Tag
IA
22 posts with this tag.
Write the redirect before you delete the page
Deleting a page without planning the redirect means broken links and lost traffic. Decide where visitors should land before you hit delete.
Content audits start with what you can count
You don't need a spreadsheet with forty columns. Start by counting what's actually there, then decide what matters.
Write button labels that complete the user's sentence
Button text should finish the thought your interface started. If users have to guess what happens next, your label failed.
Tag taxonomy before you tag a single post
Your CMS will let you create tags on the fly. That doesn't mean you should.
Alt text for people who won't see the image
Write descriptions that work when the image doesn't load, not captions that assume it did.
Default sort order is an editorial decision
How you order lists, tables, and archives shapes what users think matters. Set defaults deliberately, not by accident.
Paragraph breaks are structural decisions, not pauses
Most writers treat paragraph breaks like breath marks in sheet music. That's backwards—breaks are load-bearing structure that controls how readers process information.
Footer links are last-resort navigation
If people need your footer to find something critical, your main navigation already failed. Treat footers as cleanup, not strategy.
Version control for content isn't just for developers
Track what changed, when, and why — without learning Git or relying on CMS revision logs that expire.
Consistent terminology beats clever synonyms
Using different words for the same thing doesn't improve your writing. It confuses people and breaks their search attempts.
Content chunks that actually chunk
Breaking content into sections isn't just visual spacing—it's a structural decision that determines whether your page can be scanned, understood, and used.
Link text that survives getting skimmed
Most people never read the sentence around your link. Write anchors that work in isolation or stop pretending accessibility matters.
Navigation labels are interface copy, not branding
Your navigation isn't a place to be clever. It's wayfinding infrastructure that fails the moment someone has to guess what a link does.
Subheadings that actually subdivide
Most subheadings just restate the topic. Good ones show structure, set expectations, and let scanners jump straight to the part they need.
Page titles for people who don't read your nav
A page title needs to work when someone lands there from search, a link, or a bookmark — without any surrounding context. Here's how to write titles that orient people instantly.
Content templates aren't forms to fill in
Templates should guide decisions, not replace them. Here's how to build content templates that actually improve consistency without flattening everything into Mad Libs.
Redirects are documentation your future self will need
Every redirect you set up is a tiny piece of institutional memory. Treat them like the load-bearing infrastructure they are, not cleanup tasks.
Breadcrumbs that actually tell users where they are
Most breadcrumb trails break at the worst moment—when users need orientation. Here's how to build navigation that survives real content sprawl.
Taxonomy before taxonomy: name your buckets once
Most sites drown in overlapping categories because no one sat down first. Define your buckets before you file a single page.
URL structure you can maintain for ten years
Good URL patterns survive redesigns and organizational changes. Plan them with durability, not cleverness.
One H1 per page is not a rule
The single-H1 myth survives because it used to matter and now it's just cargo cult. Current HTML and search care about hierarchy, not counting.
Information architecture before voice
Personality is paint. IA is the load-bearing walls. Paint the walls after they stand.