Information architecture is the science of figuring out what you want your site to do and then constructing a blueprint before you dive in and put the thing together.

Gnaritus first looks at how to define your site's goals, shedding light on the all-important art of collecting clients' or co-workers' opinions and assembling them in a coherent, weighted order of importance.

The next step is figuring out who the heck your audiences are going to be. Once that's out of the way, you can start organizing your future site into pages of content and functions that the site will need to have.

Information architecture (also known as IA) is the foundation for great Web design. It is the blueprint of the site upon which all other aspects are built - form, function, metaphor, navigation and interface, interaction, and visual design. Initiating the IA process is the first thing you should do when designing a site. This series of articles describes specific methods and processes for developing a site's information architecture.

Clients sometimes view the development of an IA to be impractical, both in terms of the time it takes and the skill needed to do it effectively. But this mentality is slowly changing. A good IA is incredibly effective, and knowing the basics of the IA process can save both time and money in the long run. Also, you don't need to be an expert to use it to your advantage.

• Define the Audience
• Create Scenarios
• Competitive Analysis
• Design Document: Audience, Scenarios, and Competitive Analysis
• Introduction
• What you'll need
• Steps
• ALternative Methods