Headings in Digital Content

Headings are incredibly helpful to organize web content into smaller, more digestible pieces. Strategic headings optimize the reading experience and help readers find the information they are interested in quickly and effectively.

Depending on the document type, headings can automatically be used as bookmarks or for a table of contents. Properly used headings break up text for both sighted and non-sighted users and create content with a consistent look and feel.  

Headings must be tagged

In a digital context, headings must be tagged appropriately for people using assistive technology to effectively navigate a document or webpage. You must use the tools in the content management system (CMS) or other software to apply the appropriate “tags” to text. 

This means that making a piece of text a larger font size and bold is not the same as creating an accessible heading. Screen reader users will not be able to skip to relevant sections or scan the document for important information without those heading levels. 

All documents need at least one heading

Any given page is required to have at least one heading — an H1 — that acts as the “page name.” 

Note: In some programs, you may see a heading style called “Title,” but this is used for APA requirements like Reference pages.

Writing Headings

When writing your content, it is important to use headings to organize your content to make it easier for readers (both sighted and those using assistive technologies) to understand what is being said and skip sections that are irrelevant to them.

A best practice for online writing is to have 2-3 sentences per paragraph and 1-2 paragraphs under each heading. Try to find natural locations where the content changes and add sub-headers for ease of reading.

When writing headings:

  • Clearly demonstrate what a section is about.
  • Don’t write clickbait.
  • Write headlines to stand alone.
  • Help readers skip sections.

Hierarchically Nested Headings

There are six hierarchical levels of headings (H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6). The first heading on a page should be an H1.

Any additional organization of content from that point would be nested underneath H2 headings. If further hierarchy is needed within a section, you would go down to the H3 level and so on and so forth.

Remember, the heading numbers refer to the level, not the look of the heading. Headings should be used in the correct order. You can typically edit each heading level to match a preferred look.  

Example of Correctly Nesting Headings

It can be helpful to think of headings like a page outline.

  • Heading 1
    • Heading 2
      • Heading 3
    • Heading 2
      • Heading 3
      • Heading 3

Practical Tips for Headings

  • Keep headings brief and descriptive.
  • Make sure every page has at least one heading.
  • Assign only one Heading Level 1.
  • Avoid duplicate headings on the same page.
  • Organize headings hierarchically — don’t skip any levels or choose a heading style based on appearance.
  • Treat the headings like your page outline.
  • Watch out for empty headings (heading tags with no words inside them), especially in WYSIWYG editors.

Related Resources

How to assign and change Heading styles in Microsoft Word

Learn how to use styles for headings to make your Microsoft Word documents easier to navigate.

Create and customize headings in Microsoft Word

Learn how to change the default heading styles in Microsoft Word so that you can choose the font styles for different heading levels. You can define how these styles look and apply them as your default styles across documents.

Learn more about adding and editing heading styles in Google Docs

Learn how to change the default heading styles in Google Docs so that you can choose the font styles for different heading levels. You can define how these styles look and apply them as your default styles across documents.

Basics of character and paragraph styles in InDesign

Learn how to use character and paragraph styles to export text to specific tags when exporting documents from InDesign to PDFs.

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