This report provides a critical analysis of the current IANDS website structure and proposes a new, user-centric information architecture, justified by industry-standard UX/UI design principles. It also outlines the necessary prototyping workflow for implementation.
The current website structure, while rich in content, imposes a high cognitive load on visitors. The organization follows a "content-first" approach, forcing users to actively search and guess where information is located, which compromises the site's effectiveness and professionalism.
Redundancy and Duplication: Key pages, such as the Journal of Near-Death Studies and IANDS Q&A, are duplicated under multiple top-level categories (Explore and Research; Learn and Explore). This lack of a single, logical home for content creates confusion and breaks user flow.
Excessive Choice/High Cognitive Load: Menus, especially under Learn, present long, undifferentiated lists of ten or more options. This "endless list" forces users to read and process every line, leading to analysis paralysis and a failure to easily find foundational information.
Disjointed User Journey: Transactional links are fragmented. For example, "Donate to IANDS" is placed under About IANDS, while the option to "Join IANDS" is located there and also under Member Access. The scattering of related actions (joining, donating, shopping) forces a frustrating "hunt-and-peck" approach.
The solution is to adopt a user-centric model, reorienting the entire site around what the user is trying to accomplish. This structure simplifies the main navigation to three primary goals, significantly improving adherence to the "three-click rule."
Discover
Learn fundamentals and read accounts.
NDE Accounts, What is an NDE?, FAQs, Glossary, Research
Engage
Connect, participate, and contribute.
Events & Conferences, Join a Group, Publications (Journal, Magazine, Books), Volunteer, Donate
Support
Find help for self or a loved one.
Find Support, Finding a Professional, Support for Veterans, Support for Children
(Note: About Us and Member Login would remain as separate, dedicated links in the global header for clarity.)
The proposed "Discover, Engage, Support" structure aligns directly with core principles from the design world:
User-Centric Design (Google Material Principles): The structure is built around the user's needs, moving away from the organization's internal content silos.
Principle of Simplicity (Don Norman): By consolidating choices, we minimize cognitive load and eliminate decision fatigue, making the site feel intuitive and effortless.
Consistency and Findability: Grouping all actions under Engage and all help under Support creates a predictable path. This ensures that the user's mental model of where information should be located matches the site's structure.
To create a navigable, high-fidelity wireframe for board review, a a two-step workflow is used:
Design & Wireframe Generation (Relume): A contractor can use Relume's AI Site Builder to quickly structure and style the high-fidelity wireframes based on the "Discover, Engage, Support" map.
Prototyping & Publishing (Webflow): Relume is a design tool, not a publishing tool. The most efficient next step is to use the Relume-to-Webflow export. This instantly transfers the wireframes into a live development environment where pages can be linked together to create a fully clickable and navigable prototype. This prototype can then be published on a temporary Webflow subdomain, allowing the board to experience the new site structure firsthand.
(note: Figma + Webflow (or Illustrator comps) is a better choice for high-design sites)