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The content for your web site follows from identifying your
users and their reasons for visiting the site. If you've got
a list of potential users, their reasons for visiting the
site, and what they will find when they get there, then you
have a ready made content description.
There are also web-based services that provide daily or weekly
updated content that you can include
in your site, if relevant.
Arranging your content into a site structure can be done
on paper first, in the form of a site map. The diagram above
shows a typical hierarchical site map but you might want to
use alternative maps depending on the
purpose of your site.
It's easy to fall into the trap of arranging everything according
to your own understanding of the material, but don't forget
you're a relative expert in your own area, and your web site
visitors may not understand your jargon, or be familiar with
your organisational structure.
Also remember, it's not all down to you. There are methods
you can use to involve others (ideally people similar to your
target audience) to help you organise the material in a way
that makes sense to them.
This site structuring process is sometimes referred to as
information architecture and is closely related to designing
the navigational elements in the next stage of the web publishing
process:- page design.
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