Write headings that are clear and short

Headings organise information. Clear headings are specific to the topic they describe.

Keep them brief. They are signposts for people and for search engines.

Many people skim through headings to check whether a page is relevant before they read it in detail. Search engines use headings to analyse and rank content.

State the main point

Write headings that tell the user what is in the content below it.

Headings should state the main point. This helps users find and use content in search results and on social media.

Use words that accurately describe the content. Don’t use empty words or phrases (for example, ‘more’ or ‘related information’).

Only include information in the section that is relevant to the heading. If the information isn’t relevant, move it or rewrite the heading.

Use fewer than 70 characters

Write headings that are no more than 70 characters (including spaces).

Longer headings are more difficult to read and can be confusing. They might also suggest that you have too many ideas in a section.

Avoid questions as headings

Using questions pushes your main idea towards the end of the heading.

Starting a heading with ‘why’, ‘how’ or ‘what’ makes it slower for the user to read. They have to read the whole heading before finding relevant keywords.

Use keywords to start headings

Start headings and subheadings with keywords that help people to make a connection.

People scan-read headings to know the relevance of the content. If they use assistive technologies, they might use the tab key to read from heading to heading. Others who use screen readers might generate a list of headings for quick navigation.

The keywords should relate to the main content below the heading. Pay special attention to the first 2 or 3 words. These might be the only words someone reads to decide whether to continue to scan the page or to read the text.

Using keywords at the start of a heading is called ‘frontloading’. Frontloading makes it easier for people to assess the heading’s relevance – either on a web page or in search results. It also helps search engines find your content.

Organise heading levels in a logical order

Heading hierarchy is the relationship between main headings and subheadings. The hierarchical structure shows users how topics fit together. 

A clear and logical heading hierarchy shows readers where to find information and how important it is.

Keep each section concise and use headings to chunk information so it works well on screen for the user.

Heading levels include main titles, headings and subheadings:

• Level 1 headings are titles of webpages or titles of chapters in a book or printed report.
• Level 2 headings are main headings.
• Level 3 headings are subheadings.
• Level 4 headings are sub-subheadings (headings under subheadings).

Don’t skip heading levels

Write headings in a complete organised hierarchy.

A complete hierarchy helps people scan the content to find the information they need. Screen reader users need to be able to rely on heading level hierarchy to find relevant content.

Use one level 1 heading

Use just one level 1 heading per webpage. Make it unique to your site. This helps users understand the content and find it using search engines.

The level 1 heading is also a good place to include target keywords needed for search engine optimisation.

Make the headings relate

Every heading and subheading must relate to the heading above it so the grouping of information is logical and clear for users.

Avoid level 5 and deeper heading levels

Try to use only 3 or 4 heading levels at the most. A simpler structure is easier to read.

You can use deeper heading levels (level 4 and below) for very complex documents, but try to avoid it.

Deep and complex hierarchies of headings are a sign that you are probably trying to do too much on a webpage or in a chapter. It is likely that you will lose the reader.

Space out headings

Separate each heading from the next one by some text, even if it’s only a sentence. This helps create a clear distinction between ideas.

Create at least 2 headings for each level

Give each heading level in a section at least one other heading at the same level. This avoids the appearance of stranded ideas.

Use numbered headings only for steps

Use numbered headings only when they relate to a series of steps. Numbered headings can help users through a sequential structure.

Be consistent: use a parallel structure

All headings in a level should be consistent.

They should have the same:

• overall message (for example, they are all steps in a process)
• grammatical form (called ‘parallel structure’).

Two common forms are:

• noun phrases (for example, ‘effective headings’ and ‘punctuation and capitalisation’)
• instructions (for example, ‘keep headings short’ and ‘be consistent’).

Use unique formatting for each level of heading

Format headings so the heading levels are visibly different. This helps users scan the text.

People should be able to tell the difference between heading levels at a glance.

Formatting options include:

• font weights and sizes that are distinct from one another – a larger, bolder font for main headings and a smaller, lighter font for lower-level subheadings
• colour to help people scan the headings – but don’t rely on colour as the only way to differentiate heading levels
• spacing above a heading to help people see the visual break from one section to the next.

Don’t add an underline

Don’t underline headings or any other text.

Underlined text looks like a hyperlink, which can confuse users. It also makes it harder to read letters with descenders (for example, ‘p’, ‘y’ and ‘g’ in ‘Applying for government support’).

Apply HTML elements, tags and styles to headings

Use styles, tags and HTML elements to identify headings in digital content.

Correctly styled and tagged headings:

• make it easy to create consistent headings
• help software build an automatic table of contents
• are needed for accessibility of digital content
• help search engines understand the topic that you’re writing about.

HTML elements

Use the correct HTML element for the heading level.

Your content management system should have inbuilt heading styles that you can apply to text.

System heading styles

Apply correct inbuilt heading styles so they can be automatically added to navigation and contents pages.

If your organisation uses templates, use the template styles.

Write all headings in sentence case and use minimal punctuation

Use sentence case for headings to help people read the text more easily.

This means you should use a capital letter only for:

• the first letter of the first word
• the first letter of any proper nouns
• letters in acronyms and initialisms.

Don’t write headings in all capital letters as users could misread words. For example, ‘ACT’ could be ‘act’ (the verb) rather than the initialism for the Australian Capital Territory.

If you work for an organisation that uses all capitals for headings, make sure any abbreviations are easy to understand.

Don’t use a full stop to end headings

Even if the heading is a sentence, it doesn’t need a full stop at the end.

Avoid using shortened forms in headings

Don’t use a shortened form in a heading unless it is better known than the full term (for example, ‘DNA’ and ‘CSIRO’).