Overview
A headline tells a human what the piece is, tells a search index which query it answers, and tells an agent whether the page is worth fetching. One pattern set serves all three. Match the H1 to the frontmatter title, put the keyword in the H1 and one H2, and open each subhead with the rule. Heading case is in editorial-style.
Pick a headline shape that matches the artifact
- Noun phrase plus suffix: “Astro: Best Practices.” For reference pages.
- Direct question: “When should you use SQLite?” For decision pieces.
- Claim or rule: “Lead with the rule, not the rationale.” For essays.
Avoid clever or oblique headlines on reference content. The headline is a routing hint, and cleverness costs comprehension.
Match the H1 to the frontmatter title
Quartz renders the H1 from title, so the two cannot drift on this site. Keep the title short and put the distinguishing words first. Google documents no length limit for a title element but truncates the displayed title link to fit the device width, so do not rely on a character count; check the rendered result. Source: Influencing title links.
Put the keyword in the H1 and one H2
Do not stuff. “Tailwind v4: Best Practices” is enough; “Tailwind v4 Best Practices for Modern Web Development” is not. The H2 that owns the keyword can be longer: “When to use Tailwind v4.” Below that, optimize for clarity. See keyword-research for choosing the keyword.
Open subheads with the rule
Subheads usually start with a verb: “Lead with the rule,” “Avoid em-dashes.” Use a noun phrase only when the section is a property list rather than a rule. A page of all verb-first subheads reads as a script; a page of all noun phrases reads as a glossary.
Pay off every subhead in its first sentence
A subhead is a promise. If the H2 is “Avoid em-dashes,” the first sentence restates the rule and gives the reason. A subhead that the first paragraph does not answer was added to organize the writer’s thoughts and never aligned.
Two H2s back to back with no body between them, or one H2 owning most of the page, means the page needs restructuring or splitting; see articles.
Write the title and summary as a pair
The H1 says what the page is. The summary says what rule or decision it resolves. Together they let a model decide in a glance whether to open the body. Page-level patterns that help agents are in write-llm-friendly-content.