If you read my article about websites in the January issue, you know how strongly I recommend that all businesses, big and small, have one. If you've been waylaid in your attempts to create a site (or hire someone to do so) by your own indecision about how to create a website, put your ambivalence to rest. Just crack out your favorite notebook and head to the nearest quiet meeting room or coffee shop.

It took me a good six months after I started my business to get my website posted. It can be difficult for a business owner to have clear perspective on how to organize your offerings, because you're too close to it. It's like trying to put your face right up next to a poster to read the print. It's distorted by your point of view.

Before I go on, I just want to run down a little website building terminology. In web terms, architecture means the basic organization of your site, and terms like "About Us" and "Services" are the navigation buttons your clients will use to get around (navigate) the site. "Upper level" navigation buttons are the one your users can see from the home page; "lower level" navigation buttons (also called subnavs) are the ones they see if you decide to have sublevel pages for your site.

For instance, on Stark Construction's website when you visit their home page, you'll see an upper level nav called "Project Gallery," which, when you click on it, directs you to a page with "subnav" buttons that list the type of projects they have on display, including Kitchens, Baths, Additions, etc.

Step One: Jotting Down the Architecture
I strongly recommend that you sit down with someone else to help you map out your website's architecture. An employee is perfect, particularly if he or she is well-organized and is a talented project manager. (Project managers are perfect because they have a knack for compartmentalizing ideas and tasks.)

Start by jotting down the names of your upper level navs, and don't be afraid to write down as many words as you need to get started. Jo-el Hibian, who teaches classes on e-commerce sites at Portland's Small Business Development Center, tells his students to use mind mapping.

"I start with a center circle that has the name of the website, then I draw circles for all the ideas, content, URLs references and anything else that it makes sense the site to contain," he says. "The goal with mind mapping is not to filter anything--just keep adding information as it comes; sometimes new ideas fit into one of the topic circles I have, and sometimes it opens a whole new avenue." Because mind mapping works both the right and left sides of the brain it helps marry the process of graphic design to the logical outline.

After you've let it cook awhile, revisit your list of upper level navs and cut it down to four to seven words. When you've decided on them, start a fresh page of your notebook, and write the upper level navs across the top of the page as headers for your subnavs. Then list the subnavs below the upper level navs in columns. This process will help you keep the content clear and organized as you start to build your site. I like to use tiny sticky notes for each navs so I can rearrange them at will until I get it right.

When you're done outlining your architecture, you will have created a web architecture map. Some pages won't need subnavs; it's quite possible none of them will, but they're nice because they provide you will wiggle room when the number of topics you want to include start to become unwieldy. Don't be afraid to have subnavs under more than one upper level nav.