Let your users advise you on the structure of your website.

Your website contains information waiting to be found. For a large part, the navigation structure of your website determines whether or not the desired information can be reached instantly. Obviously, the arrangement of information has to be logical and easy to sort through. If you have plans to restructure your website, or if you have doubts about the navigation structure and arrangement of information on your website, now is the time to conduct an online card sort research.

Outline

MetrixLab's Online Information Card Sort or ICS© consists of making an inventory of the best structure for your website based on the wishes and demands of a large number of your users. This approach will provide you with the information needed to obtain the desired excellent structure and classification of your website's topics.

Methodology and setup

With ICS©, users are presented with the various items of the website. They are asked to divide these items into categories according to their personal preferences. Depending on what type of card sort is agreed upon, they are subsequently asked to name these categories. Based on the different arrangements of a large group of users, a usability expert of MetrixLab will determine exactly what structure and arrangement is appropriate for your website. The findings are reported back to you in a clear-cut proposal for a new arrangement or sitemap.

The major advantage of MetrixLab's ICS© is its online characteristic. This feature allows us to draw many users into the research in a short time and question them on their opinion of the website's arrangement and structure. As a result, we are able to offer a more reliable output.

MetrixLab distinguishes two types in ICS©:

• Closed Card Sort – The categories in which the items are to be placed are fixed.
• Open Card Sort – The categories in which the items are to be placed can be determined and named by the users.

We are happy to advise you on the appropriate method for your situation. In general, the option of category naming can be very useful; it informs you on the most important items and categories from your users' point of view.

Your benefits

MetrixLab's ICS© generates a structure of your website that is based on the way your actual users see the elements of the website in relation to one another and on the arrangement of the information that is logical to them. Furthermore, MetrixLab offers you

• an in-depth analysis of the card sort results by one of our top usability experts.
• a comprehensive report that consists of a proposal for a new structure of the website (a sitemap), arguments for the choices made and, if applicable, an overview of all given category names.
• a research time of about a week, from the moment the card sort is online until the delivery of the report.

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