★ Extremely large
★ Many levels deep
★ Made up of microsites & subsections
★ Cater to many audiences
★ Have multiple entry points
MEGA SITE
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Two approaches
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Separation
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Unification
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Why mega sites often divide
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Why mega sites often divide
Wide offerings
Large, diverse, user groups
Siloed business units
Complex organisational structures
Internal politics
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Pros for a single site Cons for a single site
Pros for a multi site Cons for a multi site
Pros and cons exercise
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HOW TO DECIDE
★ Market positioning
★ Users mental model
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No content
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Challenges of mega sites
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Dealing with visual identity
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Creating a consistent user experience
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Dealing with complexity of navigation
OUCH!
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I am a prospective student from Mexico
I want to speak to a representative in my
country
So I can decided if I wish to study at
the University of Strathclyde.
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Studying > Prospective students > International students > Information for international students > Mexico >
Overseas representatives > Anglo Latino Education Partnership
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★ Users only be interested in section
★ Deep linking into the site
★ Redundant pages only used to navigate
★ No space left for content!
CHALLENGES!
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No content
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★ Users only be interested in section
★ Deep linking into the site
★ Redundant pages only used to navigate
★ No space left for content!
CHALLENGES!
★ Replication of labelling
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No content
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Solutions to the navigation problem
4
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Remove the navigation
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Advantages
Limitless size
Great for deep linking
More flexible
Disadvantages
Will users get it?
Will content managers get it?
Reliant on good tagging and curation
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Splitting into sub sites
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Advantages
Easier internal management
Stronger sub branding
Obvious where the user is
Disadvantages
Challenges of adjusting to each site
Undermines overall brand
Makes moving between sub sites hard
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Breadcrumb based navigation
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Advantages
Minimal real estate dedicated to navigation
Clear and simple choices
Focused on current level and children
Disadvantages
Lots of movement up and down tree
Little sense of the structure of the site
Impossible to skip between sections
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Vertical breadcrumbs hybrid
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Advantages
Less real estate than traditional navigation
Provides context and the ability to skip around
Focused on current level and children
Disadvantages
Challenge for mobile devices
Can’t see context at a glance
Not many existing implementations
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★ No perfect solution.
★ Depends on organisational perception.
★ Depends on how users perceive things.
★ A big challenge made worse by politics.
CONCLUSIONS