In this article · 11 sections
- Plan a simple hierarchy
- Example: a taxi company
- URL best practices
- Breadcrumbs
- Internal links are the real structure
- Avoid orphan pages
- Navigation that matches structure
- Common structure problems
- Planning structure before a redesign
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Should my URLs include the city name?
- Is a flat structure better than folders?
- Should I change URLs to make them better?
- Do URLs need keywords?
- Plan your site structure with experts
A website is like a shop. If products are arranged logically with clear signs, customers find what they want. If everything is piled in one corner, they leave. Search engines work the same way: a clear structure tells Google what your business offers, which pages are most important, and how they relate. A messy structure hides good pages and confuses both visitors and crawlers.
Plan a simple hierarchy
Most business websites work well with three levels:
- Homepage — overview of what you do.
- Main sections — services, products, locations, blog, about, contact.
- Detail pages — each individual service, product, location or article.
Every important page should be reachable within about three clicks from the homepage.
Example: a taxi company
/ Homepage
/services/airport-taxi Service page
/services/outstation-taxi Service page
/routes/ludhiana-to-delhi-airport Route page
/routes/ludhiana-to-chandigarh Route page
/fleet Cars
/blog/ Blog index
/blog/fog-season-travel-tips Article
/about-us
/contactEach route page links to the related service page, and the service page lists the most popular routes.
URL best practices
| Do | Avoid |
|---|---|
/website-design-ludhiana | /page.php?id=27&cat=4 |
| Lowercase words separated by hyphens | Spaces, underscores, capitals |
| Short and descriptive | Long sentences or keyword lists |
| Stable URLs that don't change | Dates or numbers you'll need to update |
| One URL per page | Same page reachable at several addresses |
On PHP websites, clean URLs are created with rewrite rules in .htaccess, and old .php URLs should 301-redirect to the clean version. See 404 vs 301 redirects.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs show visitors where they are: Home › Services › Airport Taxi. They help navigation and give Google extra context. Add BreadcrumbList structured data so Google can show the path in search results.
Internal links are the real structure
Menus are only part of structure. Links inside content tell Google which pages are related and important:
- Link from blog posts to the matching service page.
- Link between related services.
- Link from location pages to services available there.
- Use descriptive anchor text such as "airport taxi from Ludhiana", not "click here".
See our full internal linking guide.
Avoid orphan pages
An orphan page has no internal links pointing to it. It may be in your sitemap, but Google treats it as unimportant and visitors can't find it. Crawl your site with a tool like Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs) and compare with your sitemap to find orphans.
Navigation that matches structure
Your main menu should reflect your main sections. Don't hide key services in a footer or behind complicated drop-downs on mobile. See website navigation menus.
Common structure problems
- Hundreds of near-identical location pages with no links between them.
- Blog posts in random categories, with no links to services.
- Several pages targeting the same keyword (keyword cannibalisation).
- Important pages buried four or five clicks deep.
- Different URL styles mixed together after several redesigns.
Planning structure before a redesign
The best time to fix structure is before a new website is built. List every existing page, its traffic and links, then decide which pages to keep, merge or remove. Sketch the new hierarchy on paper, agree the URL pattern, and map old URLs to new ones before development starts. This avoids the most common redesign mistake: launching a beautiful new site that loses half its Google traffic because pages moved without redirects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should my URLs include the city name?
For location-specific pages, yes, when it describes the page accurately — for example /dentist-mohali.
Is a flat structure better than folders?
Both can work. What matters is logical grouping, clear internal links and consistent URLs.
Should I change URLs to make them better?
Only if the benefit is clear, and always with 301 redirects. Changing URLs without redirects loses rankings.
Do URLs need keywords?
A descriptive word or two helps users and gives a small signal. Don't stuff URLs with keywords.
Plan your site structure with experts
Joboo Web designs SEO-friendly site structures for new builds and redesigns. See website design, our migration checklist, or contact us.