Depending on the subject of your content, there are many options for how to structure content.

Online structures a user may expect or be familiar with include the following:

• Sequential. This structure takes the user from start to finish, in a step-by-step order. This choice makes sense when there is a set reading path, such as steps in a process.
• Hierarchical. This branching structure is the way most websites are designed. Broad categories are presented up front, with an option to ‘drill down’ through the content. Pages are interlinked and often cross-referenced, but there is a set hierarchy of levels.
• Matrix. This structure creates many links between elements of the material, with multiple possible paths to various parts. Matrix structures can facilitate browsing experiences. For example, one user might start with the oldest material and move to newer content, while another might access basic-level information before reading more advanced content.

Categories

Categories are the headings placed on content pages. Within each category, the topics should form a logical cluster and meet the user’s expectations of the links that would naturally fit under each heading. In general, IA categories can be:

• topic based – these are usually nouns that break the main topic of the website into subsections (eg services, projects, news)
• task based – these are usually verbs that guide users to pathways about particular activities (assessing your home, designing for sustainability)
• audience based – these labels usually reflect groups of users (eg consumers, healthcare professionals, researchers).

You do not have to choose only 1 of these approaches – for example, you can have both topic-based and audience-based labels in your navigation. If the website is complex, you can use 2 sets of navigation lists (eg one at the top of the page and one in the main menu bar).

You can also use different structures at different levels – for example, the main site categories may be topics, but some webpages within the topics may have sublevels listed alphabetically or by region.

Shallow and deep structures

Content structures can be shallow or deep:

• Shallow – many categories with fewer levels. The ‘3-click rule’ suggests that no content should be more than 3 clicks away. Users will usually find a reasonably shallow structure easier to use, although this depends on the content.
• Deep – fewer categories that go down through many levels. A deep structure can work for sites with extensive content. However, users may be sent down ‘rabbit holes’ as they click down through many levels, and these can be difficult to navigate out of. To manage larger websites, it can be useful to think of other navigation aids such as multiple menus or tagging, rather than relying on deep structure.