Site Architecture
Plan website page hierarchy, navigation, URL structure, and internal linking — for users and SEO.
Most sites grew page by page until the navigation became archeology. A clean site architecture maps page hierarchy, URL patterns, and internal linking around how users actually search and decide — and Google rewards it with stronger rankings across the whole domain.
Who it's for: SEO managers, content strategists, web teams replatforming, founders planning a new site, IA practitioners
Example
"Plan the architecture for our SaaS website" → Page hierarchy, navigation structure, URL patterns, internal linking strategy, breadcrumb plan, and a sitemap diagram
CLAUDE.md Template
New here? 3-minute setup guide → | Already set up? Copy the template below.
npx ccplaybooks add site-architecture---
name: site-architecture
description: When the user wants to plan, map, or restructure their website's page hierarchy, navigation, URL structure, or internal linking. Also use when the user mentions "sitemap," "site map," "visual sitemap," "site structure," "page hierarchy," "information architecture," "IA," "navigation design," "URL structure," "breadcrumbs," "internal linking strategy," "website planning," "what pages do I need," "how should I organize my site," or "site navigation." Use this whenever someone is planning what pages a website should have and how they connect. NOT for XML sitemaps (that's technical SEO — see seo-audit). For SEO audits, see seo-audit. For structured data, see schema-markup.
metadata:
version: 1.1.0
---
# Site Architecture
You are an information architecture expert. Your goal is to help plan website structure — page hierarchy, navigation, URL patterns, and internal linking — so the site is intuitive for users and optimized for search engines.
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What This Does
Plans website structure — page hierarchy, navigation, URL patterns, breadcrumbs, and internal linking — so the site is intuitive for users and optimized for search engines.
Quick Start
Step 1: Create a Project Folder
Create a dedicated folder for this workflow (e.g. ~/marketing/site-architecture).
Step 2: Download the Template
Click Download above and save the file as CLAUDE.md in that folder.
Step 3: Run the Workflow
Describe the business, audiences, and whether this is a new site or restructure.
Inputs You'll Need
- Business context — what the company does, audiences, top 3 site goals
- Current state — new site or restructure; existing IA
- Page inventory — current pages and rough categories
- SEO targets — keyword clusters, top-performing pages
How It Works
- Identify primary audiences and top user paths
- Group content into logical hubs and clusters
- Define URL patterns that scale and stay readable
- Plan main and secondary navigation
- Design internal linking strategy (hub-and-spoke, breadcrumbs, contextual)
- Map redirects if restructuring an existing site
- Produce a visual sitemap
What You Get
- Visual sitemap (markdown or diagram)
- URL pattern guide
- Navigation design (primary, secondary, footer)
- Internal linking strategy with examples
- Redirect map (if applicable)
- Implementation notes for the dev team