Web Style Guide: Headings [Page Title (Heading 1)]
Creating a web page with semantic structure gives the web page more meaning. It makes web pages more accessible for anyone who uses a screen reader to read web pages aloud, as well as for search bots and other programs that need to interpret the content of a web page irrespective of its design.
Using Headings for Content Structure
When encountering a lengthy web page, sighted users often scroll the page quickly and look for big, bold text (headings) to get an idea of the structure and content of the page. Search engines, screen reader, and other assistive technology users also have the ability to navigate web pages by heading structure.
Pages should be structured in a hierarchical manner. Technically, lower degree headings should be contained within headings of the next highest degree (i.e., one should not skip heading levels, such as from a heading 2 to a heading 4, going down the document).
Using Headings Correctly
Do not use text formatting, such as bold to give the visual appearance of headings - use actual heading 2-4 for all content headings. Assistive technologies and other browsers rely upon the literal markup of the page to determine structure. Items that are bolded or display in a bigger font are not interpreted to be structural elements.
Likewise, do not use headers to achieve visual results only. For instance, if you want to highlight or emphasize an element within your content that is not a heading (such as I did with the previous sentence), do not use heading elements to achieve the visual appearance you want instead use bold or italics.
Web Style Guide
Page Title
The Page Title is the main topic of the webpage and displays at the top of the webpage and in search results. The page's Page Title is set as Heading 1, Web Managers cannot change this. It is required that all webpage must have a Page Title.
Module Title
The Module Title is the direct sub topic of the Page Title. The module's Module Title is set as Heading 2, Web Managers cannot change this. The use of Module Titles is recommended, but depends on how the page's content is structured.
Content Headings
Web Managers will need to apply headings 2-4 within the module's content.
Use of Heading 2
Web Managers have a couple of options for using Heading 2.
- Module Title
- Content Module Types: Grid Three Column Titles and Grid Two Column Titles
- Within the content