Structuring the Website — The Site Map

A2 — Planning a site map

A site map is a diagram showing every page in a website and how they connect — it's the blueprint you build everything else from, and it's the main deliverable of PSAB Task 1 alongside your research (A.P2/A.M2).

What a good site map includes

• Every page the site will need, named clearly (Home, Products, About, Contact, ...)
• The hierarchy — which pages are top-level, which are nested underneath (e.g. individual product pages under "Products")
• Navigation paths — how a user gets from one page to another
• Annotations explaining why each page exists and what content/features it will contain, tied back to your client requirements and research

Worked example — a small eCommerce brief

Home
├── Products
│   ├── Category: T-Shirts
│   └── Category: Accessories
├── About Us
├── Testimonials
├── Contact / Enquiry Form
└── Basket / Checkout

Annotation for "Testimonials": Included to address the client requirement for building trust with first-time buyers, identified in the research stage (Lesson 6) — will display 3–4 real customer quotes with star ratings.

Why annotation matters

A site map with just page names shows structure, but not reasoning. Annotating each page with why it's there — tied to your audience research and client brief — is what separates a basic site map from one that demonstrates real analysis, which is exactly what the higher PSAB grading criteria (A.M2) look for.

Task

Draft a site map for your own chosen brand (from the PSAB brief), using everything you've researched in Lessons 2–6. Get peer feedback before finalising it for PSAB Task 1.