
            "id": "claim-008"
        }
    ],
    "common_questions": [
        {
            "question": "Should websites be organised around tasks or the organisation's structure?",
            "answer": "Website structures often work better when they reflect what people are trying to do rather than how the organisation is arranged. However, this may not suit every situation; some websites need to use established professional language or serve people who already understand the organisation."
        },
        {
            "question": "What is the difference between information architecture and navigation?",
            "answer": "Information architecture explains how a website is organised and how its parts connect. Navigation gives people ways to move through that structure, including menus, search, breadcrumbs, filters, landing pages, calls to action and links between related content."
        },
        {
            "question": "What are common signs that a website's structure isn't working?",
            "answer": "Common signs include section names that only make sense internally, journeys planned only from the homepage, new content having no obvious place, and people frequently using search for basic information. However, these signs do not automatically mean the structure is failing; search can be useful and some content may need multiple entry points."
        },
        {
            "question": "Why do website structures become confusing?",
            "answer": "Website structures usually become confusing over time because of overlapping sections, duplicated information and labels that only make sense to staff. Each addition may seem reasonable, but over time the website accumulates complexity that visitors may not understand."
        },
        {
            "question": "How can you test information architecture?",
            "answer": "Card sorting involves people grouping topics in ways that make sense to them, revealing patterns and potential labels. Tree testing gives people tasks and asks where they would look in a text-only hierarchy, revealing whether categories and labels help find the right area."
        },
        {
            "question": "When are audience sections useful?",
            "answer": "Audience sections can work when different groups need different information or use different language, such as professional advisers versus the public. They become less useful when they repeat the same information or force people who fit multiple groups to choose one."
        }
    ],
    "services": [
        {
            "name": "Digital strategy & UX planning",
            "relationship": "supporting",
            "url": "/services/digital-strategy-ux-planning/"
        },
        {
            "name": "UX design & user experience",
            "relationship": "supporting",
            "url": "/services/ux-design-user-experience/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Information architecture",
            "relationship": "primary",
            "url": "/services/information-architecture/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Content architecture",
            "relationship": "supporting",
            "url": "/services/content-architecture/"
        },
        {
            "name": "UX audits & reviews",
            "relationship": "supporting",
            "url": "/services/ux-audits-reviews/"
        }
    ],
    "sections": [
        {
            "id": "overview",
            "heading": "Overview",
            "type": "introduction",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "A website becomes easier to use when people can understand what information is available, where it belongs and how to reach the next useful step. This guide explains what information architecture is, the decisions it involves and how planning it well can help people find information while making the website easier for an organisation to manage."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "what-is-information-architecture",
            "heading": "What is information architecture?",
            "type": "section",
            "items": [
                "Where am I?",
                "What can I find here?",
                "Where should I go next?",
                "routes designed around tasks, subjects or audiences",
                "the sections within a website",
                "the relationship between parent and child pages",
                "navigation and category labels",
                "landing pages that introduce several choices"
            ],
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Information architecture is concerned with how information is grouped, labelled, ordered and connected across a website. Good information architecture helps people answer three basic questions: Someone should not need to understand the whole website to use one part of it. They need enough information to recognise whether they are in the right place and which route is most likely to help. The decisions involved can affect:"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "a-sitemap-is-only-part-of-the-picture",
            "heading": "A sitemap is only part of the picture",
            "type": "section",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "A sitemap is one possible representation of a website’s hierarchy. It may show the main sections, the pages beneath them and how many levels the structure contains. This makes a sitemap useful, but it’s not the information architecture itself. A neat diagram does not prove that people will understand the choices it contains. It may not explain why information has been grouped in a particular way, whether people recognise the labels or how someone might move between related subjects in different sections. A sitemap may also struggle to show information that belongs within more than one journey. A page could have one agreed home while still needing links from several other places. Different audiences may require different starting points to reach the same information. A sitemap records part of the proposed structure. It does not replace the research and decisions behind it."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "why-website-structure-can-become-confusing",
            "heading": "Why website structure can become confusing",
            "type": "section",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Website structures usually become confusing over time rather than because of one poor decision. A department may add a new section because none of the existing options feels suitable. Elsewhere, another team may publish similar content without realising that a version already exists. Each addition may seem reasonable, but over time the website accumulates overlapping sections, duplicated information and labels that only make sense to staff. The structure may still make sense to staff because they know which team runs each service and understand the internal language. Visitors do not begin with that knowledge. Someone trying to report pollution in a local river, for example, should not need to decide whether the issue belongs to a regional office, an incident team or a regulatory department. The website can still reflect the organisation where that information is useful, but it should not make internal knowledge a requirement for finding help."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "organising-information-around-what-people-need-to-do",
            "heading": "Organising information around what people need to do",
