use of <H?> tags

[shank]

I need advice on how to implement <H?> tags. I'm converting a table oriented
site to a more CSS site. In a perfect world with a website that has mostly
verbiage the use of the <H?> tags is relatively obvious. I've got a lot of
product and lists neatly displayed within tables on the home page. And so
far never used <H?> tags. That of course seems to be a big mistake.

I basically have 3 text sizes on the home page.
When using the <H?> tags how should I use them?
<H1> for a title - OK
<H2> for what? Just what I feel should be the next smaller size?
<H3> and so forth etc.?

Considering that I could actually set the size for any one of those tags,
how much difference does it make? Could someone give me a clue? It appears
that my <DIV> tag is going to be my best friend. Is that the nature of CSS?
thanks!

 

[EightNineThree]

I need advice on how to implement <H?> tags. I'm converting a table oriented
site to a more CSS site. In a perfect world with a website that has mostly
verbiage the use of the <H?> tags is relatively obvious. I've got a lot of
product and lists neatly displayed within tables on the home page. And so
far never used <H?> tags. That of course seems to be a big mistake.

I basically have 3 text sizes on the home page.
When using the <H?> tags how should I use them?
<H1> for a title - OK
<H2> for what? Just what I feel should be the next smaller size?
<H3> and so forth etc.?

Think of the page's text as an outline.

<h1> the main page's title

<h2> title for the primary sub-section(s)

<h3> as sub-sections to the <h2> section above it

and so on.

 

[Mark Parnell]

so far never used <H?> tags. That of
course seems to be a big mistake.

Indeed. It is extremely unlikely that a page has no headings at all.

I basically have 3 text sizes on the home page.

Irrelevant to a discussion on use of headings.

When using the <H?> tags how should I use them?
<H1> for a title - OK
<H2> for what? Just what I feel should be the next smaller size?
<H3> and so forth etc.?

No. HTML (and therefore headings in HTML) is used to describe the
*structure* of the document, not the presentation. Use H1 for the main page
heading. Use H2 for the first level of sub-headings, H3 for the next level
of sub-headings, and so on as far as necessary. Of course...

Considering that I could actually set the size for any one of those
tags,

Exactly. You can style them to display however you want.

how much difference does it make? Could someone give me a clue?

Many browsers allow the user to generate a "table of contents" from a page,
using the semantic structure of the page, especially headings. It is also
rumoured that some search engines (including Google) rank the text in
headings higher than other body text, since it is (if used properly of
course ) the most important text on the page.

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?brucie?=]

I basically have 3 text sizes on the home page.
When using the <H?> tags how should I use them?
<H1> for a title - OK
<H2> for what? Just what I feel should be the next smaller size?
<H3> and so forth etc.?

the number indicates the importance of the heading. it has nothing to
do with the font size or any other styling of the heading.

 

[shank]

the number indicates the importance of the heading. it has nothing to
do with the font size or any other styling of the heading.

OK. I don't have the typical headings and paragraphs you would would find on
a website made for research or general verbiage. I could create an <H1>
title with little problem. But how would I go about tagging product copy
snippets like "click here for $10 off", "blue widgets now on sale", "new
releases click here", etc etc etc.? That's the only other verbiage I have
along with photos on the page. If they are of equal importance, do I tag
them with <H2>? Is there a problem of having more than one <H2> or <H3> tags
on the same page?

Thanks for your indulgence! Coming from an all table world is a leap in
method thinking...

 

[Mark Parnell]

OK. I don't have the typical headings and paragraphs you would would
find on a website made for research or general verbiage.
I could
create an <H1> title with little problem. But how would I go about
tagging product copy snippets like "click here for $10 off", "blue
widgets now on sale", "new releases click here", etc etc etc.?

If you posted a URI, we may be able to give you some pointers.

BTW: Don't use "click here" for link text. How does someone using an aural
browser click?

That's
the only other verbiage I have along with photos on the page.

If they
are of equal importance, do I tag them with <H2>? Is there a problem
of having more than one <H2> or <H3> tags on the same page?

Not at all. If you have more than one second-level heading, then you can

Thanks for your indulgence! Coming from an all table world is a leap
in method thinking...

Indeed. But it is a leap *forward*.

 

[shank]

If you posted a URI, we may be able to give you some pointers.

BTW: Don't use "click here" for link text. How does someone using an aural
browser click?


Not at all. If you have more than one second-level heading, then you can


Indeed. But it is a leap *forward*.

What benefit is there to marking the pics with <H2>? Do the search engines
pick up on the filename and/or <ALT> tag? Is the syntax: <H2 img
src="myphoto.jpg"> ?
thanks!

 

[shank]

If you posted a URI, we may be able to give you some pointers.

BTW: Don't use "click here" for link text. How does someone using an aural
browser click?


Not at all. If you have more than one second-level heading, then you can


Indeed. But it is a leap *forward*.

ADDENDUM...
Is there a problem with sticking <H?> tags inside of <TD> tags like this..
<TD><h3 class="photocaptions">widgets</h3></TD>
thanks!

 

[PeterMcC]

What benefit is there to marking the pics with <H2>? Do the search
engines pick up on the filename and/or <ALT> tag? Is the syntax: <H2
img src="myphoto.jpg"> ?

AFAIK, neither unless it's used in a link.

 

[Mark Parnell]

Is there a problem with sticking <H?> tags inside of <TD> tags like
this.. <TD><h3 class="photocaptions">widgets</h3></TD>
thanks!

Not at all. If "widgets" is a 3rd-level heading, then mark it up as such
(though I would think that in most cases it would be in a <th> not <td>).

 

[Mark Parnell]

What benefit is there to marking the pics with <H2>? Do the search
engines pick up on the filename and/or <ALT> tag? Is the syntax: <H2
img src="myphoto.jpg"> ?
thanks!

AFAIK search engines generally only pick up the alt text on an image if it
is a link, though some reports indicate otherwise. But if the pictures are
headings, then you should mark them as such. As I said before, this means
that some browsers can make a document outline from the headings.

<h2><img src="myphoto.jpg" alt="Something appropriate" width="x"
height="y"></h2>

or if it is a link:

<h2><a href="widgets.html"><img src="myphoto.jpg" alt="Something
appropriate" width="x" height="y"></a></h2>