Page titles

Page titles (HTML <title> tags) are important types of ‘microcontent’. They are not the same as the main heading (HTML <h1> tag). They have a more important role to play. When users see headings they can see other parts of the page (branding, navigation, other content). When they see titles, that is all they can see.

Page titles usually act as the links to pages in search results. They are the labels used in favorites or bookmarks, the browser history and tabs, and in social media linking.  Terms in page titles are also important for search engine optimisation.

Tips for web writers

  • Clearly identify the content or purpose of the page
    • Include any qualifying words that give context, such as the organisation name
  • Use familiar words and include ‘keywords’
    • Avoid shortened forms, jargon, words users may not be familiar with
    • ‘Keywords’ are terms that describe the main content or topic; terms users may search with
  • Position keywords close to the start of the page title
    • Keywords will be easier to see when people scan read search results and other places where the page title is displayed, and they’ll be visible in browser tabs
    • Avoid unnecessary words, articles, phrasing such as ‘How do I…” at the start of a title
    • Put the organisation or publisher’s name at the end of the page title, except on the home page
  • Be concise (around 60 characters, including spaces and punctuation)
    • Search engines display only the first 60-70 characters of a page title
    • Page titles are cut even shorter in browser tabs and sometimes in bookmarks, favorites, history
  • Write unique titles
    • Every page on your site should have a different title
    • Check the titles of similar pages, and if necessary, work out how to distinguish your page from others
  • Understand content management system behaviour
    • Some content management systems fully or partially create the page title (many use the main heading <h1> and add the organisation name to it)
    • Find out how your content management system handles the page title and how you can produce good titles while working with system constraints
  • Add titles to non-HTML documents published online
    • PDF, Word and PowerPoint documents have a title. Check the file or document properties and make sure the document has a suitable title

Print version

Version 1.4, October 2011