            "type": "section",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Website structures often work better when they reflect what people are trying to do rather than how the organisation is arranged. ‘Report an environmental concern’, for example, is likely to be more useful than the name of the team responsible for handling it. Organising a website around tasks will not suit every situation. Some websites need to use established professional language, while others serve people who already understand the organisation and want quick access to a particular department or technical area. In some cases, people may need more than one useful route to the same information. They might begin with a task, subject, service name or audience section, depending on what they already know."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "what-information-architecture-covers",
            "heading": "What information architecture covers",
            "type": "section",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "A few key areas affect how well a website is organised."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "organisation",
            "heading": "Organisation",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "what-information-architecture-covers",
            "parent_heading": "What information architecture covers",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "How information is grouped and where one subject, service or task ends and another begins."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "hierarchy",
            "heading": "Hierarchy",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "what-information-architecture-covers",
            "parent_heading": "What information architecture covers",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Which information people see first, what sits underneath it and how much detail appears at each level."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "labelling",
            "heading": "Labelling",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "what-information-architecture-covers",
            "parent_heading": "What information architecture covers",
            "key_points": [
                "The words used for sections, categories, links and choices.",
                "Labels should help people predict what they will find."
            ],
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "The words used for sections, categories, links and choices. Labels should help people predict what they will find."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "relationships",
            "heading": "Relationships",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "what-information-architecture-covers",
            "parent_heading": "What information architecture covers",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "How information is linked across the website, including subjects that belong in more than one section or task."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "findability",
            "heading": "Findability",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "what-information-architecture-covers",
            "parent_heading": "What information architecture covers",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Whether people can find information through navigation, links, search or another route, even when they do not know what the organisation calls it. These elements need to work together. Information may be grouped sensibly, but people still need a label that tells them what they will find. A good label cannot rescue a confused section, and a well-placed page can still be hard to find without useful links."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "what-makes-a-website-structure-work",
            "heading": "What makes a website structure work?",
            "type": "section",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "There is no single structure that suits every organisation, but people should be able to recognise the available options without having to learn internal terminology first. Similar subjects should also be grouped and labelled consistently, so understanding one part of the website helps them use another. Sections need a recognisable purpose. When several areas appear to cover the same subject, people have to guess which one contains the right information. Related information should also remain connected when a task crosses between departments or content areas. New information should fit into the existing structure without creating another top-level menu item every time. Testing helps to check whether the groupings make sense and where people would look for something new."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "use-evidence-not-assumptions",
            "heading": "Use evidence, not assumptions",
            "type": "section",
            "items": [
                "website search terms",
                "analytics and common routes",
                "enquiries and support requests",
                "existing research",
                "a review of current content",
                "recurring questions and observations from customer-facing teams"
            ],
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Stakeholder views matter, but they should not determine the structure on their own. Internal expertise is important. Staff understand services, responsibilities, regulatory requirements and practical constraints that people outside the organisation may never see. The difficulty begins when that familiarity is treated as evidence that everybody else will think in the same way. Useful evidence may also come from: Card sorting and tree testing are two useful ways to test information architecture."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "card-sorting",
            "heading": "Card sorting",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "use-evidence-not-assumptions",
            "parent_heading": "Use evidence, not assumptions",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "People group topics in ways that make sense to them. This can reveal common patterns, differences between audiences and category labels or groupings that may need further investigation."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "tree-testing",
            "heading": "Tree testing",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "use-evidence-not-assumptions",
            "parent_heading": "Use evidence, not assumptions",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "People are given tasks and asked where they would look within a text-only version of the website’s hierarchy. Because page layouts and visual design are removed, the test can reveal whether the categories and labels help people find the right area. Patterns of hesitation, wrong turns or failed tasks can then guide changes before the structure reaches design and development. Neither method gives you a final answer. The findings still need to work for different audiences and take account of any legal, operational or technical needs."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "when-audience-sections-are-useful",
            "heading": "When audience sections are useful",
            "type": "section",
            "items": [
                "Before separating information by audience, useful questions include:",
                "Can each section be maintained accurately?",
                "Does this group need different information or a clearer route to shared information?",
                "Will people recognise which audience description applies to them?",
                "Could someone belong to more than one group?",
                "Would the separation hide related information?"
