Crafting UX-driven website architecture

Picture this: A stunning website launches after months of development, featuring beautiful designs and cutting-edge features. Yet within weeks, users are getting lost, bounce rates are climbing, and conversions are plummeting. The culprit? Poor website architecture lurking beneath the polished surface.

The architecture phase forms the critical foundation of any successful website project. Far more than just planning, it’s the strategic blueprint that determines how effectively a website will serve both its users and business objectives. This phase bridges the gap between initial research and design, ensuring that every decision is grounded in user needs while advancing business goals.

Skipping or rushing through this phase often leads to costly redesigns or missed post-launch opportunities. Without proper architecture, websites can suffer from poor navigation, confusing user journeys, and missed conversion opportunities. By investing time upfront in thoughtful planning, organizations can avoid these pitfalls and create digital experiences that truly resonate with their audience.

The value of this investment becomes clear in measurable business outcomes:

• Effortless navigation: Help users find what they need effortlessly, increasing engagement and maximizing the value they derive from your site.
• Optimized user journeys: Thoughtfully designed pathways will guide users toward taking meaningful actions, driving higher conversion rates.
• Increased loyalty: A seamless, satisfying experience will keep customers coming back and strengthen your brand’s credibility.
• Cost efficiency: A well-planned architecture avoids costly mid-project changes, ensuring a smoother development process.

This guide outlines a user-first approach to website architecture that balances user needs with business objectives, creating a foundation for long-term digital success.

Research: Laying the groundwork

The research phase sets the foundation for all architectural decisions. By gathering comprehensive data about users, competitors, and business requirements, we can make informed decisions that balance user needs with business objectives. This investigative work prevents assumptions and ensures the final architecture is built on solid evidence.

Brand discovery

Architecture must align with brand objectives and business goals. Take time to understand core brand values, services, and unique selling propositions. When conducting brand discovery, focus on:

• Core business objectives and key performance indicators.
• Seasonal trends that affect content and promotional strategies.
• Primary revenue drivers and their impact on site priorities.
• Unique selling propositions that should be highlighted in the architecture.

Audience insights: Understanding your users

Understanding your audience is fundamental to creating an effective website architecture. Start by developing detailed user personas that capture not just demographics but also behavioral patterns, motivations, and accessibility needs. These personas should reflect how different user segments interact with your website, their common paths through your content, and the challenges they face along the way.

Persona examples

Emma, the first-time visitor
Emma is a 35-year-old entrepreneur managing a busy schedule. She typically visits websites during her lunch break or while commuting, often using her mobile device. Emma’s primary goal is to quickly assess potential service providers without wading through overly complex jargon or cluttered navigation.

Challenge: Emma feels overwhelmed when websites lack clear pathways for new visitors or present information in overly technical terms, making it difficult to evaluate multiple options efficiently.

Architecture solution:

• Homepage content: Feature an engaging “How We Help” section or a short explainer video to immediately capture attention and simplify key offerings.
• Navigation: Include a clearly labeled “Start Here” menu option designed specifically for first-time visitors.
• Mobile-first design: Prioritize collapsible menus, large tappable CTAs, and optimized layouts for seamless navigation on mobile devices.

James, the returning customer
James is a 50-year-old small business owner who relies on repeat visits to service providers’ websites for tasks like managing his account or finding customer support. Efficiency is key for James—he values quick, intuitive access to the resources he uses most often.

Challenge: James becomes frustrated when account features are buried or when finding support resources involves multiple steps.

Architecture solution:

• Persistent navigation: Include a sticky “My Account” button in the main navigation for effortless access to account management tools.
• Footer organization: Clearly label customer support links in the footer for quick troubleshooting and issue resolution.
• Dedicated resources: Highlight recent updates or relevant tools in prominently placed sections to keep James engaged and informed during visits.

Maria, the tech-savvy power user
Maria is a 29-year-old marketing professional who navigates websites seamlessly between her desktop at work and her mobile device on the go. She prioritizes clear content organization, robust functionality, and tools that streamline her workflow.

Challenge: Maria is quickly frustrated by redundant content and clunky search systems that fail to provide relevant results. She expects intuitive search features and detailed resources.

