As a WordPress user, employing proper heading hierarchy in your content might be a challenge you’ve come across or something you never considered. In this article, we’ll explore this concept, explaining why it’s essential, its impact on usability and accessibility, and how to correctly apply it in WordPress.
Understanding Heading Hierarchy
Heading hierarchy refers to the structure and order of the ‘H’ tags in HTML, ranging from H1 (highest level) to H6 (lowest level). Each tag signifies a different degree of importance within your content. The H1 tag is typically the main title or heading, while the H2 to H6 tags serve as subheadings, breaking your content into more digestible sections.
The Impact of Heading Hierarchy on Usability and Accessibility
Correctly implementing heading hierarchy in your WordPress content significantly enhances usability and accessibility.
- Content Structure: Correct heading hierarchy provides your content with a logical and clear structure. This structure guides readers through your content, breaking it down into readable and coherent sections.
- SEO: Search engines use headings to index the structure and content of web pages. Proper heading hierarchy aids search engines in better understanding your content, potentially boosting your ranking in search results.
- Accessibility: Heading hierarchy is crucial for users who rely on screen readers. These assistive technologies use headings to navigate content. Correctly implementing heading hierarchy makes your website more accessible to users with visual impairments.
Styled Text vs. True Headings
It’s important to differentiate between styled text and actual headings. While you can style text to look like a heading by making it larger or bolder, it doesn’t inherently become a heading in the HTML sense. From an accessibility and SEO perspective, headings are recognized by their proper use of heading tags (H1-H6) in HTML.
Assistive technologies and search engines use heading tags to understand and navigate content. Visually styled text without the appropriate heading tag won’t be recognized as a heading, impacting both accessibility and SEO performance. Therefore, for content structure, accessibility, and SEO, use actual heading in accordance with your content hierarchy.
Choosing the Right Heading Level
Determining which heading level to use depends on the structure and hierarchy of your content. Here are a few general rules to help guide your decision:
- H1 Tag: Use the H1 tag for your main title. This should represent the overall content of your page. There should typically be only one H1 tag per page.
- H2 Tags: These serve as main subheadings and should represent the main points or topics under your H1 tag.
- H3 to H6 Tags: Use these tags for additional, nested subsections under your H2 tags. For example, if you have a point to make under an H2 tag that requires further subdivision, you would use an H3 tag. Similarly, if that point needs to be further subdivided, use an H4 tag, and so on.
- Avoid Skipping Heading Levels: Skipping heading levels can confuse your readers and users of assistive technologies. It disrupts the content hierarchy and can make it more challenging to follow the structure of your page. For instance, avoid jumping from an H2 to an H4 tag without an H3 tag in between.
Remember, the goal of these headings is to establish hierarchy and structure, not to control the size or look of the text. That should be done with CSS styling.
Implementing Correct Heading Hierarchy in WordPress
WordPress makes it simple to use the correct heading hierarchy, though it requires careful consideration of your content’s structure.
- H1 Tag – Main Heading: The H1 tag should denote the main title of your page or post. It should encapsulate the main topic or theme of your content. WordPress automatically sets your page or post title as the H1 tag, so you generally don’t need to add this manually.
- H2 Tags – Main Subheadings: H2 tags serve as the primary subheadings of your content. They should accurately reflect the content that follows them. These tags aid in subdividing the main theme into more specific sections.
- H3 to H6 Tags – Additional Division: The remaining heading tags (H3 to H6) can further segment your content. These headings are typically used to break down the content within your H2 tags. They are less commonly used than H1 and H2 but can be crucial in more detailed or lengthy content.
A Note on WordPress Blocks
The Gutenberg editor in WordPress simplifies the process of applying heading tags. When adding a new block, select ‘Heading’, then choose the appropriate level from the dropdown menu in the block toolbar. This visual approach to structuring your content can simplify the use of heading hierarchy.
Conclusion
Using the right heading hierarchy in your WordPress content is crucial for usability and accessibility. It provides a clear structure, enhances SEO, and improves accessibility for visually impaired users. By paying a bit more attention to your headings, you can significantly improve the effectiveness of your WordPress site. Remember, it’s not just about the visual structure, but also about creating a clear information hierarchy that assistive technologies can recognize and navigate.