Information Architecture Guidelines

To keep our content clear, easy to navigate, and reusable across different purposes, we organize knowledge using the following structure in NEXT.

🗂️ Shelf: A Curated, Dynamic Collection of Books

• A Shelf is a collection of related Books, grouped for a specific audience or purpose.

• Use Shelves to curate content, not to structure it deeply.

• A Book can appear in multiple Shelves, so avoid putting all unrelated topics into one Book.

• Examples of Shelves:

  • Newcomer Essentials – Books selected to help someone new understand our church.

  • Leadership Toolkit – Books for ministry leaders and those who serve.

  • Administration – Books related to governance, finances, operations, and facilities.

   

📘 Book: A Standalone Topic

• A Book is centered around one main topic or area of knowledge.

• Keep Books focused so they can be reused across different Shelves.

• Don’t try to cover everything in one Book—break things out by topic.

• Examples of Books:

  • Church Governance – contains bylaws, decision-making structure, leadership policies.

  • Church Operations – includes facility usage, scheduling, and logistics.

  • Children’s Ministry Guide – curriculum, volunteer roles, and safety guidelines.

  • Bible Study on John – weekly lessons and group discussion materials.

📂 Chapter: A Group of Similar Pages

• A Chapter organizes related Pages that follow the same format, structure, or theme.

• Chapters are optional but useful when multiple Pages need to be grouped together logically.

• Examples of Chapters:

  • In Church Operations: Facility Management – includes facility usage rules, booking forms, cleaning checklists.

  • In Church Governance: Core Documents – includes bylaws, mission statement, and church constitution.

  • In Bible Study on John: Weekly Lessons – each page is one week’s content.

📄 Page: One Concept or Resource

• A Page should focus on one clear topic, policy, lesson, or resource.

• Pages are where actual content lives. Keep them concise and easy to scan.

• If a Page gets too long or covers multiple topics, consider splitting it.

• Examples of Pages:

  • Facility Usage Guidelines

  • Church Bylaws

  • Lesson 1: The Word Became Flesh

  • Role: Worship Leader