General
Organizing a web page, word document or pdf with headings helps users get an idea of the page’s structure and organization.
Why headings are important?
- Headings provide structure to your documents by describing topic and subtopic areas in an outline fashion.
- When people can follow a site or document’s organization and structure, it is easier for them to comprehend the content.
- Headings become a navigation tool for both those who can see visually and those who use screen readers.
- Assistive technology allows users to pull up a list of headings.
- For those who use screen readers, the use of headings allows them to listen to a list of all the headings and skip to the desired area on the page or document.
- For those who can see, the use of visually apparent headings allows them to quickly visually scan the document or site to get an overall idea of meaning of the site or document.
- Headings also help those with cognitive disabilities understand and navigate.
- Headings helps users perceive and understand, POUR principles.
How to create headings?
- Make heading text brief, clear, informative, and unique.
- There should only be one Heading 1 per page, however there can be more than one Heading 2 to Heading 6 per page.
- Each level of heading, indicates the relationship from one part of the content to the other parts.
- The sub-sections under a heading relates logically to a heading above it.
- Duplicate headings can exist on separate pages, but each heading should be unique within the same page, if at all possible.
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