Building a Great Intranet Taxonomy

While it may seem like a "quick and easy" task, defining the navigation structure and organization of your intranet site will be one of the most challenging tasks you will face in the course of your project. It is also one of the most critical success factors. The site structure, also referred to as the information architecture or taxonomy, is the foundation of your intranet. Creating an effective taxonomy is as much an art as it is a science. Use the wrong terms and your users won't be able to navigate by intuition. Make your site too deep and they will never find the content they're looking for.

One common myth is that if you integrate a search engine with your site you don't need to focus as much on the taxonomy. This is completely false. All web users can be generalized into one of 2 buckets; "browsers" or "searchers". Searchers, of course, will first use a search engine to locate content while browsers will manually look for the desired information by navigating the taxonomy. This is not to say that browsers never search, or vice versa, it merely suggests that all users have a preference for one method or the other when attempting to locate content. The most efficient site will have a well-organized taxonomy AS WELL AS a good search engine to satisfy both types of users.

Building your taxonomy

Creating a taxonomy on your own is arguably the best approach. After all, no one knows your organization's culture and terminology better than you. If you're short on professional taxonomists here are some tips to keep in mind when defining your taxonomy.

• The overall taxonomy should be wide, not deep
• Use primary terms rather than marketing oriented or slang terms (the goal is to use language that can be understood by a new employee on their first day of work)
• Try to keep some rigidity to the taxonomy, at least at the top levels -- this promotes familiarity for the users and enhances usability
• Build two taxonomies; the primary being functional-centric and the secondary being organization-centric underneath the functional-centric
• Try to limit your structure to just 2-7 items under each branch, otherwise consolidate
• Use real content to validate your taxonomy
• Define, validate, re-tool, define, validate, re-tool, and so on ?- taxonomy development is an iterative process
• The structure should be very broad on top and narrow at the lowest levels

Remember that the taxonomy is a tool to locate content. The best way to verify you have a model that works is to use focus groups to test the structure. Ask the group where they would expect to find a specific example of content within the structure and see if that maps with what you've defined. If they keep missing, you need to go back and re-work the structure based on their feedback.

Bryan A. Mjaanes
Intranet101.com Admin
http://www.Intranet101.com

---

How to Maximize the Value of Every Visitor to Your Website

While most marketers are beginning to understand the critical importance... Read More

You Cant Just Build A Website And Hope It Works!

Like any area of business your website needs some effort... Read More

Building eCommerce Websites that Work - Part 2

Succeeding with an eCommerce website is a dream for many... Read More

Tips for Building a Great Business Website

A website is lifeline of internet home business. In order... Read More

KISS Your Website!

Many web developers today are starting to KISS their website,... Read More

Duplication vs. Individualism

How can we add Word Rich Content to our Websites... Read More

Why to Have a Website for Your Company

After having decided to start a business, the next thing... Read More

But My Business Doesnt Need A Website!

Revenues are often lost because many business owners don't see... Read More

You Don?t Have to be Amazon.com to Achieve 12% Conversion Rates!

That's right. According to a recent study by Nielsen/NetRatings, Amazon.com... Read More

The Problem with Automated Accessibility Testing Tools

An automated accessibility tool is a piece of software which... Read More

Getting One-way Inbound Links: the 5 Major Strategies

With search engines putting a damper on direct reciprocal links,... Read More

Ten Quick Tests To Check Your Website For Accessibility

The Disability Discrimination Act says that websites must be made... Read More

You Dont Know Which One

I still remember it very clear ... It was almost... Read More

Benefits Of An Accessible Website: Part 2 - The Business Case

The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must... Read More

How to Get a Better Web Site ROI

Better Web Site ROIHow to increase your business profitability by... Read More

Improve Web Sales Figures Forever And Ever Amen!

"How do I improve web site sales figures?" The CEO... Read More

Set Up Your Website in Minutes ? For Free

There was a time not long ago when setting up... Read More

Why Local Service Companies Should Have a Website

The Internet is being used by local service business to... Read More

How Web Templates Are Helping Online Businesses to MultiplyTheir Income

Web templates by nature are created to aid and ease... Read More

10 Tips For Running A Profitable Web Site

1. Address your targeted audience on your business site. Example:... Read More

Make Your Artist Website Sell!

SummaryHere's the scoop on what you must know when designing... Read More

Website Strategy!

A website lets you put your products in front of... Read More

Web Site Promotion: How To Advertise Your Website For Profits

Making money with your web site is the dream and... Read More

Ten Ways NOT to Set Up a Website-based Service Business

1. As the first step, "Hire a web designer."First create... Read More

Web Measurement: What You Don?t Know Would Make A Great Book

"What's in it for me?" you ask. "Why should I... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Server Side Includes

An Introduction to Server Side IncludesBeginner? That's OK!While much has... Read More

7 Killer Ways To Increase Your Online Sales

Every online entrepreneur I talk to is asking the same... Read More

Free Webmaster Tools - 7 Things Every Webmaster Needs in Their Toolbox

Webmaster tools are vital to becoming both efficient and effective... Read More

Having a Domain Name And Web Site Gives Your Business The Key To The Door

Just like all things in life, the ways to run... Read More

Website Development: Become Your Own Expert

Starting and maintaining a business is challenging enough without the... Read More

Stop Losing Precious Web Site Traffic to the Dreaded World Wide Web Black Hole

You work hard to build traffic to your web page.... Read More

Website Conversion Rate: More Keywords Equals More Sales

Your website conversion rate should concern you. This simply refers... Read More

Internet Marketing Website Promotion -The 7 Biggest Mistakes I See People Make With Websites!

1. Many people are not getting good or complete advice.... Read More