--- title: "Findability" description: "The findability category includes posts that relate to discoverability, search, organization, and other issues related to how to arrange, present, and navigate through content. The goal of findability is to..." canonical_url: https://idratherbewriting.com/category-findability/ --- # Findability The findability category includes posts that relate to discoverability, search, organization, and other issues related to how to arrange, present, and navigate through content. The goal of findability is to allow users to find the content they're looking for. Strategies for findability might involve chunking up content, arranging content in a progressive information display, or arranging content in a more visible way. The following content is in the **findability** category: #### [How to find academic research to back up your tech comm decisions](/blog/how-to-find-academic-research-tech-comm) | May 19, 2023 #### [Write the Docs Podcast episode 31: Site search, with Peter Levan](/blog/write-the-docs-podcast-episode-31-site-search-peter-levan/) | Sep 9, 2020 #### [Write the Docs Podcast episode 7: Let The Robots Do The Work](/2017/07/06/write-the-docs-podcast-episode-7-robot-takeover/) | Jul 6, 2017 #### [Recording of my WTD Portland 2017 presentation on Building navigation for your doc site -- 5 best practices](/2017/06/08/write-the-docs-presentation-navigation-best-practices/) | Jun 8, 2017 #### [Write the Docs Podcast episode 6: Metadata and UI copy](/2017/06/08/write-the-docs-podcast-metadata-and-ui-copy/) | Jun 8, 2017 #### [Slides for Write the Docs Portland presentation on doc navigation best practices](/2017/05/14/write-the-docs-portland-doc-navigation-design-principles/) | May 14, 2017 #### [Write the Docs Podcast episode 5: Where do we belong?](/2017/05/01/write-the-docs-podcast-episode-5-where-do-we-belong/) | May 1, 2017 #### [Upcoming 2017 Write the Docs Conference in Portland](/2017/03/03/upcoming-write-the-docs-talk-and-conference/) | Mar 3, 2017 #### [Recording of User-Centered Design Principles for Organizing Documentation](/2017/02/18/design-principles-organizing-docs/) | Feb 18, 2017 #### [Zooming out and in with navigation](/2016/09/25/zooming-out-and-in-with-navigation/) | Sep 25, 2016 #### [Reviewing content in DITA versus Jekyll](/2015/04/13/reviewing-markdown-content/) | Apr 13, 2015 #### [Using metadata to control online navigation through portlets](/2014/03/27/using-metadata-to-control-online-navigation-through-portlets/) | Mar 27, 2014 #### [Single-page docs versus "Click Insanity"](/2014/01/12/single-page-docs-versus-click-insanity/) | Jan 12, 2014 #### [Recording of STC Berkeley presentation on why users can't find answers in help](/2014/01/08/recording-of-stc-berkeley-presentation-on-why-users-cant-find-answers-in-help/) | Jan 8, 2014 #### [DITA's output does not require separation of tasks from concepts](/2014/01/05/ditas-output-does-not-require-separation-of-tasks-from-concepts/) | Jan 5, 2014 #### [WordPress tip: Create a series of posts](/2013/12/29/wordpress-tip-create-a-series-of-posts/) | Dec 29, 2013 #### [Researching the right keywords (search engine optimization)](/2013/12/23/researching-the-right-keywords-search-engine-optimization/) | Dec 23, 2013 #### [Single sourcing and duplicate content (search engine optimization)](/2013/12/16/seo-duplicate-content-and-single-sourcing/) | Dec 16, 2013 #### [Introduction, frames, iframes, and tech comm tools (search engine optimization)](/2013/12/13/seo-for-help-documentation-introduction-frames-and-iframes/) | Dec 13, 2013 #### [Collapsible header sections -- more problematic than helpful](/2013/12/11/collapsible-header-sections-more-problematic-than-helpful/) | Dec 11, 2013 #### [A few things tech writers frequently say: Videos tedious, topics best when short, people just use Google, and more](/2013/11/19/a-few-things-technical-writers-frequently-say/) | Nov 19, 2013 #### [Recording and slides for "Why users can't find answers in help" presentation to STC Silicon