One of our strengths here at Sanmita is information architecture. We’re expert at analyzing a website’s structure and flow, and building sites that offer the best experience, from a home page on down. We want our clients’ websites to showcase their best work, and we strive for users to easily access that information.
Our latest information architecture task is working with our partners at Cornell University’s Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research to revamp their site’s structure. BTI offers a dynamic website loaded with great information, but it can be hard for users to navigate. Some of the information is repeated in different sections. We are working with BTI to solve these navigation issues. We’re also helping reorganize the website’s sections. The goal is to improve the BTI site’s flow and organization, while preserving the content that works and streamlining the user experience.
To create the BTI site’s new architecture, we’re drawing on our experience building other higher education websites and Google Analytics data. With any IA project (BTI included), we start by analyzing a site’s current information and inventory, then we research what users are seeking. From there, we look to refine the structure, improving the users experience and eliminating any gaps.
As part of our work with BTI, we’re also refreshing the BTI site design. The new design is clean and powerful, and it will run on our exclusive CMS, AcademicsWeb. We’ll share a sneak peak of the design soon.
Our information architecture work is informing many of the design changes. Some are very subtle. For example, BTI already has social media badges on its site, but we’re moving them to a prominent place at the top of the home page to promote interactions. Similarly, the site currently features a “donate” tab in the horizontal navigation, but we’ve separated that out into its own box to highlight the option to give. The goal is that the increased visibility will lead to more contributions.
Check back soon for more news on the BTI site launch!