Card sorting

Card sorting is a UX research method which gives you insight into how users categorize information. In a card sorting session, participants are given note-cards with different labels or topics written on them and asked to organize them in a way that feels logical. Card sorting helps you to design the information architecture (IA) of a website or app in line with user expectations. You’ll find an explanation of information architecture later on in our glossary.

Card Sorting is a user-centered design methodology used to inform the design of an information structure. It is a reliable method for finding patterns in how users would expect to find, navigate to, group and label content. Analyzing these patterns can provide valuable insights into users’ mental models, that is, their thought process for how something works in the real world. Card sorting involves users ‘sorting’ cards into groups that make the most sense to them. There are two different types: an open or close card sort.

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