Valley](/2013/10/23/recording-and-slides-for-why-users-cant-find-answers-in-help-presentation-to-stc-silicon-valley/) | Oct 23, 2013 #### [My Upcoming Presentation at the STC Silicon Valley Chapter -- "Why Users Can't Find Answers to Their Questions in Help Content"](/2013/10/05/my-upcoming-presentation-at-the-stc-silicon-valley-chapter-why-users-cant-find-answers-to-their-questions-in-help-content/) | Oct 5, 2013 #### [Learning How to Communicate Visually in Documentation](/2013/10/03/learning-how-to-communicate-visually-in-documentation/) | Oct 3, 2013 #### [How to Search Engine Optimize (SEO) Your Help Documentation](/2013/09/22/how-to-search-engine-optimize-your-help-content-or-documentation/) | Sep 22, 2013 #### [Narrative Workflow Topics: Helping Users Connect the Dots Among Topics](/2013/09/12/narrative-workflow-topics-helping-users-connect-the-dots-among-topics/) | Sep 12, 2013 #### [Creating Good Content Requires Cross-Department Collaboration](/2013/09/06/creating-good-content-requires-cross-department-collaboration/) | Sep 6, 2013 #### [Sticking with Obvious Information Versus Creating Information that Users Need](/2013/09/04/sticking-with-obvious-information/) | Sep 4, 2013 #### [Subheadings: Perhaps the Most Useful Technique in Technical Writing](/2013/08/23/subheadings-perhaps-the-most-useful-technique-in-technical-writing/) | Aug 23, 2013 #### [Examples Are a Primary Way That Complicated Concepts Become Clear](/2013/08/20/examples-are-a-primary-way-that-complicated-concepts-become-clear/) | Aug 20, 2013 #### [Interactive Poll: Why Can't Users Find Answers to Their Questions in Help?](/2013/08/15/interactive-poll-why-cant-users-find-answers-to-their-questions-in-help/) | Aug 15, 2013 #### [Why I Test Nearly Everything](/2013/08/08/why-i-test-nearly-everything/) | Aug 8, 2013 #### [When Organizing Big Data Content, It's Okay To Be Messy](/2013/08/07/big-data-when-its-okay-to-be-messy/) | Aug 7, 2013 #### [7 Ways to Learn Difficult Subjects in Order to Write Useful Content](/2013/08/01/7-ways-to-learn-difficult-subjects-in-order-to-write-useful-content/) | Aug 1, 2013 #### [Finding a Starting Point: Answering Questions or Addressing Purpose?](/2013/07/10/finding-a-starting-point-answering-questions-or-addressing-purpose/) | Jul 10, 2013 #### [How do you answer every user's question?](/2013/06/28/how-do-you-answer-every-users-question/) | Jun 28, 2013 #### [What Have Been My Most Successful Experiences in Connecting Help Material with Users?](/2013/06/26/what-have-been-your-most-successful-experiences-in-connecting-help-material-with-users/) | Jun 26, 2013 #### [Notes from Future of Technical Communication Webinar](/2013/06/25/future-of-technical-communication-webinar/) | Jun 25, 2013 #### [Recording of "Making Content More Findable When Users Browse and Search" (UA Europe Presentation)](/2013/06/24/recording-of-making-content-more-findable-when-users-browse-and-search-ua-europe-presentation/) | Jun 24, 2013 #### [Structured Authoring By For And Or Nor With In the Web](/2013/06/08/structured-authoring-by-for-and-or-nor-with-in-the-web/) | Jun 8, 2013 #### [Reader Question: How Do I Restrict Content by Role in the Same Output?](/2013/06/06/reader-question-how-do-i-restrict-content-by-role-in-the-same-output/) | Jun 6, 2013 #### [Can Help Content Have Recognizable Facets?](/2013/05/29/can-help-content-have-recognizable-facets/) | May 29, 2013 #### [Faceted Search and Query Reformulation](/2013/05/28/faceted-search-and-query-reformulation/) | May 28, 2013 #### [On Metadata and Help Content](/2013/05/27/on-metadata-and-help-content/) | May 27, 2013 #### [Moving Beyond the TOC in Organizing Help Content -- Illustrated Edition](/2013/05/22/moving-beyond-the-toc-in-organizing-help-content-the-illustrated-edition/) | May 22, 2013 #### [What Does Content Re-Use Look Like in a Web CMS?](/2013/05/17/what-does-content-re-use-look-like-in-a-web-cms/) | May 17, 2013 #### [Is Structured Authoring (like DITA) a Good Fit for Publishing on a Website?](/2013/05/14/structured-authoring-versus-the-web/) | May 14, 2013 #### [Why Long Topics Are Better for the