Site Map
When
you create a large site, it can be quite helpful to the visitor
if you provide a "Site Map".
Site maps should be simple, compact layouts
of links, and they should show everything in a single view. Users go
to site maps if they are lost, frustrated, or looking for specific details
on a crowded site. Many users prefer to simply use the homepage to get
an overview of what a site offers. Users also commonly rely on search
or navigation bars that are included on most interior pages. The site
map must add something extra to these standard navigation methods.
A site map's main benefit is to give users an overview of the site's areas in a single glance by dedicating an entire page to a visualization of the information architecture. If designed well, this overview can include several levels of hierarchy, and yet not be so big that users lose their ability to grasp the map as a whole.
This site is small enough to not require a site map. However, below
the site map for this site, you will find a few examples of site
maps for increasingly complex web sites that hopefully will give you
a more complete understanding of this concept. This whole subject of
site maps can be confusing. Let me know if it is, and I will explain
it more fully when we meet to discuss your site.
Site map for this site:
Another way a map might look:
A larger more complicated site with a shopping cart :
A very large site showing how it all links together :
