Headings and subheadings visually show the reader how the information is organized in the document, and also briefly report what is in each section. Only about 10% of people will read every word of the article, the rest will “scan” the document with their eyes, highlighting interesting moments for themselves. To attract more readers, you need to understand what subheadings are and how to use them.
By dividing text into semantic categories, you can simplify the search for information. A structured and sub-title text will attract more readers than the same text without it.
What are subtitles?
Headings and subheadings improve the structure of the material and the readability of the text.
The headline is a line containing the name of the text, which facilitates navigation, talks about the content, and also serves to attract attention.
A subheading is an additional title that is located after the main heading, the purpose of which is to attract the reader to a separate part of the text, and not to the entire article. Subheadings help you quickly determine what will be discussed in each section of the text.
Why are subtitles needed?
Subheadings of articles are mini-headings and play a huge role in capturing and retaining the attention of readers. The text broken into the entitled parts is easier to read and find the necessary information; when you re-view it, it is better remembered.
What is the subtitle in the text for? Key Features:
- they stand out due to size and attract attention;
- improve readability of the text;
- the reader will stop to read them and continue to “scan” until the next subtitle;
- for sales texts with subtitles, the conversion is higher;
- a subtitle that looks interesting will make the reader read this section and so on.
What are their types?
Subheadings are second-generation headings, words or phrases that introduce sections into content and thus help the author break down content into smaller components. The most popular types of headings and subheadings are known as follows.
- Interrogative headings draw the reader’s attention because it is understood that the text following the heading will answer this question. Example: “What are subheadings and why are they needed?”
- The heading “Solution” describes the solution to a problem or task. Example: "Learn how to lose weight fast."
- The heading “Problem-solution” indicates a specific problem and immediately offers a solution. Example: “Overweight? Learn how to lose weight fast. ”
- A heading with numbers is one of the most popular and effective. Example: "Top 10 Ways to Make Money on the Internet."
- Call to action - a call to action header. Example: “Learn how to video edit in 1 day” and so on.
The types of headings regarding content, form and composition highlight these.
- Thematic headlines.
- Rod-numbering and rod-lettering.
- Numbering and lettering headings.
- Numbering thematic and lettering thematic.
- Lists of subtopics disclosed in the subsection.
- Subheadings headings.
- Graphic headers.
- Dumb headlines.
How to create a subtitle?
Often, based on subheadings, the reader evaluates whether or not to spend his time on the proposed material.
What are subtitles? These are the “hooks” that make the reader stop and read. Subheadings also serve to summarize the article. In other words, the subheadings should give the reader a quick and easy guide on what the article is and whether it is worth reading.
How to make a subtitle quality? It must meet the following criteria:
- utility: provides promise and benefit to the reader;
- uniqueness: contains a fact or opinion that the reader may not know;
- specificity: makes the subtitle stand out and requires attention, is focused on the audience;
- urgency (relevance): will force the reader to pay attention and perform actions.
The subtitle should describe a separate piece of text, but not be too long (optimally up to 8 words).
Simplicity, attractiveness, memorability, concreteness and value are the main qualities that headings and subheadings should have.
Subheading Hierarchy
Using headings and subheadings gives readers a general idea of what to expect from the article. These elements are divided and define each section of the article. From a technical point of view, headers are what are in the tags 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (1 is the heading of the first level; 2 is the second and so on). Therefore, there are 6 levels of subheadings.
Levels indicate the hierarchy of importance and scope of each heading and subheading. The degree of use of different levels depends on the length and complexity of the text. Commonly used level 1-3 headers; H6 is very rarely used.
The title H1 is used as the title of the article, therefore it is one in the text. H2 - subtitles, used as much as required in the text. H3-H6 - additional headings are not always found in the article. The hierarchy of the subtitle is established in such a way that H3 is in the subtitle of H2 (and so on), after the topic is fully disclosed, there is a transition to the next subtitle of H2.
Headings and Subheadings in Scientific Articles
The scientific format may seem difficult for a novice author because of its rigid structure, which differs from writing ordinary articles. One of the reasons for using this format is the efficient transfer of scientific data to a wide range of scientists in a uniform manner. Another reason is that this text structure allows you to read text at different levels. For example, many people read only headings and abstracts in scientific articles. Those who want to delve deeper into the topic will probably want to see tables and calculations.
As for other articles, there are no strict rules.
What do you need to remember when creating subheadings?
There are no rules, but the following recommendations will serve as guidelines.
- The first subheading should be intriguing, holding readers back.
- The names of the information blocks must match the text of these blocks.
- Subheadings break an article into consecutive sections.
- The shorter the subtitle, the better.
- Should not go beyond the semantic boundaries of the article.
- Do not use more than three levels of subheadings.
- Follow concurrency rules for each level.
- Subheadings should have a rhythm and sequence that help the reader navigate the page.
Creating high-quality table of contents material is not an easy process. Often authors spend more time on subtitles than on creating the text itself. The correct title of article blocks plays an important role for several reasons. They make the process of familiarization with the article easier, help to interest and captivate the reader, make him read the text to the end.