User](/2013/05/06/why-long-topics-are-better-for-the-user/) | May 6, 2013 #### [Do Short Topics Make Information More Findable?](/2013/05/05/do-short-topics-make-information-more-findable/) | May 5, 2013 #### [Does DITA Encourage Authors to Fragment Information into a Million Little Pieces?](/2013/04/22/does-dita-encourage-authors-to-fragment-information-into-a-million-little-pieces/) | Apr 22, 2013 #### [Why Does Content Become Disorganized?](/2013/04/09/why-does-content-become-disorganized/) | Apr 9, 2013 #### [Sample Expand and Collapse Code with Twisting Buttons](/2013/03/31/sample-expand-and-collapse-code-with-twisting-buttons/) | Mar 31, 2013 #### [Evaluating the Usability of Collapsible Sections (or jQuery's Content Toggle)](/2013/03/25/evaluating-the-usability-of-collapsible-sections-or-jquerys-content-toggle/) | Mar 25, 2013 #### [How to Organize Page-Level Content](/2013/03/16/how-to-organize-page-level-content/) | Mar 16, 2013 #### [Two Competing Help Models: One-Stop Shopping or Specialized Stores?](/2013/02/13/two-competing-help-models-one-stop-shopping-or-specialized-stores/) | Feb 13, 2013 #### [Single Sourcing and Redundancy](/2013/02/02/single-sourcing-and-redundancy/) | Feb 2, 2013 #### [Import DITA Webhelp Output into WordPress](/2013/01/21/how-to-import-webhelp-from-a-help-authoring-tool-into-wordpress/) | Jan 21, 2013 #### [Moving Between the Agora and the Desert](/2012/12/16/moving-between-the-agora-and-the-desert/) | Dec 16, 2012 #### [7 Ways to Increase Flare's Search Engine Optimization in Google's Results](/2012/12/15/increasing-search-engine-optimization-in-flare/) | Dec 15, 2012 #### [Knowledge Has a New Shape, and It's Not the Book](/2012/12/12/knowledge-has-a-new-shape-and-its-not-the-book/) | Dec 12, 2012 #### [Podcast: Include It All, Filter It Afterwards -- Interview with Mark Baker](/2012/12/11/podcast-include-it-all-filter-it-afterwards-interview-with-mark-baker/) | Dec 11, 2012 #### [What Does "Every Page Is Page One" and "Include It All, Filter It Afterward" Mean?](/2012/12/04/what-does-every-page-is-page-one-and-include-it-all-filter-it-afterward-mean/) | Dec 4, 2012 #### [Incorporating Learning into Tech Comm Deliverables](/2012/11/26/incorporating-learning-into-tech-comm-deliverables/) | Nov 26, 2012 #### [The Blame Game of RTFM](/2012/08/30/the-blame-game-of-rtfm/) | Aug 30, 2012 #### [Blending Tech Comm with Support](/2012/08/26/blending-tech-comm-with-support/) | Aug 26, 2012 #### [Using the Proximity Principle to Design Online Help Navigation](/2012/08/13/using-the-proximity-principle-to-design-online-help-navigation/) | Aug 13, 2012 #### [Why Glossaries Help Users Find Information](/2012/08/09/why-glossaries-help-users-find-information/) | Aug 9, 2012 #### [Applying Progressive Information Disclosure to Online Help Navigation](/2012/08/09/applying-progressive-information-disclosure-to-online-help-navigation/) | Aug 9, 2012 #### [Misconceptions about Topic-Based Authoring](/2012/07/31/misconceptions-about-topic-based-authoring/) | Jul 31, 2012 #### [The Importance of Contextual Navigation, or Cross References in Topics](/2012/07/23/the-importance-of-contextual-navigation-or-cross-references-in-topics/) | Jul 23, 2012 #### [Unconscious Meaning Suggested from the Structure and Shape of Help](/2012/07/18/unconscious-meaning-suggested-from-the-structure-and-shape-of-help/) | Jul 18, 2012 #### [Why Do We Need Navigation At All?](/2012/07/12/why-do-we-need-navigation-at-all/) | Jul 12, 2012 #### [Taxonomy, Metadata, and Search: Notes from Seth Earley's Confab Workshop](/2012/06/25/taxonomy-metadata-and-search-notes-from-seth-earleys-confab-workshop/) | Jun 25, 2012 #### [Returning to Findability](/2012/06/25/returning-to-findability/) | Jun 25, 2012 #### [Writing User-Centered Documentation, or, My Best Days as a Technical Writer](/2012/06/21/writing-user-centered-documentation-or-my-best-days-as-a-technical-writer/) | Jun 21, 2012 #### [Webinar Recording -- Organizing Help Content: Breaking Out of Topic-Based Hierarchies](/2012/02/18/webinar-recording-organizing-help-content-breaking-out-of-topic-based-hierarchies/) | Feb 