            ],
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Creating a separate section for each audience can work when those groups need different information or use different language. For example, professional advisers and members of the public may need different ways into the same service. Audience sections become less useful when they repeat the same information in several places. They can also be difficult for people who fit more than one group. Someone might be a resident, volunteer, parent and professional partner, so asking them to choose one audience before seeing the available information may create an unnecessary decision."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "how-information-architecture-and-navigation-work-together",
            "heading": "How information architecture and navigation work together",
            "type": "section",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Information architecture explains how a website is organised and how its different parts connect. Navigation gives people ways to move through that structure. The main menu is one part of it, but people may also use search, breadcrumbs, filters, landing pages, calls to action and links between related content. A main menu has limited space, so it needs to focus on the choices that will help the greatest number of people. Trying to include every service, subject and audience at the top level usually makes it harder to scan and use. That does not mean each page needs only one route. A page can have one main home while still being reached through search, a related link or a landing page organised around a particular task. Information architecture connects those routes across the website. Navigation is how people find and use them."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "common-signs-that-your-websites-structure-isnt-working",
            "heading": "Common signs that your website’s structure isn’t working",
            "type": "section",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Problems often become noticeable as the website grows and people use it in different ways. Common signs include:"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "everything-ends-up-in-the-main-menu",
            "heading": "Everything ends up in the main menu",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "common-signs-that-your-websites-structure-isnt-working",
            "parent_heading": "Common signs that your website’s structure isn’t working",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "New options keep being added because people lack other reliable ways to find information."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "people-need-to-know-which-team-is-responsible",
            "heading": "People need to know which team is responsible",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "common-signs-that-your-websites-structure-isnt-working",
            "parent_heading": "Common signs that your website’s structure isn’t working",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Someone has to understand the organisation before they can find the right service or information."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "the-same-subject-appears-in-several-places",
            "heading": "The same subject appears in several places",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "common-signs-that-your-websites-structure-isnt-working",
            "parent_heading": "Common signs that your website’s structure isn’t working",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Similar content has been copied across sections because it lacks a single agreed-upon home."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "labels-only-make-sense-to-internal-team-members",
            "heading": "Labels only make sense to internal team members",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "common-signs-that-your-websites-structure-isnt-working",
            "parent_heading": "Common signs that your website’s structure isn’t working",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Section names and categories use language that people outside the organisation may not recognise."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "only-journeys-from-the-homepage-have-been-planned",
            "heading": "Only journeys from the homepage have been planned",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "common-signs-that-your-websites-structure-isnt-working",
            "parent_heading": "Common signs that your website’s structure isn’t working",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Visitors arriving through search, email or a shared link struggle to understand where they are or what to do next."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "new-content-has-nowhere-obvious-to-go",
            "heading": "New content has nowhere obvious to go",
            "type": "section",
            "parent_id": "common-signs-that-your-websites-structure-isnt-working",
            "parent_heading": "Common signs that your website’s structure isn’t working",
            "content": [
