# Site Architecture Plan > Plans website information architecture with URL structure, internal linking strategy, and content hierarchy. Use when building or restructuring a website for SEO. - Skill: `reaperinvest/site-architecture-plan` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add reaperinvest/site-architecture-plan` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/reaperinvest/site-architecture-plan/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: reaperinvest (https://skillmd.com/u/reaperinvest) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/reaperinvest/site-architecture-plan --- # Site Architecture Plan ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Plan a website's URL structure and page hierarchy from scratch - Restructure an existing site for better SEO and user experience - Design an internal linking strategy that distributes page authority - Create a content hierarchy that supports topic clusters and pillar pages **DO NOT** use this skill for visual web design, wireframing, or technical performance optimization. This is for information architecture and SEO-focused site structure. --- ## Core Principle EVERY PAGE SHOULD BE REACHABLE IN 3 CLICKS OR FEWER FROM THE HOMEPAGE — FLAT, LOGICAL ARCHITECTURE HELPS BOTH USERS AND SEARCH ENGINES FIND WHAT THEY NEED. --- ## Phase 1: Brief ### Required Inputs | Input | What to Ask | Default | |-------|------------|---------| | **Business type** | "What does your business do?" | No default — must be provided | | **Core pages needed** | "What pages must your site have?" | Homepage, About, Services, Blog, Contact | | **Products/services** | "List your products or service categories." | No default — must be provided | | **Content volume** | "How many blog posts or content pages do you have/plan?" | Under 50 | | **Target keywords** | "What are your top 5-10 keywords?" | Derived from business type | | **Current site** | "Is this a new site or a redesign?" | New site | **GATE: Confirm inputs before designing the architecture.** --- ## Phase 2: Site Structure ### URL Hierarchy ``` ## Site Map / ← Homepage ├── /about ← About page ├── /services ← Services overview │ ├── /services/[service-1] ← Service detail page │ ├── /services/[service-2] │ └── /services/[service-3] ├── /products ← Products overview (if applicable) │ ├── /products/[category] │ └── /products/[category]/[product] ├── /blog ← Blog index │ ├── /blog/[category] ← Blog category pages │ └── /blog/[post-slug] ← Individual posts ├── /resources ← Guides, tools, downloads │ └── /resources/[resource-slug] ├── /contact ← Contact page └── /[landing-pages] ← Campaign-specific landing pages ``` ### URL Rules - Lowercase, hyphenated, no special characters - Include target keyword in the URL slug - Keep URLs short (under 60 characters ideally) - No dates in blog URLs (allows evergreen updates) - Category pages use /blog/category/ not /category/blog/ ### Page Type Definitions ``` ## Page Types | Page Type | Purpose | Keyword Target | Template | |-----------|---------|---------------|----------| | Homepage | Overview + trust | Brand + primary keyword | Unique | | Service pages | Convert visitors | Service-specific keywords | Repeated | | Pillar pages | Comprehensive guides | Head/body keywords | Guide layout | | Blog posts | Answer specific questions | Long-tail keywords | Post layout | | Category pages | Organize content | Category keywords | Index layout | | Landing pages | Campaign conversion | Campaign keywords | Minimal | ``` **GATE: Approve the site structure before designing internal linking.** --- ## Phase 3: Internal Linking Strategy ### Link Architecture ``` ## Internal Linking Rules **Homepage:** - Links to all main sections (services, blog, resources) - Links to top 3-5 most important pages - Receives links from every page (via nav and footer) **Pillar Pages:** - Link to every cluster blog post related to the topic - Receive links from all cluster posts - Link to relevant service/product pages **Blog Posts:** - Link to the parent pillar page - Link to 2-3 related blog posts - Link to 1 relevant service/product page - Use descriptive anchor text (not "click here") **Service Pages:** - Link to relevant blog content for depth - Link to related services for cross-discovery - Link to testimonial/case study pages ``` ### Topic Cluster Map ``` ## Topic Clusters **Cluster 1: [Topic]** Pillar: /resources/[comprehensive-guide] ├── /blog/[subtopic-1] ├── /blog/[subtopic-2] ├── /blog/[subtopic-3] └── /blog/[subtopic-4] **Cluster 2: [Topic]** Pillar: /resources/[comprehensive-guide] ├── /blog/[subtopic-1] ├── /blog/[subtopic-2] └── /blog/[subtopic-3] ``` --- ## Phase 4: Polish ### 1. Navigation Structure Define the main navigation menu and footer links: - Main nav: 5-7 top-level items maximum - Footer: secondary pages, legal, social links - Breadcrumbs: enable on all pages below the homepage ### 2. Technical Checklist - [ ] XML sitemap generated and submitted to Google Search Console - [ ] Robots.txt allows crawling of all important pages - [ ] Canonical tags set on all pages - [ ] 301 redirects planned for any URLs changing (redesign) - [ ] Breadcrumb markup implemented - [ ] No orphan pages (every page linked from at least one other page) ### 3. Growth Plan How the architecture scales as content grows: - New blog posts slot into existing clusters - New services get pages under /services/ - New clusters are planned around keyword research - Site map reviewed quarterly for structural issues --- ## Anti-Patterns - **Deep nesting** — /services/category/subcategory/sub-subcategory/page is too deep. Keep to 3 levels maximum. - **Orphan pages** — pages with no internal links pointing to them are invisible to search engines and users. - **Flat blog with no categories** — hundreds of blog posts at /blog/[slug] with no topical organization wastes cluster potential. - **Changing URLs without redirects** — every changed URL needs a 301 redirect. Broken links lose all accumulated SEO value. - **Keyword cannibalization** — two pages targeting the same keyword compete against each other. One page per primary keyword. --- ## Recovery - **Existing site with no structure:** Audit current pages, group by topic, create category pages, and add internal links. Do not change URLs unless necessary. - **Too many pages for manual linking:** Prioritize the top 20 pages by traffic and link those manually. Use breadcrumbs and category pages for automatic linking. - **URL restructure needed:** Create a complete redirect map before changing anything. Test redirects thoroughly after implementation. - **No blog content yet:** Build the architecture now with placeholder categories. Fill in content based on the topic cluster plan.