{"id":207,"slug":"bj-distributor-ia-recommendation","title":"Boucher & Jones IA recommendation: Pattern A + hub-and-spoke, NOT enterprise matrix","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","information-architecture"],"reference_body":"**The specific recommendation for the Boucher & Jones website** (regional Petro-Canada lubricant distributor, 4 dominant verticals: Agriculture / Fleet / Construction / Residential).\n\n## Pattern\n\n- **URL convention:** Pattern A — `/industries/<vertical>/` (see [[url-structure-patterns-by-pattern]])\n- **Architecture:** Hub-and-spoke. One page per vertical with shared-services blocks pulled in via partials/CMS includes — not a full Industries × Services matrix.\n- **Top nav:** Industries (mega menu) + Services (mega menu) + About + Contact. Two axes orthogonal at the top.\n- **Mobile nav:** Accordion or sequential — not split buttons (see [[mobile-nav-sequential-not-split-button]]).\n- **Schema:** One `Service` per vertical when offerings genuinely differ (see [[rule-one-service-per-vertical-when-offerings-differ]]); one `Service` with multiple audiences when offering is materially identical.\n- **Forms:** Single-step under 7 fields. Multi-step only for the longer \"request a quote\" flow with a vertical-selector first step (see [[zuko-multi-step-only-helps-above-7-fields]]).\n\n## Why this specifically\n\n- B&J's 4 verticals have **distinct vocabulary** (hydraulic oil ≠ fleet engine oil ≠ furnace oil) — generic IA underperforms.\n- B&J's team size doesn't support an enterprise matrix — hub-and-spoke maintains shared-service blocks once, in one place, then renders into each vertical hub.\n- E.H. Wolf ([[eh-wolf-petro-canada-distributor-ia-pattern]]) is the closest existing analog and uses a very similar pattern (with the Pattern B flat URL convention — Candid can choose Pattern A for future-proofing).\n- RelaDyne ([[reladyne-industries-pattern-19-verticals]]) shows what happens at 19 verticals; B&J doesn't need that fan-out.\n\n## Migration sequence (if existing site)\n\n1. **Phase 1:** Stand up vertical hub pages with substantive content (case studies, regulations, vocabulary) — see [[rule-vertical-pages-need-substantive-content]]\n2. **Phase 2:** Build shared-services blocks; pull them into each hub\n3. **Phase 3:** Decide whether to expand into a full matrix (Pattern E) — only if specific matrix queries justify the content investment\n4. **301 redirects** from old paths preserve URL equity throughout — see [[sej-892-migrations-523-day-recovery]] for the migration cost reality","rationale_body":"This is the concrete output of the brief for the named client. Keeping it as its own entry (rather than burying it in the parent brief) makes it citable when the Phase 1 design work begins.","metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"ia-decision-matrix-by-business-shape","title":"Reference: which IA pattern to use, by business shape (decision matrix)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"url-structure-patterns-by-pattern","title":"Reference: 5 URL structure patterns for multi-vertical IA (A through E), with field-observed usage","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"eh-wolf-petro-canada-distributor-ia-pattern","title":"E.H. Wolf & Sons: closest direct B&J analog — \"Industries We Serve\" + 16 flat-root vertical pages","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"reladyne-industries-pattern-19-verticals","title":"RelaDyne: /products-solutions/<industry>/ namespace, ~19 verticals, multi-axis IA (\"By Industry / Product / Brand / Service\")","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"sej-892-migrations-523-day-recovery","title":"Search Engine Journal (Jan 2025): 523-day average recovery from domain migration (n=892); 17% never recover by 1,000 days","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-ia-multi-vertical-service-business","title":"Research brief: Information architecture for service businesses with multiple verticals (piece 6 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T19:40:49.135Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T19:40:49.135Z"}