Heading Styles
- Headings add hierarchical structure and organization to a page.
- Headings make it easier for individuals using a screen reader to navigate a page and are an essential element in creating accessible online materials.
Guidelines
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Use left-aligned headings. This is the standard across the site and helps users scan content quickly—especially on longer pages. Left alignment also creates a clean visual line and a clear content hierarchy.
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Stick to predefined heading styles. Font size, color, and weight are set globally for consistency across the site and cannot be customized.
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Avoid using ALL CAPS. All-uppercase text reduces readability by making all words the same shape, which slows down reading and comprehension. This applies to both headings and body text.
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Don’t add extra styling to headings. Avoid bolding, underlining, or otherwise modifying headings. Underlined bold text is reserved for links, so additional styling could confuse users.
Heading 2, (H2)
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Heading 2 is used to introduce Topic Blocks, FAQs and Staff Directories, and should only be used in a text module when these other modules are included on the page.
Heading 3, (H3)
- This heading style (H3) should be used when introducing a section of the content.
- It is used the most used heading style on the Hamilton website.
- The length should be limited to a few words and never wrap to a second line.
- Example: About Hamilton in France
Heading 4, (h4)
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This heading style should be used after a larger section heading (H3) to introduce a sub-section of content.
Heading 5, (h5)
- This heading style should be used after an h4 heading to introduce a sub-section of content.
Heading 6, (H6)
- This heading style should be used after an h5 heading to introduce a sub-section of content or if you want to avoid using a blue heading.
- This style should only be used at the top of a page to introduce the content of the page. It should approximately 50 words. If there are multiple introductory paragraphs, only the first few sentences should use the intro. style. The next paragraph should be regular text.
View the Complete Hamilton Style Guide