Architecture solution:

• Search functionality: Implement advanced search filters, autocomplete, and typo tolerance to enhance content discovery and accuracy.
• Resource depth: Create well-organized pages featuring in-depth guides, white papers, and actionable content to meet Maria’s professional needs.
• Seamless navigation: Add breadcrumbs and dynamic quick-links to ensure smooth transitions between related sections, whether on desktop or mobile.

Behavioral segmentation

Once personas are defined, segment user behaviors to tailor your website’s architecture to their needs:

• First-time visitors may explore introductory content, FAQs, or blog posts to learn about your offerings.
• Returning customers are likely to seek quick access to account features, product updates, or customer support.
• Accessibility considerations: Ensure users with disabilities, such as visually impaired visitors, can navigate easily with screen-reader-friendly designs, keyboard accessibility, and clear navigation paths.

By incorporating personas and understanding the unique behaviors of each segment, you can design targeted paths that enhance the overall user experience and make your website more intuitive for all visitors.

User behavior analysis

Quantitative data is essential for validating user assumptions and ensuring decisions are rooted in real-world behaviors. This type of analysis helps us move beyond guesswork, providing actionable insights into how users interact with your website. By identifying patterns and pain points, we can design a structure that meets user needs while aligning with business goals. Key methods for gathering this data include:

• Click and heat mapping: Reveals where users interact most on each page, highlighting popular elements and overlooked areas. This insight helps optimize placement of key CTAs and content blocks.
• Scroll depth tracking: Shows how far users typically engage with content and where attention drops off, enabling strategic positioning of critical information to maintain engagement.
• Session recordings: Captures real user journeys and behavior patterns, revealing unexpected friction points, confusing layouts, and actual navigation paths that analytics alone might miss.
• Funnel visualization: Maps the user journey through conversion paths, identifying exactly where and why users drop off. This enables targeted improvements to forms, CTAs, and user guidance.
• Mouse tracking patterns: Indicates user attention and reading behavior, offering insights into how users process information and interact with different page elements.
• Drop-off analysis: Identifies specific elements or flows that cause users to leave, enabling data-driven decisions about content organization, navigation paths, and page structure.

Regular analysis of these behavioral patterns helps uncover areas where users struggle and optimize critical junctions in your website’s architecture. By combining quantitative metrics with qualitative feedback from user testing, you can ensure your site structure remains aligned with actual user behavior rather than assumptions. Most importantly, this data should drive continuous improvement – regularly revisiting and refining your architecture based on user interaction patterns.

Competitor analysis: Learning from the field

A thorough competitor analysis is essential for identifying opportunities and avoiding pitfalls in your website architecture. By studying competitors’ websites, you can uncover strengths to emulate, weaknesses to avoid, and gaps to exploit—shaping a smarter sitemap and content strategy.

Gather competitor data

Leverage tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google PageSpeed Insights to dive deep into key performance areas:

• Technical performance: Compare Core Web Vitals, page load times, and mobile responsiveness to set benchmarks for your site.
• Content structure: Analyze how competitors organize services, blogs, and product pages. Pay attention to the depth of information and use of categories.
• User experience: Examine navigation design, call-to-action (CTA) placement, and the visual hierarchy of key pages to understand what resonates with users.

Transform insights into actionable strategies

Competitor analysis isn’t just about observation—it’s about turning insights into better decisions for your own website.

• Inspiration from high-performing content: Identify pages driving significant traffic for competitors. Use this data to create similar content types, tailored to your audience.
• Filling the gaps: Discover content or feature gaps in competitor sites (e.g., lack of FAQs, weak blog coverage) and turn these into opportunities for differentiation.
• Avoiding pitfalls: Spot design flaws, such as overly complex navigation or inaccessible features, and ensure your site addresses these issues proactively.

Example: If competitors feature a detailed FAQ section that drives engagement, consider adding dynamic responses, categorization, or multimedia (e.g., videos) to make your FAQ stand out and better serve your audience.

Pro tip: Look beyond your direct competition. Don’t stop with direct competitors. Explore top-performing websites in related industries to uncover innovative strategies that could give your site a unique edge. For example, eCommerce brands can learn from SaaS sites about user onboarding, while service businesses might draw inspiration from interactive tools used on media websites.

Content gap analysis

Content gaps are opportunities to address unmet user needs and strengthen your website’s value. Analyzing gaps helps ensure your site architecture supports a comprehensive content strategy.

