Create a Sitemap

We're here to help guide you through the process of creating a sitemap for your new Govstack website. Check out our sitemapping best practices, to learn some tips and tricks to help along the way.

Don't have time to build a sitemap on your own? Contact your Account Executive or Implementation Specialist and we can let you know more about GHD's sitemapping services. 

Step 1: Review all content on your current site

Take an inventory of all of the pages and documents on your website. There is no way to get around this and it takes time. We spend approximately 8-10 hours reviewing website content as part of the sitemap development process. 

In many cases, websites grow over time and become difficult to manage. You may find that you have website pages with outdated information, duplicated pages or pages that overlap significantly. You may also find that there is some information missing from your website altogether.

The process of doing a thorough review of all your website content, will give you a great starting point to decide:

• What pages can be removed from the new website
• What pages need to be added to the new website
• What pages need to be moved to a new area
• What documents should turn into web pages

Step 2: Determine your main menu options

Now that you've got an inventory of all of the information and topics discussed on your website, you are ready to start organizing the pages into main menus. Try organizing your content into main topics, these topics can become menu names. Here are a few common menu options for a municipal website:

• Living Here or Home and Property
• Parks and Recreation or Parks, Recreation and Culture
• Business and Development or Business, Building and Development
• Our Government or City Hall

Avoid organizing your website based on departments or internal structures. This can make it difficult for the public to navigate as they aren't always familiar with what services are delivered by each department. Check out our sitemapping best practices for more information.

Step 3: Categorize the pages into each menu topic

Now that you've identified the main menu options, you're ready to add pages under each menu. Try to think from the perspective of the public and ask:

• Where would someone expect to find this information?
• What menu topic does this content relate to the most?
• Does this topic apply to more than one main menu option?

When adding pages under your main menus, you should always organize the page names alphabetically. Review our sitemapping best practice for tips on how to name web pages.

Step 4: Consider the navigation menu levels

Learn more about how to organize your website navigation by understanding each menu level.

Step 5: Try our sample sitemaps

We have developed a few sample sitemaps that you can use for inspiration. Contact your Implementation Specialist and they can provide you with one of our sample sitemaps to help you get started:

• Sample Municipal Sitemap
• Sample Economic Development Sitemap
• Sample Library Sitemap
• Sample Tourism Sitemap