Headings

Use headings to structure content. 

Headings are signposts that structure documents and help readers navigate content more easily. They divide information into meaningful and digestible chunks, allowing users to better understand relationships between sections and topics—especially those using assistive technologies.

More than simply bolded or italicized words, headings provide extra information about the structure of the document at the code level. Headings nest under one another based on their rank (or level), creating a hierarchical outline of the document. The most important heading has a rank of 1 (<h1>) and is typically used for the document title. Additional headings range from Heading 2 (<h2>) through Heading 6 (<h6>).

• Use Heading 1 for the document title. Ideally, there is only one Heading 1 per document.
• Use Heading 2 for each main topic or section.
• Use Heading levels 3–6 for all other sub-headings and sub-subheadings. Heading levels 7–9 should not be used, as they do not translate to HTML formatting.

Avoid skipping heading levels whenever possible, as this can create confusion for assistive technology users. For example, a Heading 2 (<h2>) should not jump directly to a Heading 5 (<h5>) within the same section. However, heading levels may move backwards when beginning a new section. For example, a Heading 4 (<h4>) may return to a Heading 2 (<h2>) to indicate a new major section has started.

Benefits of Headings

Headings are incredibly useful for both readers and writers. Headings can be used to generate a Table of Contents or an interactive outline in documents such as Word and PDF.

For Readers

 Headings can help with the following reading strategies:

• Getting an overview of the content before reading
• Scanning for important information
• Jumping to a particular section
• Breaking content into manageable chunks
• Easily referring back to sections when reviewing or studying

For Writers

When writers use real, structural headings (rather than just bolded or enlarged text), they can:

• Save time organizing content before and during writing
• Generate a Table of Contents and an interactive outline in Word
• Easily navigate, reorder, and delete content
• Format content more efficiently throughout the document

Headings Guidelines

You can apply headings to almost every type of electronic content, including content in Word documents, on webpages, and in Blackboard courses. Look for menus or text editors that allow you to apply headings in any document. 

• Do not create headings by manually bolding, italicizing, enlarging, or recoloring text. Screen readers cannot interpret visual formatting alone; they will not recognize this content as real, coded headings.
• Use headings to provide structure and organization (like an outline).
• Use headings to group related content together. 
• Nest headings appropriately within a hierarchy – avoid skipping heading levels.
• Do not use headings purely for visual appeal or emphasis.
• Avoid overusing headings. If a heading is not followed by a paragraph, then it likely shouldn’t be a heading.

Apply Headings In...