Identify gaps and opportunities

• Topic comparison: Look for key topics competitors cover that your site does not.
• Content types: Assess whether competitors are using formats like videos, infographics, or case studies that you might lack.
• Depth and quality: Determine if your competitors provide more detailed or updated content on critical topics.

Connect insights to your sitemap

• Incorporate missing content types into your sitemap, ensuring every user need is addressed.
• Prioritize pages based on high-value topics identified through SEO research or competitor analysis.
• Use insights to build a more engaging user experience and improve your site’s search engine rankings.

Pro tip: Use audience feedback and analytics data to validate content gaps. This ensures your efforts align with user demand rather than assumptions.

Sitemaps: Structuring the framework

Creating a well-structured sitemap is crucial for both user experience and search engine optimization. This phase transforms our research insights into a concrete plan for organizing and connecting content. A thoughtful sitemap serves as the backbone of the website, ensuring users can easily find what they need while search engines can effectively crawl and index the content.

Audit existing content: Building on what works

Before creating a new sitemap, conducting a comprehensive audit of your existing website is a critical first step. This process uncovers strengths to build upon, weaknesses to address, and opportunities to better align with user needs and business objectives.

Evaluate your current content

Analyze the performance and relevance of your existing pages using data-driven insights:

• Page performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Hotjar to measure traffic, engagement, and conversion rates for each page.
• User engagement patterns: Identify which pages users visit most often and where they drop off. Heatmaps and session recordings provide valuable context for user behavior.
• SEO performance: Leverage tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to evaluate keyword rankings, backlinks, and overall visibility of your current pages.

Spot content gaps and redundancies

A clear understanding of your content landscape ensures your new sitemap includes the right balance of optimization and innovation:

• High-value pages: Flag high-performing content for retention and potential enhancement.
• Underperforming pages: Identify low-value or redundant content that could be consolidated, removed, or reimagined.
• Unmet needs: Highlight missing content types, topics, or user-centric resources to fill gaps in your site structure.

Use analytics to guide decisions

Data-driven insights help prioritize what to keep, refine, or remove:

• Top performers: Pinpoint frequently visited pages to understand user priorities and focus on maintaining or improving these assets.
• Low performers: Analyze underperforming pages to decide whether updates, restructuring, or removal is the best approach.
• Search term reports: Review internal site search analytics to discover user needs that aren’t being met by current content.

Pro tip: Address internal linking opportunities. Audit internal linking patterns to identify orphan pages (pages with no inbound links) and create logical connections that improve navigation and SEO value.

By thoroughly auditing your existing content, you ensure your new sitemap reflects what users value most while addressing gaps and inefficiencies. This thoughtful approach forms a strong foundation for a website architecture that supports both user satisfaction and business success.

Use competitor insights and SEO research

Your competitor and SEO research should directly influence sitemap development by helping you:

• Identify effective page structures that perform well in your industry
• Discover high-traffic keywords that could inform new content sections
• Understand content gaps that need to be addressed in the new structure

Define page types

Consider all the different content types your site needs to support. This includes standard pages like services and about sections, but also extends to more specific content types that support your business goals. Each page type should align with specific stages of the buyer journey, ensuring you’re meeting user needs at every step.

Hierarchy and organization

Develop a logical structure that reflects how users think about and search for your content. Create clear parent-child relationships between pages, and ensure the hierarchy makes intuitive sense from both a user and SEO perspective. If international or multilingual support is needed, factor these requirements into your planning early.

SEO considerations

Focus on creating a structure that search engines can easily understand and index. Maintain one primary topic per page to avoid content cannibalization, and ensure your hierarchy aligns with how users actually search for your content.

Pro tip: A well-organized sitemap makes it easier to track and improve section performance in analytics. Consider how you’ll measure success for different sections when planning your structure.

User flows: Mapping the journey

Understanding how users move through your site is essential for creating an effective architecture. User flows map out the paths visitors take to accomplish their goals, from their entry points through to completion. By documenting and analyzing these journeys, we can identify opportunities to streamline the user experience and optimize conversion paths.

Define entry points

Users rarely start their journey on your homepage. Understanding entry points helps us anticipate the user’s mindset and expectations when they first arrive on our site. Consider how different audience segments might arrive at your site:

• Direct search results for specific products or services
• Social media links to content or landing pages
• Email campaign links to promotional pages
• Referral links from partner sites or directories

A user coming from a specific Google search will have different expectations and needs than someone clicking through from a social media post. By understanding these entry contexts, we can better design pages that meet users where they are mentally and guide them forward in their journey.

