Card sorting

Ensure your content is structured in a way that users understand.

Create an information architecture

Ask users to organize content into groups that make sense to them.

Labels that make sense

Test if your content's description matches your user's description.

Understand mental models

Card sorting helps you understand what makes sense to your users.

Types of card sorting

Card sorting studies can be run in one of two ways: open or closed.

Open card sort

In an open card sort, users name the categories they have organized the content into.

Closed card sort

In a closed card sort, users are given pre-defined categories and asked to organize content into these groups.

Deliver exceptional digital experiences with quality insight

When to use

Card sorting can be conducted early in the design process before wireframes or prototypes have been created.

What to remember

For digital card sorts, you need to decide whether to run open or closed card sorting, and whether to go moderated or unmoderated.

What to prepare

You'll need to define the topics you want sorted, and these should represent the main content on your site or app.