Website structure: how to plan pages that match demand
Website structure is the way a site's pages are arranged and linked: which pages exist, how they group under sections, and how many clicks it takes to reach each one. A good structure gives every search the site wants to win its own page, and keeps related pages together. People in the US search "website structure" about 880 times a month.
This page covers what a structure is, the common shapes, two finished examples, and the mistakes that cost sites readers. Three guides go further: keyword clustering, website site map examples and the content plan. The Querytally home page shows what each of our lists contains.
What website structure is
A site has levels. The home page sits at the top. Beneath it are the main sections. Inside each section are the pages. The links between them, and the URLs that name them, are part of the structure too.
Here is a small example, drawn as a list. The business is invented: an accounting firm for small companies.
`` Home Services Bookkeeping Payroll Tax filing Industries Restaurants Contractors Pricing About ``
Each line is a page. Each indent is one level deeper. A visitor who wants payroll goes Home, then Services, then Payroll: three levels, two clicks.
Hierarchical site structure
A hierarchical site structure is a tree like the one above. Each page has one parent and may have children. It is a common shape because readers understand it at once, and because a section page can introduce and link to everything under it.
A common aim is to keep important pages within a few clicks of the home page. A page that few other pages link to can look unimportant to a reader and to search.
Flat, deep and hub-and-spoke structures
| Shape | What it looks like | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Single page | Everything on one page | A tiny business with one offer |
| Flat | Many pages directly under the home page | A site with only a handful of pages |
| Hub-and-spoke | A few section pages, each linking to its own group | A small business site can use this |
| Deep | Many levels, narrowing down | Large stores and directories |
In a hub-and-spoke site, each section page covers a broad need, and each page under it covers one narrower need.
What a good plan decides
Planning a website structure means making six decisions before anyone builds a page.
- Which needs get a page. A need is something people search for. Each one that matters to the business gets its own page.
- How the pages group. Related needs sit under one section. Keep the number of sections small.
- What each page is called. The name and the URL say what the page is about in plain words.
- What links to what. Every page links to its parent and to its closest neighbors.
- What is left out. Some needs do not deserve a page. Say so on purpose.
- What gets built first. The plan ranks the pages so that the best ones come first.
A plan that starts from how the company is organized produces a site that mirrors the org chart. A plan that starts from what people search for produces a site that matches what they came to find. That is the idea behind planning pages from demand.
Example 1: a page plan with real counts
Below is a page plan for one section of an invented site that teaches website planning. The pages are made up for the example. The numbers are real: US searches a month for each page's main search.
| Build order | URL | The page's main search | US searches a month | Job of the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | /website-planning/content-plan/ | content plan | 1,300 | A finished plan and how to rank its rows |
| 2 | /website-planning/website-structure/ | website structure | 880 | The section hub: shapes, and links to every page below |
| 3 | /website-planning/keyword-clustering/ | keyword clustering | 390 | Groups of searches, one page each |
| 4 | /website-planning/pillar-pages/ | pillar pages | 320 | A broad page and the pages it links to |
| 5 | /website-planning/seo-site-structure/ | seo site structure | 170 | Structure as it affects search |
| 6 | /website-planning/seo-content-brief/ | seo content brief | 110 | What goes in a brief for one page |
| 7 | /website-planning/how-many-pages/ | how many pages should a website have | 40 | A short answer with a table |
The build order follows the size of the need. Every page has one main search, one URL and one job, so no two pages compete for the same search. The smallest page is still worth building if the question is one a buyer asks.
Example 2: a flat site regrouped
The second example is a structure fix, not a new plan. The business is invented: an electrician. Before, the site had twelve pages sitting directly under the home page.
`` Home Panel upgrades EV charger installation Rewiring Lighting installation Emergency electrician Electrical inspections Generator hookups Pricing Reviews Service areas About Contact ``
After the fix, the pages group by kind of job. No page is removed. The home page now has five children instead of twelve.
`` Home Installations EV charger installation Lighting installation Generator hookups Repairs and upgrades Panel upgrades Rewiring Emergency electrician Electrical inspections Pricing Service areas About Reviews Contact ``
What changed: a reader looking for an installation now sees three related choices together. Each page is still one need, so nothing was merged. The reviews and contact pages moved under About because they are about the company, not the work.
Mistakes that weaken a site structure
- One page for several needs. A page about "services" that tries to answer payroll, tax and bookkeeping answers none of them well.
- A section for each department. Readers do not know the internal teams. They know what they need.
- Pages nothing links to. A page that sits outside the structure is hard to reach, for readers and for search.
- Very deep paths. A URL with five folders is hard to read and to remember.
- Renaming without a plan. Changing a section's name or URL without redirects breaks every link to it.
- Copying a competitor's menu. A rival's structure shows what they chose, not what is right for you. Compare, then decide.
What to do with a structure plan
Compare it with the site you have. For each planned page, mark whether it exists, needs a rewrite, or must be built. Pages that exist but serve no search are candidates to merge or remove. Pages your rivals have and you lack are the first to build: competitor gaps are where those show up. Search demand explains how to read the number beside each page.
Hand the result to whoever builds the site as a diagram, a list of pages with their URLs, and a ranked build order. The guides above explain each piece.
Frequently asked questions
How do I plan a website structure?
Start from the needs, not the departments. Decide which needs earn a page, group them under a small number of sections, name each page in plain words, and rank the build order. The guides linked above cover each part.
What is the difference between site structure and a site map?
The structure is the real arrangement of your pages. A site map is a diagram of it. See the site map examples for finished ones.
How many levels should a website have?
As few as the content needs. Home, section and page is enough for a small site.
Web designers who plan pages for clients can see what a delivered list gives them.
Checked by a person and delivered within 24 hours, with a link and a search number behind every row.