Designing Well-Structured Websites: Lessons to Be Learned from Database Schema Methodology

Abstract

In this paper we argue that many of the problems one may experience while visiting websites today may be avoided if their builders adopt a proper methodology for designing and implementing the site. More specifically, introducing a systematic conceptual design phase for websites, similar in purpose and technique to the conceptual design phase in database systems, proves to be effective and efficient. However, certain differences such as adopting a user-centered view are essential for this. Existing database design techniques such as ER, ORM, OMT are found to be an adequate basis for this approach. We show how they can be extended to make them appropriate for website design. We also indicate how conceptual schemes may be usefully deployed in future automation of site creation and upkeep. Furthermore, by including parts of such a conceptual schema inside the site, a new generation of search engines may emerge.