- discovery and user research
- content inventory and analytics audit
- information architecture (IA) and wireframing
- web writing, accessibility, and AI optimization standards
- benchmarking and usability testing
- planning templates
As a Site Manager or Site Builder, you will work with functional owners and content contributors to structure information, curate content, and build an accessible, user-centered website.
This guide provides an overview to website planning, information architecture (IA), and content strategy. Use the companion Google Drive documents below to streamline your planning process.
Discovery and user research
Understanding who uses your website and what they need to accomplish is the foundation of site planning.
Target audience
Identify your key audience groups and their primary goals, e.g.:
- Prospective and current students: Admissions info, course details, deadlines, program requirements.
- Faculty and academic staff: Research resources, departmental governance, teaching schedules, directory listings.
- Administrative staff: Operational policies, internal workflows, service request forms.
- External community and alumni: News, public events, community services, partnership contacts.
Personas and task Identification
Create user personas to map out primary, secondary, and tertiary tasks for key visitor types.
- Persona attributes: Role, technical familiarity, visit frequency, primary goals, and pain points.
- Task list: Prioritize the top tasks visitors must complete quickly on your site.
User interviews
Gather feedback from representative visitors (3–5 per audience category) using key questions:
- What is your primary reason for visiting our website?
- How do you usually search for information (top navigation menu, site search bar, or external search engine)?
- What information or tasks are currently most frustrating to find or complete?
- What single feature or page on the site is most critical to your work?
Content inventory and analytics audit
Before designing new navigation, evaluate existing content and review quantitative traffic data.
Content inventory
Use the Website Content Inventory (Google Sheet) to log every page on your existing site.
- Track page URLs, primary content owners, recommended actions, and target personas.
- Flag outdated content for removal or 301 redirection.
Web analytics and traffic audit
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Identify your top-visited pages, entry points, bounce points, and popular internal search terms.
- Siteimprove / Quality Assurance: Review existing accessibility errors, page visit metrics, broken links, and misspellings.
Information architecture (IA) and wireframing
Information Architecture organizes site content into an intuitive, scannable structure.
Navigation hierarchy
Maintain a clean, shallow navigation structure (aim for no more than 3 levels deep):
- Level 1 (Global Navigation): Main category hubs (e.g., *About Us*, *Programs*, *Research*, *Resources*, *Contact*).
- Level 2 (Section Landing Pages): Topic hubs within a main category.
- Level 3 (Child Pages): Detail pages and specific items.
Sitemaps and visual wireframing
Map out visual user flows and page wireframes using collaborative tools or creating simple sketches:
- Figma / FigJam: High-fidelity wireframing, layout components, and interactive prototypes. (Figma for Education)
- Miro: Visual sitemapping, card sorting, and user journey mapping. (Miro for Education)
- Paper / whiteboard sketching: Quick draft concepts on paper or whiteboard.
Web writing, accessibility, and AI optimization standards
Web content must be scannable, concise, accessible, and easy for both human visitors and AI search engines (like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude) to discover and understand.
The habits that make content accessible to humans are the exact same habits that optimize it for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Digital writing best practices
- Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Follow every heading immediately with a 1–2 sentence direct answer before expanding with details. This supports fast mobile scanning, screen reader navigation, and zero-click AI search answers.
- Intent-driven headings: Use clear, logical H2 and H3 headings structured around real user questions (e.g., "What are the application deadlines?").
- Tables and lists over dense prose: Put program requirements, schedules, fees, and step-by-step tasks into HTML tables or lists. Structured data is vastly easier for visitors to scan and prevents AI engines from parsing information inaccurately.
- Descriptive links and explicit nouns: Use descriptive link text that explains the destination (e.g., "Review Graduate Application Deadlines" instead of "Click Here"). Replace vague pronouns ("This program offers...") with explicit entity names ("The Master of Public Health program offers...") so context remains clear when content is cited in search snippets.
- Plain language: Avoid institutional acronyms, internal jargon, and passive voice.
Media and document accessibility
- Image alt text: Provide concise, meaningful alternative text for all informational images. Never embed essential text inside image files.
- Accessible attachments: Ensure downloadable PDFs or documents meet accessibility standards, or migrate document content directly into web pages for better search indexing and mobile readability.
Benchmarking and usability testing
Identify best practices from peer institutions and test new websites and navigation with users.
External review
Evaluate 3–5 peer institution websites or industry leaders using the External Review & Usability Testing Framework (Google doc):
- Compare navigation labeling, home page layout strategies, and key task pathways.
- Note best practices and innovative features to adapt for your site.
Usability testing
Once you have a staging site or other updated environment, conduct 20-minute testing sessions with key users:
- Ask participants to perform core tasks (e.g., "find contact info for an advisor" or "submit a support ticket").
- Observe user paths, track task completion rates, and record feedback to refine layout and content labeling before launch.
Planning templates
Use these Google Drive template documents to manage your website planning project (go to File > Make a copy to create your own copy of each document):