Identifying types of Web pages

Before I create a Web page, I try to determine the best information architecture for a Web site. Let's use a small B2B Web site (less than 50 pages) as an example.

Right away, I know the site is going to have a Home page, Site Map, and Contact form (with a corresponding "Thank you" page). I also know that the Web site will have a list of services. What does that communicate to a Web designer? Right away I know the designer must create a number of design templates:

• Home page (unique design template)

• Services (category/parent page template)

- Service 1 (child page template)

- Service 2 (child page template)

- Service 3 (child page template)

- Service 4 (child page template)

- Service 5 (child page template)

• Site map (possible unique template)

• Contact us (form template)

- Thank you for contacting us (response template)

Because the "Thank you" page is a response to a form, and since Web search engines do not fill out forms, I know that this particular page does not need to be search-engine friendly.

Next, I know that all B2B sites should have an About Us or About the Company section. A well-written About Us section helps communicate trust and credibility to a target audience.

Let's assume that this small B2B site wants to put press releases, client testimonials, and location pages in the About Us section. The information architecture might look like this:

• About Us (category/parent page template)

- Client testimonials (subcategory/parent page template)

- Testimonial 1 (child page template)

- Testimonial 2 (child page template)

- Testimonial 3 (child page template)

- Press releases (subcategory/parent page template)

- Year (subcategory/parent page template)

• Press release 1 (child page template)

• Press release 2 (child page template)

• Press release 3 (child page template)

- Company locations (subcategory/parent page template)

- Location 1 (child page template)

- Location 2 (child page template)

Notice that in the above two examples, I have a number of child-page templates

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