An Information Architecture (IA) document is the primary reference sheet used by design, content, and engineering teams during web redesigns and audits. It serves as a blueprint, listing every page, its category, depth level, descriptions, comments, and reference URLs. While plain CSV files work for raw data, sharing unstyled spreadsheets with clients or stakeholders looks unprofessional and makes navigation difficult.
In this guide, we will walk through the structure of a styled IA Excel spreadsheet and explain how you can build one for your team.
1. Structure the Spreadsheet Layout
A professional IA document needs a clear, structured layout. We recommend a three-row header structure:
- Row 1: A dark-filled header listing the Brand Name, Locale, and target site URL formatted as an active hyperlink.
- Row 2: A blank spacer row to separate the title card from the main database columns.
- Row 3: Header labels for your data columns (Screen ID, Depth levels, Contents, Comments, URLs).
2. Define the Columns (Screen ID to AS-IS URL)
Structure your data columns logically to track page metadata:
- Screen ID: A unique identifier code used by designers and developers (e.g.
LAF-KR-C-01for a corporate page). - Depth 0 to Depth 3: Categorize pages by hierarchy level. For clean styling, hide repeating Depth 0 values for pages in the same category.
- Contents & Comments: Describe the page's purpose and note any dependencies or issues.
- AS-IS URL: Provide active links to the reference page.
3. Apply Professional Styling Rules
Make your spreadsheet easy to read with these styling choices:
- Set row heights to 26pt to allow breathing room for text content.
- Use thin borders (
#D9D9D9) to separate cells. - Fill the first row of each category group with a light gray background (
#F2F2F2) and set the category text to bold to create clear visual divisions. - Enable freeze panes on the header rows to keep labels visible when scrolling through large directories.
4. Prioritize Key Pages (COMMON & GNB)
List global sections that appear on every page (like Header, GNB dropdowns, and Footer links) at the top of the spreadsheet as COMMON pages. This groups site-wide assets together before listing individual product or company pages.
IA Excel Checklist
- [ ] Title block includes the target URL as an active hyperlink.
- [ ] Header rows are frozen for easy scrolling.
- [ ] All cells have text wrapping enabled to prevent content clipping.
- [ ] Category divisions are highlighted with a background fill.
- [ ] Reference URLs are formatted as clickable hyperlinks.
- [ ] Screen IDs follow a consistent prefix naming convention.
Exporting Styled IA with AttractiveWebAI
Building these spreadsheets manually is incredibly tedious. AttractiveWebAI's DeepAnalyzer automates this entire workflow. It crawls your site directories, structures pages by depth, maps GNB relationships, and exports the data into a beautifully styled XLSX Excel file. The export includes merged title cards, freeze panes, bold group headers, and active links out of the box.
Want to download a styled IA document? Click below to export your site sitemap.