website-structure

Name: website-structure
Author: kostja94/marketing-skills

$npx mdskill add kostja94/marketing-skills/website-structure

Plan website structure, prioritize pages, and improve UX/SEO.

Helps decide which pages to build and prioritize for new or existing sites.
Reads project context files for product type, audience, and growth goals.
Assesses website type and stage to tailor page recommendations.
Outputs a structured plan with page hierarchy and priority order.

SKILL.md

.github/skills/website-structureView on GitHub ↗

---
name: website-structure
description: When the user wants to plan website structure, decide which pages to build, or prioritize pages for a new or existing site. Also use when the user mentions "website structure," "site structure," "which pages do I need," "page planning," "sitemap planning," "Must Have pages," "website architecture," or "site hierarchy." For a specific page template (e.g. homepage), use homepage-generator or landing-page-generator as appropriate. Not for organic SEO roadmap alone; use seo-strategy.
metadata:
  version: 1.5.0
---

# Strategy: Website Structure

Guides website structure planning: which pages to build, page priority, and how structure supports UX, SEO, and growth. Structure is the organization and connection of pages; it affects user navigation, Google's understanding of content importance, crawlability, and sitelinks in SERPs. See **serp-features** for sitelinks and SERP optimization.

**When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

## Initial Assessment

**Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for product type, audience, and growth goals.

Identify:
1. **Website type**: Product/SaaS, B2B, E-commerce, Portfolio, Forum, Directory
2. **Stage**: New site (plan from scratch) vs. existing (extend or audit)
3. **Growth strategy**: Affiliate, education, multi-language, community, B2B, developer
4. **Constraints**: Team size, budget, tech stack

## Page Priority Framework

Plan pages by priority for development scheduling. See [skills-reference §2 Page Taxonomy](../../../docs/skills-reference.md#2-page-taxonomy) for full page types and website-type mapping.

| Priority | Pages | Notes |
|----------|-------|-------|
| **Must Have** | Home, Product/Features, Pricing, Blog, About, Privacy, Terms, Contact | Essential for trust and conversion; Pricing: public page in nav for self-serve; enterprise-only may use "Contact sales" instead; see **pricing-page-generator** (Visibility & Placement) |
| **Great to Have** | Testimonials, FAQ, Sitemap (HTML), 404, Refund/Returns | Support UX and SEO |
| **Optional** | Search Results, News, Careers, Disclosure | Situational |
| **Traffic-driven** | Category/Collection pages | For content-heavy or e-commerce; needs Category + Tags |

## Generic Template Structure

Applicable to SaaS, tools, and content sites. Adapt by removing unused nodes (e.g. no API → drop API) and adding specific modules (e.g. industry, region).

| Section | Typical Paths | Page Skills |
|---------|---------------|-------------|
| **Root** | /, /features, /pricing, /demo, /contact | homepage-generator, features-page-generator, pricing-page-generator |
| **Tools** | /tools, /free-tools; hub + per-tool pages | tools-page-generator; free tools for lead gen; often SPA; programmatic; see **programmatic-seo** |
| **Resources** | /blog, /changelog, /glossary, /faq, /tutorials | blog-page-generator, changelog-page-generator, glossary-page-generator, faq-page-generator |
| **Partnership** | /affiliate, /startups, /ambassadors | affiliate-page-generator, landing-page-generator |
| **Legal** | /terms, /privacy, /careers | terms-page-generator, privacy-page-generator, careers-page-generator |
| **Competitor** | /alternatives, /compare, /migrate | alternatives-page-generator, migration-page-generator |
| **Standalone** | /dashboard, /login, /signup, /docs, /api, /status, /support | signup-login-page-generator, docs-page-generator, api-page-generator, status-page-generator |

## Growth Strategy → Structure Mapping

Structure reflects growth strategy. Subdirectories signal channels:

| Goal | Path Example | Page/Channel |
|------|--------------|--------------|
| Affiliate conversion | /affiliate | affiliate-page-generator |
| Education/student plan | /education, /startups, /student-discount | education-program, startups-page-generator |
| Multi-language | /zh-CN, /ja | localization-strategy |
| Community | /ambassadors, /showcase | creator-program, landing-page-generator |
| B2B / Enterprise | Solutions (industry-first), Use cases (scenario-first; can be sub-pages), Customer stories | solutions-page-generator, use-cases-page-generator, customer-stories-page-generator |
| Developer product | /api, /docs, /status | api-page-generator, docs-page-generator, status-page-generator |
| User feedback | Feedback, Roadmap | feedback-page-generator; External (Canny, FeatureBase) |
| Plugins/Integrations | /integrations, /plugins | integrations-page-generator, category-page-generator |
| Giveaway/Contest | /giveaway | contest-page-generator |

## Domain Structure (Multiple Products)

When planning for multiple products or brands, see **domain-architecture** for subfolder vs subdomain vs independent domain. This skill covers page structure within a single domain. For initial domain choice (Brand vs PMD vs EMD, TLD), see **domain-selection**.

