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Re: headings

for

From: michael.brockington
Date: Feb 18, 2005 11:19AM

> -----Original Message-----
> From: lists38 [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
> Sent: 18 February 2005 16:37
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] headings
>
>
> ... Isn't the content of
> the document more important than the place it resides on? As
> your visitor, I'd think so.
>
In a word, no. If you are looking for information then you need to be able to
judge the quality of the info. In the print world that means an article in a
well known journal is more trustworthy than one on a two-page newsletter from
a small pressure group.
If on the other hand you are looking for a product or service, then the first
thing that you need to know is whether the vendor is reputable enough for
you. Is it a back-street garage, or a Ford Franchised Dealer?

There may be other ways to categorise Internet use, but I'll bet that I can
apply similar logic to them as well.

In other words, as any marketing person will tell you, it is all about the
Brand.


> You can use them any way you want to, but they are a tool to
> give the current document a structure. When using the Site
> Name as the main header, you give away one level of that
> structure. You can do that, however it makes more sense to
> keep the structure on a document level rather than mixing
> site structure and document structure.

Well that is exactly what this discussion is about - the author has split one
logical document into several physical files. At that point, the site
structure has already become part of the document structure so your point is
moot.


>
> company XYZ
> About Us
> Department XYZ
>
> What happens when you need four levels in the document of
> that department?

You use an H4? H5, H6

>
> Why is the site name the most important element? As a
> visitor, I don't care. An example would be a product page, if
> I search for an MP3 Player with 256MB I will look for that.
> If that information is in the H1 of the document I am more
> likely to find it. That it is a product of ABC is of no
> signifance for me ...

It is for everyone else in the world, bar none.

> ... As a user of
> assitive technology I don't want to hear the name of the site
> on every page I am on as the first headline, I know already
> that I am there.
>
As a sighted user, I find that most links give very little indication of what
site they are going to - a decent indication when I get there is important.


> The same applies to titles of documents, IMHO:
>
> Little cuddly green frogs at etoys.com
>
> Makes a lot more sense than
>
> Etoys.com - all toys - plush toys - frogs
>

So you want us all to throw away any semantic meaning in our document titles
then? While the first example reads more fluently, it gives no indication of
the site structure, which you have already said you don't want to see in the
Header structure. (Again, they are not headlines.)

Mike


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