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• If you’re using a Content Management System (CMS), there is usually a way to dump the site structure to a file – ideally to a spreadsheet or CSV file, but even a plain text file is better than starting from scratch. From there, you should be able to copy/paste the content into your spreadsheet and massage it into shape.
  • If the CMS exports a tree structure, check that it matches the actual hierarchical navigation of the site. (In some CMS's, the menu structure and the CMS structure can differ.)
  • If the CMS gives you the option of exporting page titles or link names, choose the latter because they are what users see when they're deciding where to click.
    
    
• Many designers model their site trees using mind-mapping software (Mindjet, FreeMind, etc.) because of its ability to quickly build, revise, and visualize a hierarchy. Like CMSs, these programs typically provide a way to export the map to a text file using indentation, which you can easily import into a spreadsheet.
  

Using the right format

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Whichever tool you use to create and edit your site tree, you'll want to make sure that it can eventually be imported easily and reliably into your tree-testing tool.

Luckily, the format itself only has 1 major rule:One heading per line

~pic of right and wrong formatting

Many first-timers make the mistake of putting the first subheading of a section on the same line as the section's heading. This makes it harder to move around subheadings while you're revising, and may cause problems when importing to your tree-testing app.

Importing the tree will save you a lot of typing, but it’s not a silver bullet. You’ll still need to check your tree for link-name discrepancies and for problematic or missing content, which we describe in the remainder of this chapter.

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