A good information architecture (IA) is essential for a smooth user experience on the website. IA is how you organize and label your content so users can easily find what they need. One of the best ways to improve your IA is through card sorting. This article will show you how to use card sorting to make your website’s content easier to organize and navigate. By understanding how your users think and what they find important, you can create a website that feels natural and user-friendly.
What is Card Sorting?
Card sorting is a UX research method where participants organize topics into categories that make sense to them. This exercise helps us, UX designers understand how users perceive and categorize information, which in turn informs the structure and navigation of a website.
Types of Card Sorting
- Open Card Sorting: Participants create their own categories for the cards provided. This type reveals how users naturally group information, offering insights into their mental models.
- Closed Card Sorting: Participants sort cards into pre-defined categories. This type helps test the validity of existing categories and labels.
- Hybrid Card Sorting: Combines elements of both open and closed sorting, allowing participants to use predefined categories and create their own.
Benefits of Card Sorting
- User-Centered IA: Card sorting provides insights into how your target audience naturally thinks about organizing content or information. This alignment with users’ mental models is crucial for intuitive design.
- Prioritization of Content: By analyzing the results, you can determine which items or features are most important to users. This helps in prioritizing content and features effectively.
- Improved Navigation: Understanding how users perceive the hierarchy of information aids in creating intuitive navigation and organization.
- Identification of Pain Points: Card sorting can reveal potential usability issues in your product’s structure, enabling you to make informed design decisions for a more user-friendly experience.
How to Conduct a Card Sorting Exercise
- Define Objectives: Clarify what you want to learn from the card sorting exercise. Are you testing a new IA, refining an existing one, or exploring users’ mental models?
- Select Participants: Choose a representative sample of your target audience. Aim for a diverse group to gather varied perspectives.
- Prepare Cards: Create a set of cards representing the content or features of your website. Ensure the cards are clear and concise.
- Choose a Sorting Method: Decide whether open, closed, or hybrid card sorting is most appropriate for your objectives.
- Conduct the Sorting: Facilitate the sorting session, either in person or using online card sorting tools like OptimalSort or UXtweak.
- Analyze Results: Look for patterns and commonalities in how participants grouped the cards. Use this data to inform your IA decisions.
- Iterate: Based on the insights gained, refine your IA and test it with additional card sorting or other usability methods.
How to Conduct a Card Sorting with Lysnna
Lysnna’s card sorting template is an excellent tool for UX researchers and designers looking to optimize their website’s information architecture. First of all, if it’s your first time doing it, you can use their preview test to see how to create a card sorting exercise from scratch. The template guides you step-by-step, from the introductory card where you define the exercise for your participants, to the practical ideas on how you can use the template effectively. This comprehensive approach ensures that even beginners can successfully conduct a card sorting session and gain valuable insights.
Card sorting for improving Website sitemap for Georgia.Travel
We have collaborated with Georgia Travel on several occasions, and I want to recall a specific instance where card sorting was instrumental in defining the sitemap for the current website.
- Streamlined Categories:
- The current sitemap is organized into clear, distinct sections such as “Why Georgia,” “Destinations,” “Things to Do,” and “Useful Info,” each with well-defined subcategories.
- Consolidated Information:
- Redundant categories appear to have been merged. For example, “Food & Wine” and “Fine Dining, Drinking & Nightlife” might have been separate previously but are now logically grouped.
- Prioritized Content:
- Essential travel information like visas, safety, and medical info is easily accessible under “Useful Info,” indicating a prioritization of user needs.
- Balanced Detail:
- Each major section (e.g., “Things to Do,” “Regions,” “Cities & Towns”) now seems to have a balanced level of detail, avoiding the extremes of too much or too little information.
- Simplified Navigation:
- The structure appears less deep, suggesting that users can access most information within two to three clicks, reducing the complexity of navigation.
- Enhanced Visual Hierarchy:
- The sitemap likely uses visual design principles effectively to help users quickly understand the structure and navigate easily, though this improvement is more inferred from the logical organization rather than directly visible in the text.
Conclusion
Card sorting is a valuable method for optimizing your website’s information architecture. By understanding how users think about and organize content, you can create a more intuitive and user-friendly experience.
Using Lysnna’s card sorting template makes this process easy and efficient. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive tools, you can quickly gain insights into your users’ mental models. This helps you structure your website logically, improving navigation and overall user satisfaction. Incorporate Lysnna into your UX research to ensure your website meets your users’ needs effectively.