Create specific user journeys

Once you understand your entry points, map out the ideal path for each user type. Different users will have varying needs and goals, requiring distinct pathways through your site. Here’s an example of a B2B prospect’s journey:

1. Lands on service page from Google search for “enterprise HR software”
2. Reviews service features and benefits
3. Clicks through to case study about similar company
4. Views pricing comparison table
5. Downloads white paper (micro-conversion)
6. Checks customer testimonials
7. Submits contact form for demo request

Document these detailed journeys for each user type to ensure your architecture supports all critical paths effectively. A repeat customer, for instance, will need a more direct route to account management or support resources.

Measurement criteria

To ensure the success of your user flows, it’s critical to establish clear metrics that evaluate their effectiveness. These criteria should focus on how well your architecture guides users through their journeys and supports business objectives.

Define success metrics

• Primary conversion rates: Measure the percentage of users who complete the main goal of a flow, such as filling out a contact form, requesting a demo, or making a purchase.
• Drop-off points: Analyze where users abandon their journeys and identify patterns that may indicate friction or confusion.
• Time on task: Evaluate how long it takes users to complete key actions. A shorter, efficient path often correlates with better user satisfaction.
• Navigation depth: Track how many pages users visit before reaching their destination. Excessive steps may indicate overly complex flows.

Include micro-conversions

Beyond primary goals, track smaller interactions that signal user engagement and intent:

• SaaS examples: Account sign-ups, trial activations, or feature explorations.
• eCommerce examples: Adding items to cart, saving products to a wishlist, or viewing related products.
• Content-focused sites: Newsletter sign-ups, video plays, or PDF downloads.

Micro-conversions provide valuable insights into user behavior and highlight areas where additional support might guide users toward the primary conversion.

Use analytics tools for validation

• Google Analytics: Set up goals and funnels to track completion rates and visualize user paths.
• Hotjar or Crazy Egg: Identify bottlenecks using heatmaps, scroll maps, and session recordings.
• A/B testing platforms: Experiment with flow adjustments to improve user journeys and optimize conversion paths.

Pro tip: Combine qualitative feedback from usability testing with quantitative data from analytics tools to gain a comprehensive view of user experience. This dual approach ensures your architectural decisions align with both user expectations and measurable outcomes.

Navigation design: Creating intuitive pathways

Navigation design transforms your sitemap and user flows into concrete wayfinding systems. Effective navigation helps users understand where they are, what they can do, and how to reach their goals. This phase requires careful consideration of both primary navigation patterns and contextual navigation elements that support specific user needs.

Primary and footer navigation

Primary Navigation: Guides users to essential pages like services, about, and contact. Keep it simple and avoid overloading menus with unnecessary options.
Footer Navigation: Acts as a directory, housing secondary links such as privacy policies, social media, and a site map for comprehensive navigation.

Section-specific navigation

Different sections of your site may require specialized navigation approaches. Content-heavy areas benefit from adaptable sidebar navigation that helps users explore related content. Implement breadcrumbs in hierarchical sections to help users understand their location and move between levels easily.

Search functionality

Search often serves as a primary navigation tool, helping users quickly locate the content or products they need. Implementing an intuitive and effective search system can greatly enhance user experience and engagement.

Key features to prioritize include:

• Autocomplete: Provide suggestions as users type to speed up the process and guide them toward relevant content.
• Error tolerance: Account for common misspellings to ensure users still receive accurate results.
• Filters and categories: Allow users to refine results by tags, attributes, or content types, helping them narrow their search efficiently.

For experienced designers, advanced search elements like faceted search or dynamic recommendations (e.g., “Most Searched” or “Popular Services”) can significantly enhance discovery. For simpler projects, focus on strong autocomplete and filtering capabilities to streamline the search process.

Internal linking

Strategic internal linking helps users discover related content naturally. This approach not only enhances user experience but also strengthens your site’s SEO foundation. Create meaningful connections between related pages and ensure anchor text clearly indicates where links will lead.

Pro tip: If there’s an existing site, analyze the search terms users are actually using in the site’s search function – this data can be a goldmine for understanding user needs and vocabulary.

