<p>Sure, we can use a simple bulleted list or a mindmap.  But, there must be a better, more interactive way.  What do you use when starting your website architecture?</p>

[{'answer_id': 54285, 'author': 'Danimal', 'author_id': 2757, 'author_profile': 'https://Stackoverflow.com/users/2757', 'pm_score': 0, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>By "architecture", do you mean the initial site map? If not, please post a clarification and I\'ll edit my response.</p>\n\n<p>Our tech team starts development after our creative department has done their stuff. Part of what we get is output from the information architect. He passes off a graphical sitemap, a detailed sitemap as an Excel sheet, and a set of wireframes in a PDF.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 54309, 'author': 'Guy Starbuck', 'author_id': 2194, 'author_profile': 'https://Stackoverflow.com/users/2194', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>From a physical and logical architecture standpoint, nothing beats the whiteboard, drawing up the layers/tiers of the application in boxes.  Then create an electronic copy using Visio.</p>\n\n<p>After that, iteratively dive into each layer and design it using appropriate tools and techniques.  Here are what I commonly use:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Database: ERD</li>\n<li>Business Objects (and Service Contracts): UML class diagrams</li>\n<li>UI: prototypes &amp; wireframes</li>\n<li>Workflows and asynchronous operations: flowcharts and sequence diagrams</li>\n</ol>\n'}, {'answer_id': 54348, 'author': 'Brian Kelly', 'author_id': 5079, 'author_profile': 'https://Stackoverflow.com/users/5079', 'pm_score': 1, 'selected': False, 'text': "<p>I like to sketch out a design with pen &amp; paper. Seriously. No computer. Layout the home screen, including a navigation bar. From here, think about what you'd like 2nd and 3rd tier pages to look like.</p>\n\n<p>I've found that this process of writing things out on paper really helps me think about what I want out of the site. Try to come up with templates for a few of the screens. Then create an outline of the content you would like to include.</p>\n"}, {'answer_id': 54484, 'author': 'Matt Enright', 'author_id': 2726, 'author_profile': 'https://Stackoverflow.com/users/2726', 'pm_score': 1, 'selected': False, 'text': "<p>Paper prototyping baby - post-its on a whiteboard (so you can move them around and keep the relationships fluid without having to modify the page ideas themselves). Then of course, once you get down to the nitty-gritty of interface design, 'zoom in' on each of those post-its and  use them to represent individual elements. Good for usability testing, avoiding code duplication, clean structures...just about everything. Plus it's cheap and very, very fast.</p>\n"}]
['https://Stackoverflow.com/questions/54277', 'https://Stackoverflow.com', 'https://Stackoverflow.com/users/-1/']