February 27, 2019
There are lots of different elements that need to come together during the website development process. This includes everything from the design of the template to the content on the pages to the functionality of the CMS – Content Management System. One of the first and most important things you will need, however, is a sitemap.
A sitemap sets the course for the rest of the development. It can be changed at almost any stage throughout the process, but getting it right from the start will ensure you get a user-friendly website that will deliver on your objectives.
A sitemap is a bit like an organisational chart. Instead of showing you the hierarchy of individuals in a company, however, a sitemap outlines the hierarchy of pages on a website. It also shows how each of those pages is connected.
So, at the top, you will have your homepage and other top-level pages, with all the pages linking from them at the level below. This continues for as many sub-levels as your website has.
Your website will likely have two different versions of a sitemap:
As the latter is dynamic, it automatically updates whenever you add a new page to your website. This helps Google find all your pages as well as helping it understand how they connect together.
This blog is about the first type of sitemap, though – the one you manually create at the start of the website development process.
Wherever you choose to get website development in Auckland, you should make sure the creation of a sitemap is included in the process.
Without a sitemap, the developer has no choice but to create pages in an ad hoc fashion, with no clear direction on which pages should be included and how they should connect. This results in a haphazard website that is often confusing for visitors to use.
The benefits of creating a sitemap include:
The process of creating a sitemap doesn’t take long, although the more time you can devote to it the better it will be.
How do you make sure your sitemap is as good as possible?
The most important tip is to make sure you focus on your website’s visitors:
By focusing on the above, you will create a sitemap that puts the user first.