Re: Are Site Maps still a "best practice"?

Here's a site where I wouldn't even begin to know where to look for a  
site map, let alone use one if were present. I maintain that so many  
assumptions are made about internet navigation and communication--it  
needs to be English, it needs to be written text, it must be Verdana,  
it must have a nav bar, etc.--that user ID/testing is the only certain  
means to determine if the message has been received.

Professional opinions, Not-so Professional opinions, and all In- 
between opinions mean nothing to actual end-use.

Scientific study of human behavior is the only true indicator.

Greg
On Mar 2, 2010, at 2:37 PM, Carrie Lee wrote:

> If i remember correctly, Jared Spool said that about site maps  
> because many
> people were adding them to their site as a solution to major
> navigation/search problems.
>
> Spool also said this:
> "Site maps have their place and we're not suggesting that you dump  
> them
> entirely. Search engine spiders crawl through the site map to find  
> the pages
> that are hard to find otherwise on your site, so you wouldn't want to
> eliminate them unless those pages are now accessible some other way."
>
> I believe site maps should still be used. They should definitely not  
> be the
> only way people navigate your site, but there is still a small  
> percentage of
> people who may go to this when for one reason or another, they cant  
> find
> what they are looking for on your site. To me, its like adding a "last
> resort" for customers to stop them from abandoning your site from a
> frustration that no one anticipated.
>
> Thanks,
> Carrie
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 9:35 AM, Zoey Kroll <[email protected]>  
> wrote:
>
>> I'm wondering if I should start including site maps in my navigation
>> recommendations, as a best practice. I had been under the impression
>> that a well-designed site shouldn't need a site map. A client is now
>> asking whether to include it or not. From a quick search, I couldn't
>> find any usability studies from 2009 or 2010 on the subject. Most
>> sites recommended site maps along the 'can't hurt' motto -- though
>> these do add one more item on the 'to create and maintain' list.
>>
>> Nielson's '08 study indicates that 7% of people use it, and that it's
>> still a useful feature that should be included. http://www.useit.com/
>> alertbox/sitemaps.html
>> Jared Spool believes it is often a "design cop-out" that addresses
>> symptoms, but not the root of the issue. Does anyone have more
>> current research, or thoughts on this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Zoey
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Greg Austin
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