WHAT IS A SITE MAP. Types of Site Maps. vertical. horizontal. A site map (or sitemap) is a

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1 WHAT IS A SITE MAP A site map (or sitemap) is a list of pages of a web site accessible to crawlers or users. It can be either a document in any form used as a planning tool for Web design, or a Web page that lists the pages on a Web site, typically organized in hierarchical fashion. Types of Site Maps there are site maps for humans and other for Search Engine Optization (SEO) horizontal vertical

2 WHY IS IT IMPORTANT The sitemap is used to map out the structure, navigation and page hierarchy. It will organize the order of the pages of the site, to create logical paths (so that the targeted users achieve the purpose of their visit). It can be shared, referred to, collaborated on by other project team members & stakeholders. This can be important when you need to explain to your client to achieve clarity and communicate to each other. Eventually you can then convert this into a XML sitemap. This will help enable more efficient Search Engine Optimization (SEO) when it comes to having more visibility in the results for searching on Google, Bing, etc.

3 WHEN DO WE BUILD A SITE MAP blueprint stages This will be after you have figured out the contract and have done all the research: Client survey, Client Analysis, Budget, Estimate, Contract.

4 WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS IN A SITE MAP Page ID Page Levels Sitemap legend/key types of sitemaps List View (outline view): simplest way to represent the page hierarchy, usually consists of texts. Diagrams: Horizontal tree diagram: organized chart style sitemap representation that consists of shapes, and legend. Vertical Tree diagram: useful for planning out linear stories/narrow hierarchies on multi-level sites

5 WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND user experience business goals page & content relationship correct labeling

6 HOW TO BUILD A SITE MAP Site maps can be created in an array of ways. One key aspect to keep in mind is the function of the site map. Not only is a sitemap a means to organize all navigation and content in an easy to understand way, but... Your sitemap can also be the key to greatly increasing the traffic on your site. As far as the basic function of organizing the navigation and content is concerned the sitemap can be made as a simple sketch, an editable computer file, such as an illustrator or word document, or it can be generated by using free software and design tools online.

7 HOW TO BUILD A SITE MAP When creating a sitemap it allows you to quickly see the exact path the user will be required to follow to access specific content on the website. The first step in creating the sitemap is to plot out the primary navigation of the site. For example a homepage with four links. After the primary navigation is complete each link may have sub navigation leading off of it.

8 HOW TO BUILD A SITE MAP It is incredibly important to note the use of the alphanumeric labeling system employed on our sitemap. By labeling each part of our site map i is easy to reference separate items simply by their alphanumeric label. for example, if the client felt that the content labeled as concept belonged under the product page it could be expressed as, please insert 4B above 2A. it may seem redundant on a sitemap this small but for larger sitemaps it is an important way of keeping things organized. Once the layout of the navigation is complete then you can begin to plug in content via a wireframe

9 HOW TO BUILD A SITE MAP The other important way to use a sitemap is to not only organize the information but to increase site traffic. By creating an XML file from a simple txt document w the code provided below, which can be found for free online you can submit the content of your site map to search engines. simply paste in the labels from your sitemap using the code save it as an XML files ( change all extensions to XML ) upload the file to your server access the webmaster tools most search engines allow webmasters to upload their site map

10 HOW TO BUILD A SITE MAP The site map now functions as a complete and highly accurate series of tags for your website. There are also many tutorials and helpful online resources for creating an XML sitemap such as... When to Create XML Sitemap Generators Slickplan.com (if you have a site that is large, this may be helpful in the future) Tutorial for XML sitemap

11 RESOURCES Creating a Website Sitemap: (more about wireframes) (how to create sitemaps) What is a sitemap blog: What is a sitemap and how to build one slides How to create a sitemap