                {
                    "type": "paragraph",
                    "text": "Every addition leads to another exception, compromise or request for a new top-level section."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "entities": [
        {
            "name": "Information architecture",
            "type": "Topic"
        },
        {
            "name": "Website structure",
            "type": "Concept"
        },
        {
            "name": "User journeys",
            "type": "Concept"
        },
        {
            "name": "Card sorting",
            "type": "Method"
        },
        {
            "name": "Tree testing",
            "type": "Method"
        },
        {
            "name": "Navigation",
            "type": "Concept"
        },
        {
            "name": "Sitemap",
            "type": "Concept"
        }
    ],
    "concept_relationships": [
        {
            "subject": "Website structure",
            "predicate": "can become confusing due to",
            "object": "overlapping sections and duplicated information"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Information architecture",
            "predicate": "involves",
            "object": "grouping, labelling, ordering and connecting information"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Information architecture",
            "predicate": "explains",
            "object": "how a website is organised and how its parts connect"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Website structure",
            "predicate": "can be",
            "object": "tested with card sorting, tree testing, or usability testing"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Tree testing",
            "predicate": "tests",
            "object": "whether categories and labels help people find the right area"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Information architecture",
            "predicate": "requires",
            "object": "maintenance after launch"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Task-based organisation",
            "predicate": "can improve",
            "object": "findability for users"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Card sorting",
            "predicate": "reveals",
            "object": "common patterns and category labels"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Navigation",
            "predicate": "provides",
            "object": "ways to move through the structure"
        },
        {
            "subject": "Sitemap",
            "predicate": "is a representation of",
            "object": "website hierarchy"
        }
    ],
    "implementation_patterns": [
        {
            "pattern": "Iterative planning process",
            "description": "The stages of planning information architecture may not happen in order; testing can send the team back to an earlier decision, and reviewing content may show that separate sections need to be brought together.",
            "benefit": "Allows for flexibility and refinement based on findings."
        },
        {
            "pattern": "Audience sections with clear criteria",
            "description": "Create audience sections only when groups need different information or language, and ensure they can be maintained accurately.",
            "benefit": "Avoids duplication and unnecessary choices for multi-role users."
        },
        {
            "pattern": "Ongoing maintenance",
            "description": "After launch, the website's structure needs continuous attention, including reviewing search terms, removing outdated sections, and testing major changes.",
            "benefit": "Prevents the structure from degrading over time."
        },
        {
            "pattern": "Task-based organisation",
            "description": "Grouping information around user tasks rather than internal structure, e.g., 'Report an environmental concern'.",
            "benefit": "Helps users find information without needing internal knowledge."
        },
        {
            "pattern": "Clear labelling",
            "description": "Using words for sections, categories, links and choices that help people predict what they will find.",
            "benefit": "Improves findability and user confidence."
        },
        {
            "pattern": "Card sorting",
            "description": "Users group topics in ways that make sense to them to reveal patterns and labels.",
            "benefit": "Identifies common mental models and potential category labels."
        },
        {
            "pattern": "Multiple routes to the same information",
            "description": "Providing different starting points (task, subject, service name, audience) for the same content.",
            "benefit": "Accommodates users with varying levels of prior knowledge."
        },
        {
            "pattern": "Evidence-based structuring",
            "description": "Gather evidence from analytics, search terms, support requests and content reviews to inform IA decisions.",
            "benefit": "Reduces reliance on assumptions and internal familiarity."
