Consider the difference between a website built for a news outlet, a wedding photographer or a game studio. Because the information conveyed on each website differs greatly from the next, including the navigational elements, the type of content displayed and perhaps logins and other data basing requirements, so too must their respective architecture. Moreover, when your clients’ audience visits their website, they come with assumptions of what information they can get or tasks they can achieve ahead of time. They’ll leave frustrated if the site doesn’t deliver.
Specifically, information architecture includes:
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The design, organization, and labeling of the sitemap
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The relationship of pages within the sitemap and the corresponding hierarchy
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The layout of content on each page
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The flow of users from page to page
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The users’ goals and the steps that take them there
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The way in which users search for information on the site