4. Hierarchy
Website Structure & Sitemap
The next stage is to define your site’s structure using a visual sitemap—a tool to map out how your content is organised and how users will navigate it.
This sitemap should be guided by the customer personas and user journeys created earlier. It shapes your navigation, though while the sitemap remains fairly static, navigation can be flexible, as remember there may be multiple ways to reach the same content.
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A well-structured site helps users achieve their goals faster and enables search engines to better understand your content, which improves discoverability and supports campaigns and user journeys.
4.1. The Filing Cabinet Analogy
Think of your sitemap like a filing cabinet:
· The cabinet is your website.
· Each drawer is a category or section.
· Each folder inside is an individual page.
Just as a tidy filing system helps people find documents easily, a good sitemap makes it easier for both users and search engines to navigate and understand your site.
4.2. SEO & Structural Context
Many view SEO at the page level, but strong SEO comes from context: where the page sits on your site, how it’s linked, who wrote it, and what it’s surrounded by.
For example, before even reading content on a page like: www.myfoodblog.com/recipes/vegan/
Google already understands its place within the site structure and its subject, especially if the author is known for vegan content.
This broader context enhances SEO. While search engines are driving less organic traffic than before, they’re still the biggest source, and aligning structural and on-page SEO is crucial to earning clicks.
4.3. Sitemap Terminology
In this guide “sitemap” refers to a visual planning tool, not the HTML page list or XML sitemap used by search engines. It’s simply a way to organise your content and map the ideal structure for your website.
4.4. Why Sitemap?
When people browse the web, they are almost on autopilot, and everything needs to be intuitive and follow conventions. I like the KISS (keep it simple stupid) mentality that “if you confuse them, you lose them,” and websites are no different.
A poorly structured website is hard to navigate and makes no sense. A well-structured website is intuitive, and users can move around quickly without stopping and thinking!
The overall design and navigation play a part here, but the design layers over the structure and a great design can’t fix a poor structure.
To understand why to sitemap, we should look at common problems with website structure so you know what to avoid.
Common issues include:
1. Complex Hierarchies
If users need to click too many times to find content, they’ll get lost. Keep it within three clicks where at all possible and have different navigation options.
2. No Logical Grouping
Related content should be grouped logically. Poor categorisation leads to user frustration and if it starts bad then it will absolutely get worse with time.
3. Duplicate or Overlapping Categories
Redundant pages or fuzzy categories confuse users and dilute SEO. A sitemap highlights these issues early.
4. Orphan Pages
Pages with no internal links are hard to find for users and search engines alike.
5. Flat or Overly Deep Structure
Site structures can be deep or wide but you should, where possible, avoid extremes. Structure content like a filing cabinet, easy to explore without digging too deep or being overwhelmed with choices.
6. Poor URL Structure
A sitemap ensures order which in turn provides you with sensible, common sense URLs that are easy for users and search engines to understand.
7. Lack of Clear User Journeys
Users should always know where they are and how to get to what they need. Breadcrumbs help, but only if the underlying structure makes sense.
8. No Room for Growth
If your structure can’t scale, new content will create chaos. Plan for expansion from the start.
9. SEO Challenges
Structure helps define a page’s relevance. Without it, search engines and users get mixed signals, reducing trust and traffic.
10. Weak On-Site Search
CMS search tools are often poor by default. Smart use of taxonomies improves search by grouping content meaningfully (e.g., services, products, case studies). This allows for the configuration of more useful search functionality.
Stakeholder Involvement
Perhaps the biggest benefit of a sitemap is collaboration. Visualising the structure invites feedback from stakeholders, even those with little time or technical knowledge. It turns abstract architecture into something everyone can comment and agree on.
The goal is to propose the best structure, then challenge it. The more feedback and criticism you invite, the better and more resilient your final structure will be.
4.5. Site Mapping
Okay, so now we need to create our sitemap.
Remember that this does not have to be perfect the first time. Instead, you are getting your ideas down and discussing them with your team to mould it into shape.
Remember, this is an iterative process, get your structure down and then challenge it!
How to Sitemap
The size and structure of the site will dictate the approach here but the basic options are:
1. List – make a list that shows the site sections.
2. Visual sitemap – this can be a sketch or use a digital tool.
1. List
A list can be as simple as a bulleted list.
