When visiting a classifieds site or an online magazine, the first instinct is rarely to read the homepage in its entirety. We look for a tab, a menu, a category. If nothing matches our expectations, we close the tab. The structure of a site, meaning how its pages are organized and linked to each other, directly determines this first impression.
For a media outlet like L’Annonceur, which gathers varied content (ads, articles, thematic sections), the readability of the hierarchy conditions the time spent on the site and the visitor’s ability to find what they are looking for.
The sitemap as an entry point to the site’s structure
Before discussing menus or design, one tool remains underutilized by the majority of visitors: the site map, or sitemap. This page lists all the sections and subpages that are accessible. It functions like a table of contents.
On a content site, the sitemap reveals the editorial logic. It highlights the main categories, isolated pages, and recurring sections. Consulting the structure of L’Annonceur allows you to visualize the complete organization of sections at a glance, without navigating page by page.
This is not a technical gadget reserved for search engines. The sitemap also serves the human visitor who wants to understand how the content is divided. On a media site that publishes regularly, this overview prevents missing entire sections.
Navigation by categories or by intent: what changes for the reader
Most sites organize their menus by thematic categories: news, ads, services, contact. This makes sense, but is not always sufficient.
Have you ever noticed that the same visitor can arrive at a site with very different intentions? Someone looking for a specific ad does not have the same journey as someone who wants to browse the latest publications. A well-thought-out structure offers both paths.
Thematic navigation
This groups content by subject. On a media site, this results in sections like “real estate,” “jobs,” “automotive.” Each section acts as a permanent filter that reduces the volume of pages to browse.
Action-based navigation
This guides the visitor according to what they want to do: post an ad, contact an advertiser, check prices. This type of journey relies on call-to-action buttons placed in the main menu or on the homepage.
An effective site combines both approaches. The main menu displays the categories, while shortcuts to common actions appear prominently. If one of the two is missing, some visitors may end up going in circles.
Web accessibility and structure: a recent legal obligation
The structure of a site is no longer just an ergonomic choice. Since the transposition in France of the European directive 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act) by the law of March 9, 2023, public service websites must make their interface compliant with the RGAA reference framework, targeting a level AA of the WCAG.
This obligation directly covers the hierarchy and navigation: correctly hierarchized headings, identified semantic regions (header, nav, main, footer), keyboard-accessible menus, coherent tab order.
The deadline of June 28, 2025, concerns new services. Existing sites benefit from a transitional period until 2030. Specifically, a media site that publishes ads falls within the scope as soon as it exceeds the threshold of a micro-enterprise.
This regulatory framework encourages structuring content rigorously. Semantic HTML tags are no longer a technical bonus: they become a legal prerequisite. A menu that does not work with a keyboard or poorly hierarchized page titles can constitute a violation.
- Headings must follow a logical order (H1 then H2, H3, without skipping levels) so that screen readers can convey the content hierarchy.
- Each area of the site (header, navigation, main content, footer) must be identifiable by HTML5 semantic tags.
- Links and buttons must be accessible via the Tab key, in an order that follows the visual logic of the page.
Internal links and page depth: a often overlooked criterion
A visitor should never need more than three clicks to reach any page on the site. This is a well-known principle in web ergonomics, but is rarely respected on large content sites.
The depth of a page also affects natural SEO. Search engines explore sites by following internal links. A page buried five levels deep will be indexed more slowly, or even ignored.
On a site like L’Annonceur, where new ads and articles are regularly added, there is a risk of creating orphan pages. An orphan page is one that has no internal links pointing to it. It exists, but no one can find it, neither the visitor nor Google.
Checking depth in practice
Two simple methods can help identify issues:
- Browse the sitemap and count the number of levels between the homepage and the most recent content.
- Use a free crawl tool (like Screaming Frog in its limited version) to identify pages more than three clicks from the root.
- Check that each new publication is linked from at least one category page or an existing article.
A regular internal linking strategy prevents the emergence of orphan pages and maintains the coherence of navigation as publications are added.
The footer, a second menu often underestimated
The footer of a media site serves a complementary role to the main menu. It groups useful links that the visitor looks for after browsing a page: legal notices, privacy policy, sitemap, contact.
On L’Annonceur, the footer can also serve as a shortcut to the main categories. A visitor finishing reading an article may not want to scroll all the way back to the top. A well-organized footer extends navigation effortlessly.
The quality of a site is rarely measured by its homepage design. It reveals itself when a visitor searches for specific information and finds it within seconds, without hesitation. A clear hierarchy, an accessible sitemap, coherent internal links, and adherence to accessibility standards form the foundation of this fluidity.
