Taxonomy

A taxonomy is a hierarchical classification system that organizes and categorizes content, products, or information into a structured format with parent-child relationships.

Components

Categories: Broad groupings (e.g., "Electronics") Subcategories: Narrower divisions (e.g., "Laptops") Items: Individual pieces of content or products Attributes: Characteristics that describe items

Example Taxonomy

Electronics (Category)
├── Computers (Subcategory)
│   ├── Laptops
│   ├── Desktops
│   └── Tablets
├── Phones (Subcategory)
│   ├── iPhones
│   └── Android
└── Accessories

Why Taxonomies Matter

✅ Findability: Users can browse to find items ✅ Scaleability: Accommodates growth ✅ Consistency: Standard organization across site ✅ SEO: Search engines understand content relationships ✅ Filtering: Enable faceted search

Creating Effective Taxonomies

1. Research first: Card sorting to understand user mental models 2. Keep it shallow: 3-4 levels deep maximum 3. Mutually exclusive: Clear boundaries between categories 4. Collectively exhaustive: Everything has a home 5. User language: Labels users understand

Common Taxonomy Types

Hierarchical: Tree structure (most common) Faceted: Multiple classification dimensions Network: Interconnected, non-hierarchical Linear: Sequential organization

Card Sorting for Taxonomies

Open card sort: Discover natural categories Closed card sort: Validate proposed taxonomy Hybrid: Refine and optimize

Test and improve your taxonomy at freecardsort.com