## Planning Workflow

1. **Choose template**: Start from generic structure; map to [skills-reference §2](../../../docs/skills-reference.md#2-page-taxonomy) website types
2. **Trim modules**: Remove irrelevant nodes (e.g. no API → drop /api, /docs)
3. **Add specifics**: Industry pages, region, product variants
4. **Assign URLs**: Per node; follow **url-structure** (lowercase, hyphens, short, keyword-rich)
5. **Export list**: "Page type + URL + Priority" for dev scheduling
6. **Tech stack**: Match page types to services (DNS, auth, CMS, status page, etc.)
7. **Iterate**: Expand with new features, markets; keep structure clear

## Structure Principles

| Principle | Guideline |
|-----------|-----------|
| **Flat structure** | Max 4 clicks from homepage to any page; improves crawlability and weight distribution |
| **Early planning** | Plan structure before growth; can start right after domain purchase |
| **Sitelinks** | Good structure + TOC + authoritative internal links → natural sitelinks in SERP (cannot be forced via schema); see **serp-features** |
| **Orphan prevention** | Every page needs internal links; see **site-crawlability** and **internal-links** |
| **Features vs Use cases** | /features = capability-first; /use-cases = scenario-first; differentiate content angle, link between, avoid overlap; see **features-page-generator**, **use-cases-page-generator** |
| **Clear navigation** | Clear hierarchy and nav improve task completion; users find what they need faster; see **navigation-menu-generator** |
| **Pricing placement** | Marketing site: /pricing in main nav for prospects; in-app: Settings → Billing in sidebar for logged-in users (subscription management). Enterprise-only: "Contact sales" may replace public pricing page; see **pricing-page-generator** |

## Homepage Module Reference

See **homepage-generator** for common modules (Headline, Subheadline, CTA, Benefits, Social Proof, etc.), navigation options, and **hero-generator** for hero design.

## Output Format

- **Page list** with priority (Must Have / Great to Have / Optional)
- **URL structure** (paths per section)
- **Website-type fit** (which pages apply per [skills-reference §2](../../../docs/skills-reference.md#2-page-taxonomy))
- **Growth mapping** (which paths support which channels)
- **Next steps**: url-structure for URL rules; xml-sitemap for submission; site-crawlability for audit

## References

- [Website structure SEO guide](https://alignify.co/zh/seo/website-structure) — Alignify: structure importance, page priority, generic template, planning workflow, growth mapping, homepage modules
- **skills-reference §2** (docs/skills-reference.md#2-page-taxonomy) — Full page types, website-type matrix, core vs extended; use for page selection

## Related Skills

- **seo-strategy**: SEO workflow order; structure planning fits before Technical phase
- **domain-selection**: Initial domain choice; do before structure when choosing domain
- **domain-architecture**: Subfolder vs subdomain vs independent; do before structure if domain decision pending
- **url-structure**: URL optimization, hierarchy, slugs; apply after structure is defined
- **site-crawlability**: Crawlability, orphan pages, redirects; audit existing structure
- **internal-links**: Link strategy, hub-spoke; implement after pages exist
- **xml-sitemap**: Sitemap creation; include planned URLs
- **breadcrumb-generator**: Breadcrumb for hierarchy; large sites, e-commerce
- **navigation-menu-generator**: Nav design; primary, footer, mobile
- **content-strategy**: Content clusters, pillar pages; complements structure planning

More from kostja94/marketing-skills

Skill	Description
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about-page-generator	When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit About page content. Also use when the user mentions "about page," "about us," "company story," "our team," "about section," "company overview," "brand story," "team page," or "who we are." For sitewide page planning, use website-structure.
affiliate-marketing	When the user wants to plan, implement, or optimize affiliate marketing strategy. Also use when the user mentions "affiliate marketing," "affiliate program strategy," "CPS model," "affiliate recruitment," "commission structure," "affiliate partners," "affiliate network," "affiliate tracking," "affiliate commission," or "partner marketing." For affiliate page, use affiliate-page-generator.
affiliate-page-generator	When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit affiliate program page content. Also use when the user mentions "affiliate program," "affiliate page," "partner program," "referral program page," "affiliate landing," "partner landing," "commission page," or "affiliate signup." For affiliate program strategy, use affiliate-marketing.
ai-traffic-tracking	When the user wants to track AI search traffic in GA4 or GSC. Also use when the user mentions "AI traffic," "ChatGPT referral," "Perplexity traffic," "AI Overviews," "GA4 AI sources," "AI search analytics," "track AI referrals," "AI search traffic," "Claude traffic," or "how to track AI traffic." For AI SEO strategy, use generative-engine-optimization.
alternatives-page-generator	When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit alternatives or comparison content (page or blog article). Also use when the user mentions "alternatives page," "alternatives listicle," "X alternatives," "competitor comparison," "vs page," "compare page," "best alternatives to X," "switch from X," "competitor brand traffic," "brand keyword ads," or "intercept competitor search." For competitor research, use competitor-research.
api-page-generator	When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit the API introduction/overview page. Also use when the user mentions "API page," "API landing page," "/api page," "API overview," "developer landing," "API marketing," or "API for developers." Note: API documentation (endpoint reference) lives in docs; use docs-page-generator.
app-ads	When the user wants to run app install ads, user acquisition (UA), or promote mobile apps. Also use when the user mentions "app ads," "app install ads," "UA," "user acquisition," "Google App Campaigns," "Apple Search Ads," "ASA," "UAC," "App Store ads," "Play Store ads," "CPI," or "app promotion." For store listings, use distribution-channels.
article-content	When the user wants to write, generate, or create article body content—blog post body, long-form content, how-to guide, listicle. Also use when the user mentions "write article," "article content," "blog post content," "article body," "long-form content creation," "generate article," "article draft," "how-to guide content," "listicle content," "information gain," or "content density." For single post page structure, schema, and SEO metadata, use article-page-generator. For blog index/listing page, use blog-page-generator. For short ad, landing, or email copy, use copywriting.
backlink-analysis	When the user wants to analyze backlinks, audit link profile, or identify link issues. Also use when the user mentions "backlink analysis," "backlink audit," "referring domains," "toxic links," "link profile," or "disavow file." For acquisition, use link-building.