Mental Models
One of the first—and most important—steps to building a successful site begins by understanding the users mental model for each user segment. The closer that a Website’s information architecture is to users’ mental models, the easier it is for users to find content and accomplish their tasks.

Navigation Model
Next, we will work with our clients to begin employing the principle of an “information hierarchy,” in which all pages have a parent-child relationship and exist in mutually exclusive sub-divisions. Although Web hypertext allows users to link to a page through several means (navigation links, contextual “see also” links, embedded content links, etc.), each page always “lives” in one defined section, at one level of the site. Information hierarchies are extremely effective at organizing information because they are simple and familiar to us. Humans have organized information into hierarchies for thousands of years scientific divisions of life, geography, genealogical family trees, etc.). Because of the pervasiveness of hierarchies, users quickly understand and feel comfortable with Websites that employ these structures.

Wireframes and User Interface Flow Diagrams
Wireframes are schematic diagrams that depict the structure, content and prominence of elements on each unique page-type. Consensus uses a wireframe methodology that is specific to content managed sites. It includes understanding the execution cycles of a page—before, during, after—as well as the dynamic nature of a content managed site.