website-structure
Strategy: Website Structure
Guides website structure planning: which pages to build, page priority, and how structure supports UX, SEO, and growth. Structure is the organization and connection of pages; it affects user navigation, Google's understanding of content importance, crawlability, and sitelinks in SERPs. See serp-features for sitelinks and SERP optimization.
When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.
Initial Assessment
Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for product type, audience, and growth goals.
Identify:
- Website type: Product/SaaS, B2B, E-commerce, Portfolio, Forum, Directory
- Stage: New site (plan from scratch) vs. existing (extend or audit)
- Growth strategy: Affiliate, education, multi-language, community, B2B, developer
- Constraints: Team size, budget, tech stack
Page Priority Framework
Plan pages by priority for development scheduling. See skills-reference §2 Page Taxonomy for full page types and website-type mapping.
| Priority | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Must Have | Home, Product/Features, Pricing, Blog, About, Privacy, Terms, Contact | Essential for trust and conversion; Pricing: public page in nav for self-serve; enterprise-only may use "Contact sales" instead; see pricing-page-generator (Visibility & Placement) |
| Great to Have | Testimonials, FAQ, Sitemap (HTML), 404, Refund/Returns | Support UX and SEO |
| Optional | Search Results, News, Careers, Disclosure | Situational |
| Traffic-driven | Category/Collection pages | For content-heavy or e-commerce; needs Category + Tags |
Generic Template Structure
Applicable to SaaS, tools, and content sites. Adapt by removing unused nodes (e.g. no API → drop API) and adding specific modules (e.g. industry, region).
| Section | Typical Paths | Page Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Root | /, /features, /pricing, /demo, /contact | homepage-generator, features-page-generator, pricing-page-generator |
| Tools | /tools, /free-tools; hub + per-tool pages | tools-page-generator; free tools for lead gen; often SPA; programmatic; see programmatic-seo |
| Resources | /blog, /changelog, /glossary, /faq, /tutorials | blog-page-generator, changelog-page-generator, glossary-page-generator, faq-page-generator |
| Partnership | /affiliate, /startups, /ambassadors | affiliate-page-generator, landing-page-generator |
| Legal | /terms, /privacy, /careers | terms-page-generator, privacy-page-generator, careers-page-generator |
| Competitor | /alternatives, /compare, /migrate | alternatives-page-generator, migration-page-generator |
| Standalone | /dashboard, /login, /signup, /docs, /api, /status, /support | signup-login-page-generator, docs-page-generator, api-page-generator, status-page-generator |
Growth Strategy → Structure Mapping
Structure reflects growth strategy. Subdirectories signal channels:
| Goal | Path Example | Page/Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate conversion | /affiliate | affiliate-page-generator |
| Education/student plan | /education, /startups, /student-discount | education-program, startups-page-generator |
| Multi-language | /zh-CN, /ja | localization-strategy |
| Community | /ambassadors, /showcase | creator-program, landing-page-generator |
| B2B / Enterprise | Solutions (industry-first), Use cases (scenario-first; can be sub-pages), Customer stories | solutions-page-generator, use-cases-page-generator, customer-stories-page-generator |
| Developer product | /api, /docs, /status | api-page-generator, docs-page-generator, status-page-generator |
| User feedback | Feedback, Roadmap | feedback-page-generator; External (Canny, FeatureBase) |
| Plugins/Integrations | /integrations, /plugins | integrations-page-generator, category-page-generator |
| Giveaway/Contest | /giveaway | contest-page-generator |
Domain Structure (Multiple Products)
When planning for multiple products or brands, see domain-architecture for subfolder vs subdomain vs independent domain. This skill covers page structure within a single domain. For initial domain choice (Brand vs PMD vs EMD, TLD), see domain-selection.
Planning Workflow
- Choose template: Start from generic structure; map to skills-reference §2 website types
- Trim modules: Remove irrelevant nodes (e.g. no API → drop /api, /docs)
- Add specifics: Industry pages, region, product variants
- Assign URLs: Per node; follow url-structure (lowercase, hyphens, short, keyword-rich)
- Export list: "Page type + URL + Priority" for dev scheduling
- Tech stack: Match page types to services (DNS, auth, CMS, status page, etc.)
- Iterate: Expand with new features, markets; keep structure clear
Structure Principles
| Principle | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Flat structure | Max 4 clicks from homepage to any page; improves crawlability and weight distribution |
| Early planning | Plan structure before growth; can start right after domain purchase |
| Sitelinks | Good structure + TOC + authoritative internal links → natural sitelinks in SERP (cannot be forced via schema); see serp-features |
| Orphan prevention | Every page needs internal links; see site-crawlability and internal-links |
| Features vs Use cases | /features = capability-first; /use-cases = scenario-first; differentiate content angle, link between, avoid overlap; see features-page-generator, use-cases-page-generator |
| Clear navigation | Clear hierarchy and nav improve task completion; users find what they need faster; see navigation-menu-generator |
| Pricing placement | Marketing site: /pricing in main nav for prospects; in-app: Settings → Billing in sidebar for logged-in users (subscription management). Enterprise-only: "Contact sales" may replace public pricing page; see pricing-page-generator |
Homepage Module Reference
Common modules to combine: Headline, Subheadline, Primary CTA, Supporting Image/Demo, Benefits Section, Social Proof, Search Box (if applicable), Secondary CTA, Banner. Navigation: Horizontal Bar, Dropdown, Hamburger (mobile), Sidebar, Footer; ensure Desktop + Mobile parity. See homepage-generator and hero-generator.
Output Format
- Page list with priority (Must Have / Great to Have / Optional)
- URL structure (paths per section)
- Website-type fit (which pages apply per skills-reference §2)
- Growth mapping (which paths support which channels)
- Next steps: url-structure for URL rules; xml-sitemap for submission; site-crawlability for audit
References
- Website structure SEO guide — Alignify: structure importance, page priority, generic template, planning workflow, growth mapping, homepage modules
- skills-reference §2 (docs/skills-reference.md#2-page-taxonomy) — Full page types, website-type matrix, core vs extended; use for page selection
Related Skills
- seo-strategy: SEO workflow order; structure planning fits before Technical phase
- domain-selection: Initial domain choice; do before structure when choosing domain
- domain-architecture: Subfolder vs subdomain vs independent; do before structure if domain decision pending
- url-structure: URL optimization, hierarchy, slugs; apply after structure is defined
- site-crawlability: Crawlability, orphan pages, redirects; audit existing structure
- internal-links: Link strategy, hub-spoke; implement after pages exist
- xml-sitemap: Sitemap creation; include planned URLs
- breadcrumb-generator: Breadcrumb for hierarchy; large sites, e-commerce
- navigation-menu-generator: Nav design; primary, footer, mobile
- content-strategy: Content clusters, pillar pages; complements structure planning