        }
    ],
    "practical_guidance": [
        {
            "guidance": "When planning information architecture, start by understanding the website's purpose and the people who use it, using research and operational evidence.",
            "importance": "high"
        },
        {
            "guidance": "Use the agreed structure across navigation, landing pages, page planning, and internal links, and apply the same principles when adding new content.",
            "importance": "medium"
        },
        {
            "guidance": "Organise information around what people need to do, such as 'Report an environmental concern', rather than the name of the team responsible.",
            "importance": "high"
        },
        {
            "guidance": "Use evidence from search terms, analytics, support requests, existing research and customer-facing teams to inform structure.",
            "importance": "high"
        },
        {
            "guidance": "After launch, maintain the structure by reviewing search terms, removing outdated sections, and keeping labels consistent.",
            "importance": "medium"
        },
        {
            "guidance": "Recognise that information may belong within more than one journey, so plan for multiple routes to the same content.",
            "importance": "medium"
        },
        {
            "guidance": "Test the proposed structure with real tasks using methods like card sorting, tree testing, or usability testing.",
            "importance": "high"
        },
        {
            "guidance": "Consider that different audiences may require different starting points to reach the same information.",
            "importance": "medium"
        }
    ],
    "risk_areas": [
        {
            "risk": "Without clear responsibility for website structure, individual additions can gradually recreate the same problems the original work was meant to solve.",
            "impact": "The website's structure becomes confusing over time, leading to poor findability and user experience."
        },
        {
            "risk": "Website structures become confusing over time due to overlapping sections and duplicated information",
            "impact": "Visitors may struggle to find information, leading to frustration and increased support burden"
        },
        {
            "risk": "Relying solely on a sitemap without research and decisions",
            "impact": "The structure may not reflect user needs, leading to poor findability"
        },
        {
            "risk": "Stakeholder views determine structure without evidence",
            "impact": "Structure may not match how users think, reducing findability."
        },
        {
            "risk": "Labels that only make sense to staff",
            "impact": "Visitors may not understand navigation choices, reducing usability and trust"
        },
        {
            "risk": "Audience sections repeat information",
            "impact": "Duplication and maintenance burden, and confusion for multi-role users."
        },
        {
            "risk": "Main menu becomes overloaded",
            "impact": "Harder to scan and use, reducing usability."
        }
    ],
    "common_misconceptions": [
        {
            "misconception": "Signs like people using search or content needing multiple entry points automatically mean the structure is failing.",
            "clarification": "Search may be a useful way to find information, and some subjects may need links from several parts of the website even when the content has one main home."
        },
        {
            "misconception": "A neat diagram proves that people will understand the choices it contains",
            "clarification": "A sitemap may not show whether people recognise the labels or how they might move between related subjects in different sections."
        },
        {
            "misconception": "Website structure should mirror the organisation's internal structure",
            "clarification": "Website structures often work better when they reflect what people are trying to do rather than how the organisation is arranged, though this may not suit every situation."
        },
        {
            "misconception": "There is one correct website structure for every organisation.",
            "clarification": "There is no single structure that suits every organisation; effective structures depend on user needs and consistent labelling."
        },
        {
            "misconception": "Information architecture is just the sitemap or menu.",
            "clarification": "IA is wider than a sitemap or menu; it covers how content is organised, grouped, labelled and connected, and how navigation routes work together."
        },
        {
            "misconception": "Audience sections are always helpful.",
            "clarification": "They can be useful when groups need different information, but they become problematic when they duplicate content or force multi-role users to choose one identity."
