Web Design - Web Development and Design Foundations with XHTML - page 174

Each main section may have one or more subpages. Some sites with a hierarchical
organization may use a consistent design for the home page and the content pages.
Either method is acceptable. Most commercial sites, such as http://amazon.com and
http://ebay.com use hierarchical site organization.
Linear Organization
When the purpose of a site or series of pages on a site is to provide a tutorial, tour, or
presentation that needs to be viewed sequentially, linear organization , as shown in
Figure 5.9, is useful.
Figure 5.9
Linear site
organization
In linear organization, the pages are viewed one after another. Some Web sites use hier-
archical organization in general, but with linear organization in a few small areas. An
example of this is the National Library of Medicine site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov. The
main site organization is hierarchical with linear organization used for tutorials. Notice
the “Next” link in Figure 5.10; it's the link to the next page in the linear presentation.
Figure 5.10
Tutorial linear
organization using
the “Next” link
Random Organization
Random organization (sometimes called Web organization) offers no clear path through
the site, as shown in Figure 5.11 There is often no clear home page and no discernable
structure. Random organization is not as common as hierarchical or linear organization
and is usually found only on artistic sites or sites that strive to be especially different
and original. This type of organization is typically not used for commercial Web sites.