Wireframes: Visualizing the blueprint

Wireframes transform architectural plans into actionable layouts, bridging the gap between strategy and design. They prioritize structure and functionality over aesthetics, serving as a collaborative tool for refining user paths, content hierarchy, and page goals. By clarifying the flow of information and user interactions, wireframes ensure alignment across teams and reduce costly revisions later in the design process.

Pro tip: Start with a checklist. Before diving into wireframing, create a detailed list of must-have elements for each page. For example:

• Key CTAs (“Sign Up,” “Request a Quote”)
• Trust signals (testimonials, awards, or security badges)
• Navigation elements (primary menus, breadcrumbs)
• Content highlights (hero section, key features, social proof)
  This ensures no critical components are overlooked during the planning phase.

Why wireframes matter

Wireframes are the foundation of a well-structured website. They map how users navigate and interact with your site, ensuring key information is accessible and guiding users toward meaningful actions. For example, a wireframe for a service page might outline how a benefits section flows into testimonials and concludes with a prominent call-to-action (CTA). This blueprint ensures every element on the page supports its primary goal—driving conversions.

Building effective wireframes

Effective wireframes do more than position elements—they demonstrate how each component supports user goals and business objectives.

Core principles for impactful wireframes:

1. Establish a clear hierarchy:
   Start with a compelling value proposition or problem statement that grabs users’ attention. For example, a financial planning website might lead with “Secure Your Retirement with Confidence” alongside a visually striking CTA like “Start Your Free Consultation.” From there, content should flow logically, addressing user questions and building trust.
2. Optimize critical areas above the fold:
   The first screen users see should feature your most important elements, such as a CTA, key benefits, and any trust-building content. For instance, a nonprofit homepage might display a bold donation button paired with a message like, “Every $10 feeds a child for a week.”
3. Design purposeful content blocks:
   Each section of the page should have a specific role, progressively guiding users. A tech company’s landing page might feature:
   • Hero section: Highlight the primary value proposition.
   • Features section: Explain product benefits with icons and concise descriptions.
   • Social proof section: Showcase customer testimonials and partnerships.
4. Adapt for mobile-first design:
   Ensure tap-friendly buttons, collapsible menus, and smooth vertical navigation. A restaurant site, for instance, might prioritize menu access and a “Reserve a Table” button on smaller screens.

Incorporating StoryBrand into wireframes

The StoryBrand framework is a proven method for emotionally engaging users and driving conversions. By weaving its principles into your wireframes, particularly on high-impact pages like homepages or service pages, you can craft layouts that resonate deeply with your audience.

Here’s how to integrate StoryBrand effectively:

• Identify the user’s problem: Highlight the specific challenge your audience faces and why it matters. For example, “Overwhelmed by juggling multiple tasks? Our software simplifies your workflow in minutes.”
• Position your brand as the guide: Showcase expertise and empathy by explaining how your solution helps. Include trust signals like “Trusted by 5,000+ small businesses” or “Award-winning customer support.”
• Present a clear plan: Provide users with a straightforward roadmap, like “Step 1: Schedule a Demo. Step 2: Try for Free. Step 3: Achieve More.”
• Call to action: Use prominent CTAs to guide action, e.g., “Start Free Trial,” “Get Started Today,” or “Contact Us for a Quote.”
• Visualize success: Reinforce benefits with testimonials, before-and-after imagery, or data-driven outcomes like “Customers report 30% faster task completion.”
• Show the stakes: Create urgency by emphasizing the cost of inaction, such as, “Don’t let inefficiency hold your team back—take control today.”

While not every page needs the full StoryBrand framework, elements of its storytelling approach can elevate wireframes for conversion-critical pages.

Practical application: Before and after examples

Before: A SaaS homepage features a vague header like “Welcome to Our Platform” and scattered content blocks with no clear CTAs. Users abandon the page because they don’t understand the value or how to proceed.

After: The revised homepage starts with “Simplify Your Workflow in Minutes,” supported by a bold “Start Free Trial” button. A second section highlights key integrations with popular tools, followed by trust-building elements like “Rated 4.8/5 by 10,000+ Professionals.” Each block leads logically into the next, ensuring users stay engaged.

Before: A nonprofit support page is cluttered with text-heavy sections, buried contact information, and no search function. Visitors feel overwhelmed and leave without finding help.

