Research

Every folder on the site should have a page named index_html. The webserver framework we use (Zope) looks in the current folder for index_html when no specific page is specified in a URL. If it doesn't find one, it will search up the site hierarchy for the first index_html it can find, and then return that page as if it was located in the requested folder.

That can confuse users, and can also result in phantom URLs that keep returning the same (incorrect) page and grow longer and longer each time you click them. It also messes up search engines, since it will appear to them that there is an infinitely deep folder hierarchy filled with duplicate pages — and that's very bad for your SEO ranking.

Bottom line: unless it's specifically intended to use a dynamic index_html placed at a higher level, every folder should have a default page named index_html.

Headline

The headline displayed on the page is pulled from the Title property. The Title property is the field shown above the editing applet when you Edit this page. It also appears on the Properties tab of the page. The headline should include the word or words used in the link text of links that point to the page, but the headline can be more detailed than the link text. The important thing is that they should be similar, so that the user gets a clear signal that they've arrived at the page they expected to see when they clicked the link.

Subheadings

Long pages should be divided into logical sections (when possible), with descriptive subheadings at the start of each section. The subheading should be short and should clearly indicate the topic of the following section. Avoid cute or clever plays on words; make it something that the user can immediately understand if they are quickly skimming down the page.

Vision-impaired users who are accessing the page through screen reader software can get a list of all the subheadings on a page and jump to whichever one sounds most promising so that they don't have to listen to the entire page, perhaps discovering at the end that the information they want isn't here.

In order to make that option work, your subheadings must be styled as actual HTML headings (Heading 2, Heading 3, Heading 4), not simply normal text that has been bolded and made bigger. The Heading 1 style is reserved for the headline, and that will be inserted automatically by the site, using the Title field's contents. Subsequent subheadings should be Heading 2, and if those main sections need subdivisions, the Heading 3 style should be used. Divisions within Heading 3 sections should be Heading 4. Think of them as levels in an outline.