Structuring your page content

Owned by Jess Pietsch (Unlicensed)
27 Jul, 2023
2 min read

A well-structured page makes it easy for users to find the information they are seeking. Use headings, short paragraphs, lists and clear calls to action.

Design content with a structure that helps the user navigate and understand. Structure also helps search engines find and rank content in a search results listing.

Page title

  • Be unique and descriptive (e.g. "About the Department of Premier and Cabinet" not "About us").

  • Frontload with your keywords and end with your department or organisation name.

  • Use sentence case (capitalise only the first word and proper nouns).

  • Aim for between 30 and 70 characters.

Introduction text

  • Summarise the purpose of your content in one or 2 sentences.

  • Use complete sentences with punctuation at the end.

  • Include a call to action if relevant (e.g. 'Apply for X', 'Submit a complaint about Y', 'View Z').

Paragraphs

  • Present the most important information first, or a summary of what will be covered on the page.

  • Use short paragraphs that are 2 or 3 sentences long, with a maximum of 15 words per sentence.

  • Write in plain language.

  • Read the Style Manual's guidance on types of structure and on paragraphs.

Headings and subheadings

  • Use headings to break up the content.

  • Headings should be short and use keywords.

  • Your page title is the H1 heading attached to the page's meta data.

  • Heading sizes must be sequential to meet accessibility requirements.

  • All main headings on a page need to be H2.

  • Subheadings under these are H3, and then H4 if required.

  • Read the Style Manual's guidance on headings.

Lists

  • Lists help to make content scannable.

  • Numbered lists should only be used when there is a particular order or to show priority.

  • Use a parallel structure (e.g. all verbs using the same form) for each list item that flows from the lead-in sentence.

    • For example, this list is being used to:

      • illustrate an example of writing lists

      • guide content editors through using a parallel structure

  • No punctuation should be used for bulleted lists, unless each list item is a complete sentence.

  • Read the Style Manual's guidance on lists.

Links and calls to action

  • A call to action is a button, link or card that leads the reader to the next step in their journey (Apply, Register, Subscribe, etc.).

  • Write link text that describes the destination in clear language (e.g. 'Find out more on the Australian Government Style Manual website' not 'click here').

  • Read the Style Manual's guidance on links.

Content production template

Use the Australian Government content production template to plan, write and check your content.

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