by OIT Staff
February 23, 2021
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Headings and subheadings are an important tool that content creators can use to help their audience understand a site’s architecture, page structure, and organization. When you use accessible headings, you’re helping to ensure your digital content is easy for all audiences to:
- Scan a lengthy article quickly.
- Find the section they need.
- Get a quick idea of context for each section.
- Manage the amount of information they deal with at one time.
Why are accessible headings essential?
While the appropriate use of headings and subheadings increases the usability and functionality of web content for everyone, it is essential for those who use assistive technology such as screen readers to access and navigate web content.
When a web page has the correct heading markup, screen reading software has the functionality to list page headings and subheadings. People who use assistive technology can then easily navigate and scan information, in a similar way that people who are not using assistive technology do.
What are accessible headings?
Accessible headings are properly-formatted in the software you are using to not only visually indicate your page and section titles, but also to indicate these structures in code to someone using adaptive technology such as screen reading software. Whether you’re creating content in Drupal, Google Docs, or Microsoft Word, be sure to become familiar with how to use the software’s built-in functionality to add properly-formatted heading styles and structures.
Best practices for headings
- Plan your webpage content and use appropriate headings.
- Start by outlining: use nested heading levels to emphasize and organize your content.
- Do not use subheadings for decorative purposes.
- Name headings with descriptive titles. Use your visitors’ words in the headings to help your content show up when your site visitors search.
- Use only a few levels of headings in most cases. The easiest-to-use content is often divided into small pieces with lots of headings, and a hierarchy that doesn’t go too deep.
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