How should you plan website content categories, page hierarchy, and navigation?

A website’s structure should reflect its content topics, scale, and user tasks: sites with clear categories can use a hierarchical structure, tasks that must be completed in order can use sequential flows, and sites with large amounts of data or content spanning multiple topics can consider search and cross-linking. First decide how to group content and how pages relate to one another, then plan menus and breadcrumbs. The goal is to make important content easy to find, not to impose a fixed number of categories or levels.

Start with the content the website offers

Information architecture involves more than mapping out menus. It also includes content organization and maintenance, page relationships, and navigation labels. Start by listing the site’s core topics, products, or services, then group related content so visitors can understand what the site offers.

When categories grow large, divide them into subcategories. For example, footwear can be divided into boots, heels, and flats, each linking to product pages. The number of categories should reflect the actual content; there is no need to add vague categories just to fill out the structure. Although Semrush’s WordPress guide suggests that four to five parent categories are enough for most sites, this is a recommendation, not a limit for every website.

Choose a structure based on browsing needs, not just page count

• Hierarchical: Progresses from broad categories to more specific ones. It suits content sites and online stores with clearly defined categories, such as a path from clothing to tops to individual products.
• Sequential: Suits tasks with a defined order, such as checkout or guided registration. It can be used for specific processes within a website rather than applied sitewide.
• Matrix: Uses cross-links between related pages to let readers explore freely. It suits sites with interconnected content, such as Wikipedia.
• Database: Suits large-scale data environments, such as large marketplaces and forums, using search and internal links to support navigation. The team’s programming capabilities also need to be assessed.

An article on Neil Patel’s website favors a hierarchical structure as a starting point for SEO, but it also presents other options for different purposes. This does not mean every website should use the same structure.

Keep the hierarchy streamlined, with distinct roles for menus and breadcrumbs

When planning from scratch, you can start with a framework of “homepage, main categories, individual pages,” then add subcategories as the site grows. The purpose of a shallow structure is to keep important pages from being too far from the homepage, not to eliminate necessary groupings.

The homepage should link to important pages, and the main menu should show core categories rather than cram every link into one place. Large websites can use a separate menu for functions such as account management. Navigation labels should clearly reflect the destination page’s content, while breadcrumbs show its place in the hierarchy, helping visitors orient themselves and return to higher levels.

Map the paths between pages, too

Beyond categories, plan how related content will connect. A blog can use a pillar page that covers a topic comprehensively and links to articles on individual subtopics, with those articles linking back to the pillar page. Also check for orphan pages with no internal links pointing to them to reduce the risk of content being difficult to discover.

Before development, use a visual sitemap to map out the hierarchy, navigation flows, and links between pages. This lets the team confirm how users can reach the content before production begins.