- Home
- About Us
- Services
- Service A
- Service B
- Service C
- Blog
- Blog A
- Blog B
- Case Studies
- Category A
- Case Study 1
- Case Study 2
- Category B
- Category C
- Category A
- Contact
Ideally, you would create this list in a spreadsheet and use indentation or different columns to provide a visual clue of what level each page sits at.
A spreadsheet allows for a numbered approach, which I like to number in relation to the parent category:
- Services
- SEO
- PPC
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Ads
- Content
- Etc
2. Visual Sitemap
You can create a visual sitemap in a couple of ways.
· Simple Sketch
· Whiteboard & Post-It Notes
· Digital Drawing
Even if you sketch it out, you will likely want a digital copy so it is easy to manage changes and evolve the sitemap.
I like the Octopus.do tool, which is free for a single project but you are free to use any drawing tool you are comfortable with.
You can also get a group of your stakeholders together in a room and use post-it notes on a whiteboard – I quite like this approach as it is visual and tends to drive engaged discussions more so than doing over a video call or asking for feedback.
4.6. Navigation
Having a well structured website gets you half of the way to having a well structured navigation. However, your navigation does not have to map directly to the structure of your website and you don’t have to have only one specific way to browse the site.
There are several benefits of a well planned website navigation.
Enhances User Experience
Intuitive navigation helps users find what they need quickly, with tools like breadcrumbs clarifying where they are and how to move through the site.
Improves Accessibility
Clear structure ensures all users, including those using assistive tech, can interact with your site effectively.
Drives Engagement
Strong navigation keeps users exploring your site, reduces bounce rates, and encourages interaction with related content.
Boosts Conversions
Calls-to-action and clear links guide users toward key goals – buying, signing up, or getting in touch.
Supports SEO
Search engines rely on well-structured navigation to crawl and index your site more efficiently.
Builds Credibility
A thoughtful, well-organised menu shows users you care about their experience and builds trust in your brand.
Improves Mobile Usability
Responsive navigation ensures a smooth journey across all devices, especially on smaller screens.
Multiple Navigation Paths
Simple sites will generally have a simple navigation that maps to the main sections of the site. This may be several top level elements like Home, About-Us & Contact and then some sub level elements like services (Services > Service A, Service B etc).
As an example, a college will offer a number of courses and a number of different qualifications. You may structure by qualifications but allow browsing by course subject and by qualification type.
Likewise, an e-commerce store selling movies may allow someone to browse by category (action movies), by actor or by format (DVD or BlueRay).
The site will only have one physical structure but your navigation should support the obvious user journeys.
Navigation Elements
Whilst all sites consider a main navigation that is far from the only way to navigate and there are several options to consider (and do what is best for your user and objectives).
Here are the key types to consider:
Main Menu – Primary navigation bar, usually at the top.
Secondary Menu – Often used for business info like About or Careers, separate from core
services.
Breadcrumbs – Show users where they are in the site structure.
Footer Navigation – Repeats key links and includes policies or contact details.
Sidebar Menu – Vertical navigation for filters or additional links.
Dropdown & Mega Menus – Expandable or large panel menus.
Hamburger Menu – Mobile-friendly collapsible icon menu.
CTAs & Internal Links – Guide users toward actions or related content.
Search Bar – Lets users find specific content directly.
Pagination & Tabs – For navigating multi-page or sectioned content.
Sticky Nav & Anchor Links – Menus or links that help with page-level navigation.
Related Links & Back-to-Top – Encourage exploration or quick scrolling.
Takeaway: Don’t limit your navigation to just a top bar, combine elements to create a flexible, user-friendly experience across devices and content types.
4.7. Some final thoughts on sitemapping
The Best Approach?
There is no real right or wrong here.
The point is that you can map out variations and then discuss how it impacts the experience for your website users.
The idea is to talk this through and gain a consensus on the way forward. Ideally, this would also be informed by learnings from your current site, competitors, and problems – everything we look at in the research stage.
Using Goals to Navigate Disagreements
There will be disagreements. Navigated properly these can be useful. The trick here is to use the goals as a way to navigate disagreements and determine the way forward.
Does this structure support our goals? Which approach best serves the goal?
The goals are the arbitrators of the discussion.
The final structure supports the goals.
There is no best approach
There is no best approach – it is what works for your needs.
I would generally start with a simple indented list in a spreadsheet. Then when you have some initial revisions based on early feedback, draw that out in a sitemap tool.
Actions
· Finalise your sitemap to best serve your visitors and support your goals.
· Document all navigation elements and user journeys
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