Structure, headings, and titles
- Frontload: put the most important information first, then add detail.
- Avoid footnotes. Put anything important in the body text, and cut anything not important enough for the body.
- Don't repeat a summary or introduction in the paragraph straight after it.
- Headings and titles should be descriptive ("Apply for a licence", not "Introduction"), frontloaded, and never phrased as a question.
- A heading should make sense on its own, without needing the sentence beneath it to complete the meaning.
- Keep titles to 65 characters or fewer where possible, and don't restate the content type ("guidance", "report") in the title itself.
Last reviewed
26-09-2026