Page structure and information foraging

Joe Julian Updated by Joe Julian

Why page structure is important

Advanced HR is a powerful tool that can help you manage all aspects of your HR department, from employee data to payroll. But with so much data to manage, it can be difficult to know how to best display it in a way that is clear, concise, and easy to understand for all users; including those with disabilities and those who use assistive technologies. Additionally, a well-structured page can help to reduce the cognitive load on all users when they're information foraging.

Information foraging

Have you ever scanned a page of data to find a specific piece of information? Maybe you were looking for a national insurance number, or an employee's start date. If so, you were engaging in information foraging.

Information foraging is a term used to describe how people search for and consume information. It's a concept that can be applied to any type of information, but it's especially relevant when designing pages that display data.

Page designers can use visual cues to highlight important information and organize data in a clear visual hierarchy, using tabs, headings, sections, groups, and dividers. This will help users quickly develop a scent for where their information is located and forage for it more efficiently.

Imagine you come to a page you've never seen before and you need a specific piece of data.

  1. First you might scan the Tabs to find the one that's relevant to your goal.
  2. After selecting the Tab you then scan the Headings on the page to find the relevant Section of fields.
  3. Upon finding the Section you see it is structured even further with Headings and dividing lines to separate out key information.
  4. You then scan down the relevant list of Fields and Groups to find the data you ultimately need.

In this example the Tabs and Headings gave you visual cues to pick up a scent for your data. Sections and dividers gave your page layout an intuitive structure that you understood quickly. The Fields and Groups gave you a clear list of options to quickly scan through.

If you get this the process of information foraging right for your users they will:

  • find data intuitively with little or no need for training
  • feel empowered to locate information they need
  • have less cognitive load on a daily basis and less friction with your pages

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