Information Architecture (IA)

Information architecture, or IA, is the practice of organizing content and designing how people find their way to it. It's the structure underneath the site, how things are grouped, labeled, and connected, separate from how any of it looks.

Good IA is mostly invisible. You notice it only when it's missing and you can't find what you came for.

Information architecture includes management of site navigation — including site maps — and exercises like card sorting that helps teams understand the mindset of site users in order to build around how they think.