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

One nice use of the site map is to present it on the custom 404 error 
page and if possible, when search results fail.

Roan

Ernest Kinsolving wrote:
> Good point, Matty.  A site map is a tool, and a way of presenting
> information; it's really neither intrinsically good nor bad.  For certain
> sites and for certain purposes, it's a perfect way to communicate structure
> to the user.  For others, it's (ideally) unnecessary except for the bots.
> Like any other element of design, its value depends on the context.
>
> -- Ernest
>
> On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 10:32 AM, M S <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>   
>> Er, while I think sitemaps may be necessary for bots to crawl, don't you
>> think you've failed the user if they need to rely on a sitemap to get the
>> lay of the land and navigate their way through the site?
>>
>> -Matty
>>
>> On Mar 4, 2010, at 3:09 PM, Hanhwe Kim wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> Carrie and Asta make excellent points. I remember a running into some
>>> sites where it was exceedingly frustrating to navigate for various
>>> reasons that I would have abandoned if it were not for the site map.
>>> It doesn't happen that often but when you need the site map, it is
>>> indeed the last resort.
>>>
>>> On Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 12:02 PM,  <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>       
>>>> I just checked our usage reports and it looks like a mere 0.05% of the
>>>> page requests by non-bots are for the site map.  Probably far fewer than
>>>> 7% of our visitors, then.
>>>>
>>>> However, I will keep the site map for two reasons:  One, the 0.05% of
>>>> users, and Two, the bots.  There are numerous pages on our other public
>>>> site that Googlebot et al. wouldn't be able to find and index, were it
>>>>         
>> not
>>     
>>>> for the site map.  The site map provides the only path in via links.
>>>>         
>>  (The
>>     
>>>> other site's content isn't available to human users without entering a
>>>> search term -- which I think is a huge usability failure, but then
>>>>         
>> Google
>>     
>>>> itself has the same issue.)
>>>>
>>>> Genny Engel
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>>> 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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