Headings and subheadings

Use these guidelines for headings and subheadings to help make your page readable and accessible.

Why headings are important

Readers can be put off by large areas of text.

Headings provide a clear structure for how information is organised on a page, and help people scan the content to find the information they need.

People use headings to understand how different areas of text are related.

Heading hierarchy gives context

Heading hierarchy is how heading levels are structured underneath each other — subheadings under headings.

When selecting heading levels, keep to an ordered hierarchy, for example H1, H2, H3.

Using the right heading level will help users and screen readers to navigate the content.

Organise headings in a logical order — Australian Government Style Manual

Guidelines

The UK Readability Guidelines include detailed guidance on the following topics:

  • Use specific, meaningful headings.
  • Front-load headings.
  • Structure your page with headings.
  • Use sentence case for headings and subheadings.
  • Label your headings.

Headings and titles in the Readability Guidelines

Make headings accessible

For guidance on making headings accessible, see:

Utility links and page information

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