After: The new wireframe introduces a prominent search bar labeled “Find Answers Quickly” at the top. Categories like “Donation FAQs” and “Volunteer Opportunities” are clearly displayed in clickable tiles, while a persistent “Need More Help? Contact Us” button ensures users never feel stuck.

Developing wireframes for specific page types

Different page types require tailored approaches to wireframing to ensure they align with user needs and site objectives.

Different page types require tailored approaches to wireframing to ensure they align with user needs and site objectives.

• Homepage: Serves as the entry point, quickly communicating value and guiding different user types to relevant sections.
• Service pages: Focuses on conversions with well-placed CTAs, benefits-driven content, and supporting evidence like testimonials.
• Blog templates: Encourages content discovery with intuitive categorization, prominent search options, and links to related posts.
• About/team pages: Builds trust through professional bios, credentials, and personalized messaging.
• Support pages: Prioritizes usability with searchable knowledge bases, clear categories, and quick access to contact forms.

For example, a blog template wireframe might include a hero banner showcasing the latest post, a sidebar for easy navigation, and a footer linking to popular categories. Meanwhile, a service page wireframe could include a feature comparison table followed by an inquiry form to drive engagement.

Pro tip: Before finalizing wireframes, validate their effectiveness through usability testing. Tools like UsabilityHub and Maze allow you to simulate interactions and gather real user feedback. Check whether:

• Users understand each section’s purpose.
• Navigation leads intuitively to CTAs.
• Critical information is easy to locate.

Testing early not only saves time but also ensures your wireframes serve as a reliable foundation for design and development.

Conclusion

A thoughtful architecture phase isn’t just planning—it’s the blueprint for a successful digital presence. By investing time in proper research, sitemap development, user flow mapping, navigation design, and wireframing, you create a foundation that serves both users and business goals effectively.

This systematic approach to website architecture helps prevent common pitfalls that often lead to costly revisions post-launch. The result is a website that not only meets immediate business objectives but can also scale and adapt as your organization grows.

Remember that successful website architecture balances user needs with business goals, creating digital experiences that are both intuitive and effective.

Appendix

Tools and resources

The architecture phase requires the right tools to ensure efficient planning and collaboration. Here’s a categorized list of tools and how they fit into the workflow:

• Sitemap creation:
  • GlooMaps: For creating and visualizing sitemaps with drag-and-drop simplicity.
  • Slickplan: Ideal for collaborative sitemap design and content planning.
  • Google Sheets: A flexible, lightweight option for organizing page structures and sharing ideas.
• User flow mapping:
  • Miro: Enables collaborative flowchart creation with intuitive design tools.
  • Lucidchart: Great for visually mapping detailed user journeys and processes.
• Wireframe tools:
  • Figma: A powerful tool for designing and sharing interactive wireframes.
  • Adobe XD: Combines wireframing and prototyping with seamless design integration.
  • Balsamiq: Simplified wireframe creation for early-stage brainstorming.
• SEO analysis:
  • Ahrefs: Uncovers competitor insights, keyword opportunities, and backlink strategies.
  • SEMrush: Comprehensive SEO tools for auditing and improving site performance.
  • Google Search Console: Tracks search performance and identifies technical issues.
  • Google Analytics: Analyzes user behavior and traffic sources to inform architectural decisions.
  • Screaming Frog: Useful for auditing existing site structures and identifying SEO issues.
• User behavior tracking:
  • Hotjar: Visualizes user behavior with heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys.
  • Mouseflow: Tracks user paths to pinpoint friction points and drop-offs.
  • Lucky Orange: Combines heatmaps, session recordings, and live chat insights.

Team collaboration

Building effective website architecture is a team effort, typically involving these key roles:

• Project Manager: Oversees timelines, coordinates team efforts, and ensures deliverables meet business goals.
• Art Director: Maintains alignment with brand identity and ensures visuals reflect the brand’s personality.
• UX/UI Designer: Focuses on user-friendly layouts, navigation, and interaction design.
• SEO Expert: Provides guidance on search engine best practices and helps identify content gaps.
• Developers: Offer technical insights to ensure the architecture aligns with development constraints and possibilities.

This collaborative approach ensures the architecture phase is informed by multiple perspectives, creating a foundation that supports both user experience and business objectives.