Page structure

Page titles

The page title needs to describe the content on the page, so people can confidently select the right page from their search results, and find the information they are looking for. The page title is a very important factor in search ranking, so should include primary search terms.

Page titles should;

• be short, normally less than 50 characters
• be unique
• make sense out of context
• use plain English
• be written in sentence case, for example, Council and democracy.

Headings and sub headings

Clear, informative subheadings which break the information up into identifiable sections make scanning a web page for information much easier for a user, especially if they are on a mobile device. Sub headings should include secondary search terms.

Headings and sub headings styles should;

• be used in order, i.e. Heading 2 (H2) then Heading 3 (H3) - always start with a H2 before using a H3.
• not use 'bold' to format a heading.
• not use 'italic' to format a heading.
• not be made into links.
• not be used to change the appearance of text.

Page layout

• The most important information should always be at the top of the page.
• Users should only be given the information they need to complete their task.
• Pages should be made up of short sentences and paragraphs.
• Anchor links or accordions should be used to navigate longer pages.

Lists

Numbered lists

Numbered lists should be used for items that need to be placed in order of priority or sequence.

The following should not be used;

• Roman numerals.
• letters.
• complicated numbering.

Unordered lists

Bullet points should be used to draw attention to key statements.

Contact information

We do not show individual staff contact details unless in an emergency or statutory situation. All contact details are normally directed to generic service and departmental inboxes.

Displaying high priority information

• Service availability and district-wide emergency information is displayed on an alert bar which appears at the top of every page on our website. This alert bar is only activated when there is an emergency. For example, a severe weather alert. 
• Service specific emergency information is displayed at the top of all necessary web pages within the body text.