        }
    ],
    "technical_context": {
        "key_areas": [
            "Organisation",
            "Hierarchy",
            "Labelling",
            "Relationships",
            "Findability"
        ],
        "testing_methods": [
            "Card sorting",
            "Tree testing"
        ],
        "navigation_components": [
            "Main menu",
            "Search",
            "Breadcrumbs",
            "Filters",
            "Landing pages",
            "Calls to action",
            "Links between related content"
        ],
        "evidence_sources": [
            "Website search terms",
            "Analytics",
            "Common routes",
            "Enquiries and support requests",
            "Existing research",
            "Review of current content",
            "Recurring questions and observations from customer-facing teams"
        ],
        "methods": [
            "Card sorting",
            "Tree testing",
            "Usability testing"
        ],
        "stages": [
            "Understand the website's purpose",
            "Understand people and their main tasks",
            "Review the existing information",
            "Identify useful groups and relationships",
            "Develop a proposed hierarchy",
            "Test the structure",
            "Refine the labels and routes",
            "Use the structure across the website"
        ]
    },
    "reasoning_paths": [
        {
            "user_problem": "Website structures become confusing over time due to overlapping sections, duplicated information and staff-only labels",
            "why_this_guide_is_relevant": "This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.",
            "evidence_refs": [
                "claim-008",
                "claim-007",
                "claim-003"
            ],
            "relevant_sections": [
                "why-website-structure-can-become-confusing",
                "findability",
                "when-audience-sections-are-useful"
            ]
        },
        {
            "user_problem": "A sitemap may not show why information is grouped in a particular way or how people move between related subjects",
            "why_this_guide_is_relevant": "This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.",
            "evidence_refs": [
                "claim-006",
                "claim-003",
                "claim-008"
            ],
            "relevant_sections": [
                "what-is-information-architecture",
                "organising-information-around-what-people-need-to-do"
            ]
        },
        {
            "user_problem": "Visitors may not understand internal language or which team handles a service, making it hard to find help",
            "why_this_guide_is_relevant": "This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.",
            "evidence_refs": [
                "claim-001",
                "claim-003",
                "claim-005"
            ],
            "relevant_sections": [
                "people-need-to-know-which-team-is-responsible",
                "overview"
            ]
        },
        {
            "user_problem": "Information may belong within more than one journey, requiring multiple routes to the same content",
            "why_this_guide_is_relevant": "This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.",
            "evidence_refs": [
                "claim-008",
                "claim-003",
                "claim-006"
            ],
            "relevant_sections": [
                "use-evidence-not-assumptions",
                "when-audience-sections-are-useful",
                "what-is-information-architecture"
            ]
        }
    ],
    "knowledge_hub": {
        "page_type": "guide",
        "learning_intent": "Information architecture is concerned with how information is grouped, labelled, ordered and connected across a website, helping people answer three basic questions: Where am I? What can I find here? Where should I go next?",
        "topic_hierarchy": {
            "primary": "Information architecture planning and maintenance",
            "supporting": [
                "Sitemaps",
                "Website structure",
                "Content organisation",
                "Labelling",
                "Hierarchy",
                "Findability",
                "User journeys",
                "Card sorting"
            ]
        },
        "evergreen_use": true
    },
    "content_profile": {
        "content_type": "Knowledge Hub guide",
        "primary_topic": "Information architecture planning and maintenance",
        "supporting_topics": [
            "Sitemaps",
            "Website structure",
            "Content organisation",
            "Labelling",
            "Hierarchy",
            "Findability"
        ],
        "primary_audience": [
            "Digital and web managers",
            "Website owners",
            "Marketing and communications teams",
            "Content teams",
            "UX and design teams",
            "Organisations planning a new website or digital platform"
        ]
    },
    "retrieval_topics": [
        "Information architecture planning and maintenance",
        "Information architecture",
        "Sitemaps",
        "Website structure",
        "Content organisation",
        "Labelling",
        "Hierarchy",
        "Findability",
        "User journeys",
        "Card sorting",
        "Tree testing",
        "Audience sections"
    ],
    "organisation": {
        "name": "Feel Created",
        "url": "https://www.feelcreated.com/",
        "type": "Digital partner specialising in websites and digital platforms",
        "specialisms": [
            "Digital strategy and planning",
            "User experience (UX) design",
            "Accessibility and inclusive design",
            "WordPress design and development",
            "Content strategy and information architecture",
            "AI-ready structured content",
            "AI Features & Integrations",
            "Search optimisation and technical SEO",
            "Website performance optimisation",
            "Website security and technical governance",
            "Platform architecture and integrations",
            "Content management systems",
            "Digital audits and reviews",
            "Creative and marketing support",
            "Website maintenance and support"
        ],
        "service_model": "We work as an extension of our clients' teams, combining strategy, UX, accessibility, content design, WordPress development and ongoing support to create digital platforms that help organisations communicate more clearly, work more efficiently and grow sustainably."
    }
}