NIH Enterprise Architecture Website

Front End Design Style Guide

• Introduction
• Brand and Visual Voice
• Visual Specifications
• Templates
• Navigation System
• Content Design
• Front End Technology Benchmark

Content Design: Web Taxonomy Approach

The purpose of this section is to present an approach for definition and application of web taxonomy for the NIH enterprise architecture website.

What is a Web Taxonomy?

Taxonomy is a precise vocabulary defined to classify a certain group of data. A taxonomy defined for a website will allow content on the site to be efficiently found, displayed and used by content editors and users. For the NIH enterprise architecture website, the web taxonomy will be used to assign part of the metadata to website content and automatically generate lists of content such as "all bricks related to collaboration".

It is important to note that the web taxonomy needs to be defined with end users in mind, i.e., website content is classified using taxonomy not only for internal purposes of content editors, but also for effective delivery of content to end users. Properly defined and applied web taxonomy becomes a powerful tool to efficiently deliver content and help users gain better understanding of what the site has to offer.

Approach for NIH Enterprise Architecture Website

There are four tasks involved in the definition of web taxonomy for the NIH enterprise architecture website.

1. Research existing classifications.
   Before defining the web taxonomy, review any existing taxonomy used for NIH enterprise architecture and identify what is necessary for the purpose of the website.
2. Define web taxonomy.
   Based on the findings of the research and understanding of website content, define a precise vocabulary that can be efficiently used by content editors and help deliver content to end users.
3. Establish process for using web taxonomy.
   Define how the web taxonomy is applied as part of overall metadata schema for the website content.
4. Develop maintenance strategy.
   Identify possible scenarios that could cause the taxonomy to change, and define process to update the taxonomy and how to manage existing content affected by the change.

Next Step

A web taxonomy for the NIH enterprise architecture website will be defined as part of design process for subsequent releases for the site.