It is always linear in your customer's experience. Everything may not be best presented in neatly ordered rows and columns. The power and magic of your site's experience may be lost when everything is clearly relegated to its own orderly section of the site. This is sometimes a better way of handling less essential content, giving it more flavor overall. Successful sites are clearly organized and easy to navigate.
Successful sites have a clear cognitive model that describes the organization.
Successful sites should make it clear where you are and where you can go, flattening hierarchies and reducing navigational steps. Don't organize the life out of your site.