Proper use of headings
In order to make the Los Medanos College website accessible to everyone, as well as for search engine optimization (SEO), it is important that website contributors follow the following guidelines for selection and placement of headings.
To make text a header click into the text you want to be a header and click on the "Paragraph" drop down menu in the formatting ribbon in the editor. Most of the time you will choose either Heading 2 for the main headings followed by an Heading 3 for the subheadings. It is tempting to pick smaller headings but headings MUST follow a certain order.
1. Heading 1: Do Not Use heading 1. The red title at the top of the page, which is controlled by the Web Administrator, is the only heading 1 that should appear on the page. Heading 1 is used to identify a group of pages, as for a department or program. Every page in that group will have the same header 1 at the top. Think of it as similar to the title of a book that appears at the top of each page.
2. Heading 2: The first heading you as a contributor will place is a heading 2 at the top of the page. Use heading 2 sparingly. This is the heading that guides visitors to a specific section of web content. Think of it like a chapter heading in a book.
3. Headings 3, 4 & 5: A heading 3 must follow a heading 2 if there are to be any further headings. You can place one or more heading 3s after each heading 2 or heading 4s after each heading 3, etc., but don't skip headings; for example, don't place a heading 3 and follow it with a heading 5.
Heading 2 looks like this
Heading 3 looks like this
Heading 4 looks like this
Heading 5 looks like this
1. Web Accessibility
Screen readers that aid in accessibility for the disabled use these headings to navigate websites. See the example below of how they are used.
2. SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. What this means is that your content is optimized so it can be easily indexed by a search engine.
When in doubt as to what headings to use follow this rule:
- Heading 1 is used only once per page.
- Use Heading 2 sparingly as a subheading.
- Think of heading 3 as a subheading in a chapter of Heading 2 and so on.