WEB DESIGN AND MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS WEBSITES
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Mind mapping is simple, and works best when exercised without restraint. The name of
the game is expeditious refinement and iteration, not deliberate, prolonged decisionmaking
over tiny details. In fact, as the mind map unfolds, more pages and subnavigation
items will naturally reveal themselves from free-associative thinking. There are many
resources dedicated to the art of mind mapping (including entire books), but here are a
few tips common among the experts:
ARCHITECTURE AND NAVIGATION
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Figure 4-1. Two mind maps representing two different corporate sites. Example 1 is a smaller, brochure-type
corporate site; example 2 is a much deeper site with several layers of navigation.
1. Always start in the center and work outward. This is a more efficient use of space
and avoids thinking in downward, linear movement. A homepage is the natural
center of a website, not the top as represented in a hierarchy.
2. Explore the branches and do not stop to think too hard or long about one particular
section. Revise later.
3. Prune widowed sublevels. These are the tiny branches with only a single child level.
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