What Is A Website Structure

Types of website structure

There are four different types of website structure. Most standard websites will follow a hierarchical structure, using navigation menus. But depending on your needs, a different structure could be a better fit for your site and target audience.

1. Hierarchical (also known as tree): A visitor starts on a homepage and goes deeper in the site using menus to find specific pages. It's used on everything from ecommerce sites and portfolios to major companies' sites, and is recommended by Google for SEO.

2. Sequential (also known as linear): This takes visitors through a site step-by-step, like a guided tour. Online courses and checkout processes are good examples. Small businesses with limited content often use this layout because it streamlines the customer journey to a booking or purchase.

3. Matrix (also known as webbed): A matrix structure is a large network of linked pages, which gives visitors freedom to browse. It's often used in large sites with interconnected content, like large online stores, news websites, or sites like Squarespace.

4. Database (also known as dynamic): This structure relies heavily on visitors' ability to search the site and find their own navigation paths. It's particularly useful for sites with a lot of user-generated content, such as social media platforms or online forums, because it offers flexibility and scalability. It's also useful for websites that have a large amount of content.

Why does website structure matter?

Creating a website with a clear, logical structure is important for several reasons. Your site structure impacts the user experience and search-friendliness of your website, which influences whether people can discover your pages and their impression of you or your business.

Better user experience (UX)

Think about the last time you used a website and couldn't find the information you were looking for. That frustration makes you quickly exit, means you're less likely to return, and probably leaves you with a less positive impression of the brand-all of that impacts a brand's relationship with its audience.

A good website structure helps you achieve:

• Easy navigation: Clear navigation menus and consistent layouts guide visitors through your content smoothly, reducing frustration and increasing the chances of them interacting with your pages and products.

• Longer page dwell time: Visitors are more likely to spend more time on your site when they can quickly and intuitively find what they're looking for.

• Lower bounce rates: Visitors are more likely to explore more of your site rather than leaving immediately, which reduces bounce rates (the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page) and makes them more likely to convert or return.

Improved search engine optimization (SEO)

Better SEO makes you easier to find and discover for new visitors. Search engines consider several factors when ranking your website in search results. The more clearly you can structure the information on your website, the easier it is for them to understand why it's helpful and relevant.

Site structure can impact SEO factors like:

• Crawlability: Search engines use bots to crawl through your site's content to figure out what your site is all about. If your site is well-structured, it's easier for ‌bots to discover and rank your content, increasing the likelihood it appears in search results.

• Internal linking: Linking relevant pages to each other within your site helps search engines understand how the pages are related. That gives it a clearer picture of how your site is relevant to a certain topic, improving your chances to rank for those searches.

• Keywords and content organization: Organizing your website naturally organizes your content around specific topics and keywords, which helps search engines understand the focus of each page. This clarity improves the chances of ranking for target keywords.

• Sitemap and indexing: A clear XML sitemap, helps search engines understand the hierarchy and relationships between pages, ensures that all significant pages are indexed. Squarespace sites come with a site map that includes the URLs for all pages on your site and image metadata for SEO-friendly indexing.

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