Write descriptive headings

Summary: Descriptive headings that use heading tags improve search ranking. And they make pages more usable.

Headings help people find what they’re looking for:

• label each section, topic or key message with a heading
• be descriptive
• use keywords.

Start headings with the most informative words

• ‘Front-load’ headings with keywords (helps scan reading)
• Don’t start subheadings with the same words.
• Use question-style headings sparingly: they push keywords away from the start of the heading.

Provide a complete main heading

Write a main heading that is meaningful enough on its own. Don’t rely on section labels to support the main heading. One or two-word main headings are probably too brief.

The <h1> often becomes the first part of the page title – poor main headings can lead to duplicated or vague page titles.

Use parallel phrasing for headings

Give headings at the same level the same grammatical structure.

For example, start each second-level heading with a verb.

Apply heading level styles to reflect the content structure

Use an <h1> tag for the main heading. Use <h2> for subheadings. Use <h3> to <h6> to further reflect the subheading hierarchy. For short content, avoid using subheadings below <h3>.

Don’t skip heading levels.

Always tag headings. Never style them just by bolding or using all uppercase letters.

Use sentence case for headings

Sentence case is easier to read. Capitalise the first word and any proper nouns.