Information Architecture Audit — chenqijunvc.github.io

Executive Summary

A personal portfolio site with ~20 live pages and 7 stale redirect pages. The content is substantive and well-differentiated, but the IA has accumulated cruft from previous iterations: orphan redirect pages, redundant labels, hidden content, and inconsistent URL directory semantics.

1. Audience & Mental Models

Primary audience: Professional contacts — allocators, recruiters, conference organizers, and collaborators.

What they want to know:

• Who is Vince Chen and what does he do? → About
• What has he built and managed? → Track Record / Work detail pages
• What does he think about investing? → Writing / Research
• Where has he been featured? → Media
• How to reach him? → Contact

Current IA matches this fairly well — the site is organized around these questions.

2. Sitemap (Current)

/                               home (landing + career arc + featured writing)
├── /about                      bio, what I built, credentials
├── /track-record               what I built (cards), ETF suite, recognition
│   ├── /work/investment-systems    detail page (linked from card)
│   ├── /work/portfolio-management  detail page (linked from card)
│   └── /work/research              detail page (linked from card)
│       ├── /contributions/pure-alpha           (linked from /work/research)
│       └── /contributions/free-cash-flow-research (linked from /work/research)
├── /work/publications          blog/post index  [labeled "Writing" in nav]
├── /record/media               TV interviews, PSN award
├── /record/timeline            chronological milestone list
└── /contact                    contact form

Orphan & redirect pages (7 stale files, should be deleted):

Internal reference files (3, should not be published):

3. Issues Found

Critical

I1 — Stale redirect pages. 7 redirect files clutter the root and one subdirectory. They serve zero users (anyone hitting them gets redirected instantly). Delete them.

I2 — Internal reference files published. ai_image_prompts.md, code-styling-documentation.md, image_mapping_guide.md are developer notes that should not be on the live site.

High

H1 — Label inconsistency (Writing / Publications / Selected Writing).

• Nav item: “Writing”
• URL: /work/publications
• H1 on page: “Publications”
• Home page refers to: “Selected Writing” / “All Writing”
• Three different labels for the same destination. Choose one and use it everywhere. “Writing” is the strongest nav label (active verb → clear).

H2 — /record/timeline is a chronological ledger (流水账). The user explicitly dislikes this format. The timeline duplicates content already on the home page career arc and the track-record page. Either delete it or replace with a concise one-page table.

H3 — About page has no internal links. The about page describes “What I Built” but links nowhere. The Track Record page is the sole gateway to the /work/ detail pages. About should link to /work/research and/or /track-record.

Medium

M1 — /contributions/ directory is a dead end. It’s not in the nav and only reachable via /work/research. These are substantial pages (Pure Alpha framework, FCF research) that are effectively hidden. Either promote them to /work/ or link them from more places.

M2 — URL directory semantics are inconsistent. Content is split across:

• /work/ — systems, portfolio management, research, publications
• /contributions/ — pure alpha, FCF research, institutional platform (redirect)
• /record/ — timeline, media

The /record/ directory label suggests archival/log content — not ideal for a personal site. /work/ is stronger. Consider consolidating: move contributions/ content into /work/, rename record/ to something more intentional.

M3 — No footer navigation. Users who reach a detail page (e.g. /work/portfolio-management) have only the top nav and back button. A footer with Explore / Contact links would reduce dead-end feel.

Low

L1 — /posts/index.html exists but is not linked from anywhere. It’s a legacy pagination page. Should either link to it from the Writing page or remove it.

4. Recommended Structure

Delete: 7 stale redirects + 3 internal reference docs that should never be published.

/                               home
├── /about                      bio, what I built, credentials
├── /track-record               what I built (cards → /work/), ETF suite, recognition
│   ├── /work/investment-systems
│   ├── /work/portfolio-management
│   ├── /work/research
│   ├── /work/pure-alpha              ← moved from /contributions/
│   └── /work/free-cash-flow-research ← moved from /contributions/
├── /writing                    blog/post index  [labeled "Writing"]
├── /media                      TV interviews, PSN award  [renamed from /record/media]
└── /contact

Delete: /record/timeline (content is redundant with home + track-record).

Nav (unchanged — 6 items is correct):

Home · About · Track Record · Writing · Media · Contact

Labels (fix inconsistency):

• Nav: “Writing” → stays
• URL: /writing (cleaner than /work/publications)
• H1: “Writing”
• Home page: “Writing” (not “Selected Writing”)

5. Actions