skills.rest
coreyone
coreyoneCOMMUNITY
Explore all skills by this author →
GitHub

design-information-architecture-rules

Design navigation hierarchies, taxonomies, search facets, and wayfinding systems for digital products.

1|Updated Jun 29, 2026
Search Tags:#information architecture#sitemap#taxonomy#ux#faceted search#wayfinding#navigation design
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/coreyone/software-maestro --skill design-information-architecture-rules-coreyone
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: design-information-architecture-rules
Source: https://github.com/coreyone/software-maestro/tree/main/design/interaction-and-layout/design-information-architecture-rules
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/coreyone/software-maestro --skill design-information-architecture-rules-coreyone

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? Users abandon products when they cannot find content or understand where they are. This Skill provides a first-principles playbook for structuring information so users can find, understand, and act with minimal effort. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Navigation & Wayfinding Design: Build global, local, utility, and contextual navigation with breadcrumbs, hub pages, and "you are here" cues. - Taxonomy & Search Architecture: Create controlled vocabularies, faceted classification, metadata schemas, synonym dictionaries, and zero-results recovery. - IA Testing & Governance: Run tree tests, card sorts, and first-click tests, then enforce ownership, change control, and quarterly pruning. - Use Case: When redesigning a documentation portal, use this Skill to audit the content inventory, model content types, design a 2-3 level category hierarchy with facets, and validate labels through tree testing before shipping. ## Quick Start Use the design-information-architecture-rules skill to design a sitemap, navigation model, and faceted search structure for my multi-product SaaS portal.

Frequently Asked Questions about design-information-architecture-rules

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I design a sitemap and navigation hierarchy for a website?▼

Start with a content inventory and audit, model content types before organizing, then build a 2-3 level category hierarchy based on user goals rather than org structure. Validate the structure with tree testing and first-click testing before shipping.

How to create faceted search and taxonomy for a content platform?▼

Define orthogonal facets like topic, format, audience, and difficulty with consistent, non-overlapping values. Maintain a controlled vocabulary with preferred terms and synonyms, and assign an owner to govern changes.

What is the difference between categories and facets in information architecture?▼

Categories form hierarchical browse paths, while facets are orthogonal filters applied to result sets. Never mix classification bases like audience, topic, and format as siblings at the same hierarchy level.

How do I test whether my navigation labels work for users?▼

Use tree testing to validate structure and labels without UI, card sorting to discover mental models, and first-click testing to check expectations. Aim for 70-80% task success on critical findability tasks.

When should I not use deep navigation hierarchies?▼

Avoid deep hierarchies built to mirror org charts, as they increase backtracking and drop-offs. Prefer 2-3 levels with hub pages as landmarks, and use search with synonyms and facets as a parallel findability path.

Related Skills

Explore More Design & Creative Skills→
rcarmorcarmo
816

web-search-summary

Search the web via SearXNG and summarize fetched page content.

Community
Intermediate
MiguelAngelLHMiguelAngelLH

wordpress-theme-to-emdash

Convert WordPress theme PHP templates to EmDash CMS Astro components.

Community
Advanced
musher-devmusher-dev

auditing-docs-metrics

Audit developer documentation effectiveness by computing KPIs like Time to First Success.

Official
Advanced
balintbrewsbalintbrews
14

canvas-component-composability

Design composable Canvas components using slots-first decomposition patterns.

Community
Intermediate