Understanding Site Maps

Creating a site map for your website is key to knowing 1) the number of pages your website will have, and 2) how your visitors will navigate through those pages.

I have created the video below to walk you through creating a site map for your project and to show you how I will make a flowchart of your site map to use in the design and development process.

Here are some terms to know when working on your site map:

• A site map document that shows a global, hierarchical view of a website’s pages and content. This is usually one of the first steps in a website redesign, as it is important to know what content is needed on a website before the design begins. A site map can also be a web page that offers links to all the pages within a website.
• Your website navigation menu represents the navigational elements that appear on a website. While it primarily refers to the “menu bar” located at the top of a website or along either side, it can also include textual links at the bottom of the page.
• A menu is a list of links to help a website visitor navigate through a website. Typically, the primary navigation “menu bar” of a website is displayed next to the logo at the top of the website in a row. Menus can also be displayed in a website sidebar and footer.
• A submenu is a term used to describe a menu that is contained within another menu. The use of a sub-menu involves a strategy of nesting one menu inside another.