18, 2012 #### [The "Home Depot Model" of Findability, or, Social Search](/2012/01/10/the-home-depot-model-of-findability-or-social-search/) | Jan 10, 2012 #### [Looking at Breadcrumbs in a New Way](/2012/01/05/breadcrumbs-as-a-tool-for-findability/) | Jan 5, 2012 #### [Using Tags to Increase Findability](/2011/12/26/using-tags-to-increase-findability/) | Dec 26, 2011 #### [Slides from STC Webinar on Organizing Content (Findability)](/2011/12/05/slides-from-stc-webinar-on-organizing-content-findability/) | Dec 5, 2011 #### [My STC Webinar on Organizing Content -- This Thursday at 4pm EST](/2011/11/30/my-stc-webinar-on-organizing-content-this-thursday-at-4pm-est/) | Nov 30, 2011 #### [Using Treejack as a Method for Evaluating Your Help's Navigation](/2011/11/02/treejack-as-a-method-for-evaluating-your-helps-navigation/) | Nov 2, 2011 #### [Customizing the "No Results Found" Page with Helpful Wayfinding Tips](/2011/10/17/customizing-the-no-results-found-page-with-helpful-wayfinding-tips/) | Oct 17, 2011 #### ["One Day I'm Going to Figure Out the Solution to Help..."](/2011/06/28/one-day-im-going-to-figure-out-the-solution-to-help/) | Jun 28, 2011 #### [Diverging Directions for Tech Comm: Social Media or Structured Authoring](/2011/06/09/diverging-directions-for-tech-comm-social-media-or-structured-authoring/) | Jun 9, 2011 #### [Where Topic-Based Authoring Fails: End-to-End Scenarios](/2011/05/25/where-topic-based-authoring-fails/) | May 25, 2011 #### [Podcast: Organizing Help Content: Breaking Out of Topic-based Hierarchies](/2011/05/18/podcast-organizing-help-content-breaking-out-of-topic-based-hierarchies/) | May 18, 2011 #### [Examples of Help Systems that Provide Users with Multiple Entry Points?](/2011/05/13/examples-of-help-systems-that-provide-users-with-multiple-entry-points/) | May 13, 2011 #### [Mooer's Law and Findability](/2011/05/09/mooers-law-and-implications-for-findability/) | May 9, 2011 #### [A Paradox of Navigation Metaphors for the Web](/2011/05/02/a-paradox-of-navigation-metaphors-for-the-web/) | May 2, 2011 #### [Topic Chunking and The Broken Alarm Clock](/2011/04/27/topic-chunking-and-the-broken-clock/) | Apr 27, 2011 #### [The Importance of Chunking for Sorting](/2011/04/18/the-importance-of-chunking-for-sorting/) | Apr 18, 2011 #### [Book Review: Everything is Miscellaneous, by David Weinberger](/2011/04/15/everything-is-miscellaneous-by-david-weinberger/) | Apr 15, 2011 #### [Organizing Help Content: Breaking Out of Topic-Based Hierarchies](/2011/03/21/organizing-help-content-breaking-out-of-topic-based-hierarchies/) | Mar 21, 2011 #### [Podcast: A Practical Guide to Information Architecture, with Donna Spencer](/2011/03/18/podcast-a-practical-guide-to-information-architecture-with-donna-spencer/) | Mar 18, 2011 #### [The Real Source of Findability](/2011/03/10/the-real-source-of-findability/) | Mar 10, 2011 #### [Findability and The Information Paradox](/2011/01/12/findability-and-the-information-paradox/) | Jan 12, 2011 #### ["Known Limitations": Making the Negative Space of Help Content a Little More Explicit](/2010/12/16/known-limitations/) | Dec 16, 2010 #### [Eight Defining Questions that Shape Content Organization [Organizing Content #29]](/2010/10/01/eight-defining-questions-that-shape-content-organization-organizing-content-29/) | Oct 1, 2010 #### [Organizing Content for Constructivist Learning [Organizing Content #28]](/2010/09/27/organizing-content-for-constructivist-learning-organizing-content-28/) | Sep 27, 2010 #### [Is Rhetoric Relevant? Considering the "Message in Context" [Organizing Content #27]](/2010/09/22/whence-rhetoric/) | Sep 22, 2010 #### [Why Learning Software Is So Hard, and Organizing Content into Levels [Organizing Content #26]](/2010/09/09/why-learning-software-is-so-hard-and-organizing-content-into-levels-organizing-content-26/) | Sep 9, 2010 #### [Organizing for Learnability [Organizing Content #25]](/2010/09/01/organizing-for-learnability-organizing-content-25/) | Sep 1, 2010 #### [Best Practices for Writing Interface