{"id":37,"date":"2021-08-13T10:48:30","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T09:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dpnwordpress.org\/principles-of-coding\/?p=37"},"modified":"2021-08-13T13:23:18","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T12:23:18","slug":"page-and-post-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dpnwordpress.org\/principles-of-coding\/index.php\/2021\/08\/13\/page-and-post-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Page and Post Structure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The structure of your website pages and posts are incredibly important. The better your site structure, the better your chance of ranking higher in the search engines. Every website has some \u201cstructure.\u201d It might be a rigorous and streamlined structure, or it may be a disorganized jumble of pages. If you are intentional and careful with your site structure, you will create a site which enhances your searchability, readability and accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good site structure means improved user experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As you know, the more appealing your site to users, the more appealing it is to search engines, too. Google\u2019s algorithm uses information from \u2018searchers\u2019 to rank your site. If your site has poor Click-Through Rates (CTRs) and low dwell time, it will not perform well in the Search Engine Result Page (SERPs). By contrast, when a user finds a site that they like \u2014 i.e., a site with great structure and they don\u2019t bounce out \u2013 they stay longer. An accurate site structure can reduce bounce rate and improve dwell time, both of which will lead to improved rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How do we improve structure practically?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is another paragraph. In order for us to have structure in our page \u2013 which is loved by Google and Accessibility support for screen readers \u2013 we should use headings, subheadings and paragraphs. It also makes the page easier to read which is good for everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repeated structure points are fine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t have to keep going down the heading styles. I can reuse a heading level if I need to. Please note that Google believes that words that appear in your heading style must be important to your topic \u2013 so getting some of your keywords in Headings is supporting your organic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every business has keywords or key phrases. These are words and phrases that users input into a Search Engine to locate your kind of business \/ products \/ services, even if they don\u2019t know you exist. These keywords and phrases should be scattered around your whole website like herbs on a salad \u2013 you wouldn\u2019t want to find a clump of them! To find out more about SEO have a look in the DPN Moodle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accessibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Visuals don\u2019t tell the whole story. We use colour and font size to draw sighted users\u2019 attention to the most useful parts of the content, like the navigation menu and hyperlinks, but what about visually impaired people for example, who might not find concepts like \u201cunderline\u201d and \u201clarge font\u201d very useful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In WordPress, using the appropriate blocks enables the HTML code to mark-up sections of content based on their functionality, and assistive technologies like screen readers can recognise those elements and help with tasks like \u201cfind the main navigation\u201d, or \u201cfind the main content.\u201d This is particularly important with images \u2013 as computers cannot read images, so we need to add ALT text or \u2018alternative text\u2019 with every image. This is a description of the image in sentence format, foremost for screen readers to \u2018read\u2019 to their user. We also know that Google reads this alternative text, so it\u2019s another place to pop in a keyword or key phrase \u2013 if appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friendly article with some planning tips on this subject available at the Writers Cookbook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technical reasons for page structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well-structured content allows more efficient navigation and processing. Use HTML and WAI-ARIA to improve navigation and orientation on web pages and in applications. Some of the processes are done automatically for you in WordPress \u2013 your CMS (Content Management System)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Page Regions:<\/strong> Identify and mark up regions on web pages using HTML5 and WAI-ARIA roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labeling Regions:<\/strong> Label regions to allow users to distinguish and access them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headings:<\/strong> Add headings and nest them logically to label sections of web pages according to their relationships and importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content Structure:<\/strong> Mark up the content on a page in a way that uses appropriate and meaningful elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is this important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pages with well-structured content are essential for many web users, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n