What Methodology Should You Use for a Good Website Structure?

For this section, we recommend re-reading our articles on identifying your target audience and defining your persona. Indeed, to work on the architecture of your website, you will need to align it with the real expectations and needs of your target audience.

Thinking about your website's architecture requires you to ask yourself about four key areas:
· The top of the page — or header;
· The navigation menu;
· The content area;
· The bottom of the page — or footer.
You will need to position yourself so as to offer the most ergonomic site possible, best suited to your target audience.
You will need to think carefully about each of these areas and decide where you wish to integrate a CTA.

Website Architecture: The Foundation of Your Site's Structure

Defining your website's architecture will help you visualise what it will ultimately look like. But concretely, what does architecture mean? Simply put, it means defining a detailed plan of all the content that will be published.

Methodology for Your Website Architecture

List everything you consider essential for your website. Do not rely on your own judgement alone: organise a team meeting. Some people will have ideas you had not thought of.
Study the website architecture of your competitors in detail. We recommend listing elements using SEO analysis tools and making a comparative table in Excel.
Organise your content. Do you feel this section should be accessible from the header of your site? Only from the footer? Should this page be accessible at all times?
Where should your navigation menu be positioned? What should your header contain? Your footer? How large should your content area be? What should your homepage contain?
At this stage, you can begin drawing up a paper wireframe (or use appropriate software if you have the budget).

You can use the XMind software to work on your website's architecture.

Website Architecture: Keep SEO in Mind

Think SEO!
Visitor usability will not do everything on its own, even though it is essential for good organic search ranking.

If the structure of your website is not adapted to search engines, you will restrict access to only those people who already know the URL. Never close off a source of traffic — on the contrary, multiply your sources.
You will need to reconcile your target audience's needs, the reason your site exists, and the recommendations for organic search.
At this stage, and in your work on your website's architecture, you may need to start from scratch to build the most effective site for all possible traffic sources.

Website Architecture: What Decisions for Your Call to Action / CTA?

It may seem premature to mention the Call to Action (CTA). It is very often a clickable button.

The CTA is nonetheless essential for guiding your visitors directly to perform the action you want them to take. In other words, if you are planning a direct action from your visitors to convert them into leads (i.e. prospects), you must implement a CTA.

This button must be compelling. The surrounding content must describe what will happen once the action is taken, and make the real benefit of taking the action clear.

It is not absolutely essential to think about the CTA when defining your website's architecture. However, Agence HTTP 5000 recommends thinking about its placement on your content pages.
Furthermore, if you wish to highlight a very specific action (a general donation appeal, a newsletter sign-up, etc.), you can perfectly well integrate your CTA into the header of your page, or within a content area that is easily identifiable and always visible.

Its position on your association's website will quickly prove essential.

In conclusion, we would like to remind you: working on your website architecture will allow you to create a high-performing association website.
Skipping this step could be detrimental to your positioning on the internet.