Web site organizational structure
Web sites should have some over-all organizational structure, if only to prevent chaos from taking over the development process. Some ways to organize a site are:
Hierarchichal
Star
Chaos
Ring or linear
Hierarchical
In a hierarchical structure, there is one master page - the home page - from
which there are links to a few other pages. These pages are the home of sub-sections,
each with several pages linked to the sub-section home.
Hierarchy is a very simple and familiar concept. We see it in the structure of folders and sub-folders on our computer disks, in the way companies and armies are organized, and even in the way tree branches are attached. In fact, this type of structure is often referred to as a tree structure.
Advantages:
Everybody is familiar with this way of organizing things
It's efficient
It matches the way disk storage is organized
It allows different groups within an organization to be in charge of their own
part of a Web site
Disadvantages:
If followed strictly, a hierarchy can be slow and clumsy for users to navigate,
because cross-references don't fit into a hierarchy
Star
In a star structure, like a hierarchy, there is one primary page. The difference
is that all the other pages are connected only to the one primary page. This
makes it a simpler structure, and suitable only for small sites or sub-parts
of larger sites.
Advantages:
Simple
Suitable for small sites
Disadvantages:
For larger sites, the star structure is too simple -
Doesn't allow for subdividing a site
Does not allow cross-references
Chaos structures allow connections between any page and any other page. Our
highway system is an example.
Advantages:
Very flexible
All references are "cross-refrences" - any page can refer to any other
page
The Internet itself is a distributed network system
Disadvantages:
When put in a diagram, distributed systems look untidy and complex
When designing a distributed system, it's easy to get confused and overlook
useful connections
Ring or Linear
 |
 |
Linear structures are used to tell stories, where one event follows another.
In Web sites, linear structures are used when one page links to the next, which
links to the next, and so on forming a chain of links.
A ring structure is linear, except that the last page links back to the first.
Advantages:
Linear and ring structures are very simple
They can be used to guide users through a process, such as placing an order
or buying an airline ticket
Disadvantages:
Because of their simplicity, they can't be used for most purposes
A linear or ring structure does not have cross-references
Practical Organization Tips
In practice, Web sites don't use purely one kind or organizational structure
or another. Instead, they use aspects of each type of structure when appropriate.
The flexibility to use these different structures is what makes the Web such
a vibrant, useful way of presenting information.
Since each type of structure has its advantages and disadvantages, Web designers usually use them this way:
Hierarchical structure is used for over-all site planning.
The basic structure of most Web sites is hierarchical, but not strictly so.
Star, linear, and ring structures are used in small sites or
for portions of larger sites where the purpose makes them useful.
Chaos structure is added to a site in the form of global navigation
links: the links that make it possible to get from any page to the most important
pages on the site. Also, designers and authors can put links into any part of
their pages whenever it seems useful, taking advantage of the full power of
the Web as a hypermedia system.