Patterns of Mobile Information Architecture
What is Mobile Information Architecture?
Information architecture is a discipline dedicated to understanding the complexities of organizing digital information. Essentially, it represents the structural design of a digital product. In a mobile-first world, information architecture continuously expands into mobile navigation. The goal here is to enhance the mobile user experience by supplying information and functionality quickly and intuitively.
Why is it important?
Most of us have access to a smartphone or other mobile device. Our experiences with websites or apps on a mobile device differ significantly from a traditional desktop. For instance, the screen is smaller, so minuscule elements aren't viable or effective. User interaction is based more heavily on tapping or swiping the screen rather than hovering the mouse over a menu or clicking. Perhaps our cellular data doesn't function at the same speed as our home internet. These factors play a key role in how mobile users interact with and experience a mobile application. Thus, mobile-centric information architecture enforces a critical demand for mobile-friendly features.
Best Practices
Create the Content Inventory
To grasp the necessities of your information architecture, you need to inventory all your components. Content inventory helps you categorize elements, prioritize key features, and eliminate unnecessary pieces.
Keep it Simple
Since mobile devices are smaller than a desktop, you should only include the bare necessities. Then, using your content inventory, you can prioritize the most relevant features and functions to minimize the overall number of elements.
Popularity and Priority
More frequented features should be easier for users to access. Identify which components should be more visible and more accessible for mobile visitors.
Types of Information Architecture Patterns
Hierarchy
In a hierarchy pattern, one index page connects to multiple subpages, which may link to more subpages. This is a standard pattern for websites and applications with massive amounts of content or information. It offers substantially more routes for user navigation; however, these can be overwhelming for small screens. A hierarchy pattern is a good choice for apps that must replicate the desktop website.
Nested Lists or Nested Dolls
Nested Lists are linear patterns wherein users move from the primary page with brief overviews to subpages with more information. The Nested List is the most common mobile information architecture pattern due to its ability to organize multi-tiered navigation levels. These also help users focus on specific tasks or content and are best for apps dedicated to one topic or a few similar topics. However, since they require users to follow a series of clicks or steps, these patterns prohibit them from moving from one subpage to another on a different primary page. Instead, the user must return to the homepage before moving to a different subpage.
Dashboard
In a dashboard pattern, applications list an overview of several pieces of information on the main screen. Since the homepage features a snippet of content, users can more easily analyze and prioritize the information quickly and easily. However, the dashboard pattern can easily overwhelm users by providing snippets of information from too many elements.
Hub and Spokes
The primary page of a hub and spoke model acts as a focal point for users to link with relevant subpages. This mobile pattern offers minimal distraction in the subpages since users must revert to the primary page before moving to another subpage. These are best for encouraging users to focus on a single task but aren’t a viable option for applications that center on multi-tasking.
Tabbed View
Tabbed patterns closely resemble the structure of tabs in a desktop browser. In tabbed view, content is divided into “tabs,” or sections, that users can toggle between. These are usually best when designing apps that will be used as tools.
Filtered View
Similar to using the "sort and filter" feature on a webpage, the filtered view pattern allows users to explore content through filters. Users can toggle between different page views by selecting content filters. These are usually best for apps with large quantities of content, but filtered view patterns can be easily overloaded with excessive filters and overwhelm mobile visitors.
Your application's content might be why users visit, but how you organize and display that content contributes to how successful the application will be.