Text [Organizing Content #24]](/2010/08/13/best-practices-for-writing-interface-text-organizing-content-24/) | Aug 13, 2010 #### [The Interface Is Text [Organizing Content #23]](/2010/08/11/the-interface-is-text-organizing-content-23/) | Aug 11, 2010 #### [The Technical Writer as an Outsider: How Ambitious Are You? [Organizing Content #22]](/2010/08/06/the-technical-writer-as-an-outsider-how-ambitious-are-you/) | Aug 6, 2010 #### [Principles for Organizing Print Material [Organizing Content #21]](/2010/07/30/principles-for-organizing-print-material-organizing-content-21/) | Jul 30, 2010 #### [Relying on the Wisdom of the Crowds with Help Authoring [Organizing Content #20]](/2010/07/27/relying-on-the-wisdom-of-the-crowds-with-help-authoring-organizing-content-20/) | Jul 27, 2010 #### [Emergence [Organizing Content #19]](/2010/07/20/emergence-organizing-content-19/) | Jul 20, 2010 #### [Separating Basic from Advanced Topics: How Twitter Organizes Their Help [Organizing Content #18]](/2010/07/08/separating-basic-from-advanced-topics-how-twitter-organizes-their-help-organizing-content-18/) | Jul 8, 2010 #### [Organizing Content as Story [Organizing Content #17]](/2010/06/29/organizing-content-as-story-organizing-content-17/) | Jun 29, 2010 #### [Can Blogs Work as a Web Platform for Help? [Organizing Content 16]](/2010/06/23/can-blogs-work-as-a-web-platform-for-help-organizing-content-16/) | Jun 23, 2010 #### [Faulty Assumptions About the Scope of Help Content? [Organizing Content 15]](/2010/06/11/faulty-assumptions-about-the-scope-of-help-content-organizing-content-1/) | Jun 11, 2010 #### [The Semantic Web and Content Findability: Interview with Patrick Warren [Organizing Content 14]](/2010/06/10/the-semantic-web-and-content-findability-interview-with-patrick-warrant-organizing-content-14/) | Jun 10, 2010 #### [Using Mediawiki Templates to Organize Content [Organizing Content 13]](/2010/06/09/using-mediawiki-templates-to-organize-content-organizing-content-13/) | Jun 9, 2010 #### [From Help Authoring Tools to Web Tools, Especially Wikis [Organizing Content 12]](/2010/06/03/from-help-authoring-tools-to-web-tools-especially-wikis-organizing-content-12/) | Jun 3, 2010 #### [Search Engine Optimizing Your Help Content for Google [Organizing Content 11]](/2010/05/28/search-engine-optimizing-your-help-content-for-google-organizing-content-10/) | May 28, 2010 #### [Figuring Out Search Algorithms [Organizing Content 10]](/2010/05/27/figuring-out-search-algorithms-organizing-content-10/) | May 27, 2010 #### [Browse Versus Search: Stumbling into the Unknown Unknown [Organizing Content 9]](/2010/05/26/browse-versus-search-organizing-content-9/) | May 26, 2010 #### [Second-Level Faceted Navigation [Organizing Content 8]](/2010/05/25/second-level-faceted-navigation-organizing-content-8/) | May 25, 2010 #### [Implementing Faceted Classification/Search with a Help Authoring Tool [Organizing Content 7]](/2010/05/21/implementing-faceted-classificationsearch-with-a-help-authoring-tool-organizing-content-7/) | May 21, 2010 #### [Faceted Classification, Faceted Search [Organizing Content 6]](/2010/05/20/faceted-classification-faceted-search-organizing-content-6/) | May 20, 2010 #### [Topic-Based, Hierarchical Navigation [Organizing Content 5]](/2010/05/19/topic-based-hierarchical-navigation-organizing-content-5/) | May 19, 2010 #### [Imposing Order Versus Observing Order [Organizing Content 4]](/2010/05/18/imposing-order-versus-observing-order-organizing-content-4/) | May 18, 2010 #### [Things Fall Apart, The Centre Cannot Hold [Organizing Content 3]](/2010/05/17/things-fall-apart-the-centre-cannot-hold-organizing-content-3/) | May 17, 2010 #### [Introducing Project Swordfish [Organizing Content 2]](/2010/05/17/introducing-project-swordfish-organizing-content-2/) | May 17, 2010 #### [New Series: Organizing Content [Organizing Content 1]](/2010/05/17/new-series-organizing-content-organizing-content-1/) | May 17, 2010 #### [My Love Affair with Drop-Down Hotspots Ends](/2008/02/21/my-love-affair-with-drop-down-hotspots-ends/) | Feb 21, 2008