Headings & Headlines (2024)

Headings

• Maximum heading length is 8 words, 6 words is ideal

• H1 & H2 capitalize all important words, no end punctuation (Sociology Sub-Plans)

  • Do not capitalize:

    See Also

    Killer ideas for blog titles - Wildheart MediaWrite Better Headlines—The Four Golden Rules

    • Articles (a, an, the)

    • Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor)

    • Short prepositions (at, by, in, near, to, from)

• H3 & H4 capitalize only the first word in heading, no end punctuation

Headlines

• When writing headlines, less is more

• Headlines should be no longer than 8 words, 6 words or fewer is ideal

• Do not include punctuation in headlines (No exclamation points!)

• Try cutting out unnecessary words such as “a” and “the,” as complete sentences aren’t always necessary

• If possible, use abbreviations for Universities, Institutions, conferences, and events to shorten headline length

• Keep in mind: having 1 long headline in a news feed is not the end of the world, but having multiple long headlines is significantly less readable and usable for users

Best Practices

• Getsto the point

• Gives a broad overview of information, not too specific

Good Examples

• “Jeffry Simpson Receives Teaching Award”
• “Showcasing Our Global Impact: CLA International”
• "Canoes: Indigeneity, Relocation, and MaintainingTradition"

Rewrite

• The headline “Psychology Professor John Doe Says Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Is Problematic” could be rewritten as“U Psychologist: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Problematic”