Card Sorting

Introduction

What is Card Sorting?

In a card sorting session, users categorize individual items (written on cards) in a way that makes sense to them. This helps researchers understand how people perceive information and the terminology they naturally use. Use Card Sorting when designing or reorganizing content to ensure navigation reflects how users naturally group information—especially in content-heavy or complex systems. The card sorting exercise can be done online or offline. Try to gather between 15 and 30 participants, depending on the complexity of the subject.

Example

When designing a fashion retail website, you will list items such as “pants,” “shoes,” “socks,” “jackets,” etc., on separate cards, and ask participants to organize them. The outcome might reveal that users group “jewelry,” “hats,” and “belts” together. They might come up with a category and name it “accessories.”
This insight helps create an intuitive menu system that aligns with how people naturally categorize products, improving the overall user experience.

Why do it?

Card sorting is valuable for several reasons:

User-Centric Insights: uncovers the natural groupings and terminology that users expect, ensuring that the design aligns with your audience’s thoughts.
Improved Navigation: the insights help create intuitive navigation menus and information architectures that reduce user frustration.
Informed Decision-Making: the process provides qualitative data to validate design decisions, reduce assumptions, and lead to more effective structures.
Workflow Enhancement: it streamlines the design process by highlighting areas where content can be reorganized or simplified, saving time in later design iterations.

Resource

Cardsorting Template

Take a look at the CBTW Figma file that will take you through the steps of cardsorting, organised per user.

Cardsorting Template (Figma)

Step by Step Guide

1. Choose Items 2. Organise into Groups 3. Name the Groups 4. Debrief and Analyze

Step 01

Choose Items

Begin by selecting a comprehensive set of items that represent the main content of your project. For example, if you are working on a news website, gather 40–80 topics such as “politics,” “sports,” “entertainment,” and “technology.” Write each topic on an individual card.

STEP 02

Organise into Groups

Shuffle the cards and ask participants to sort them into piles based on similarity. Encourage them to think aloud and explain why certain items go together. This step reveals their intuitive categorisation and the mental models behind their choices.

Remember to remind users there is no “right” answer; focus on understanding their reasoning.
Make sure participants work individually to get honest and unbiased feedback.

Step 03

Name the Groups

After grouping, provide participants with blank cards and ask them to assign a name to each group. These labels reflect the users’ language and thought processes and can then guide your navigation and category labels in the final design. Note recurring terms or themes as these insights are key for creating a user-friendly structure.
Encourage participants to take their time; effective naming significantly influences the intuitiveness of the final layout.
Participants should work alone to get honest, unique ideas without being influenced by others

Step 04

Debrief and Analyze

Once the card sorting is complete, hold a debrief session. Ask participants about any challenges, items they found difficult to classify, and their overall thought process during the exercise. This feedback is invaluable for interpreting the data and identifying areas where the current information architecture might be unclear.

Pro Tip

Capture Feedback

Record sessions (with consent) to capture nuanced feedback.
Use AI tools kie Fireflies to aggregate responses and highlight common themes or discrepancies.