Web pages should have titles that describe their function or purpose. This is used in a variety of ways, and is helpful for all users.
In HTML, the title is contained within the <title> element. This should not be confused with the main heading of the web page, which should be tagged as <h1> (for more about headings, see Headings on websites). The main heading is visible within the body of the web page, and the title is not. However, the title is used for other important purposes. For examples and additional information, see Titles in our IT Accessibility Checklist.
Techniques using HTML
A good title communicates the topic or purpose of the current page. When the page is part of a related collection of web pages (e.g., a departmental website) the page title should be combined with the site title, with the page title first. For example, the title of the current page is “Titles on Websites” and the title of the website is “Accessible Technology.” Therefore, the HTML title should be, and is, “Titles on Websites | Accessible Technology,” coded as follows:
<title>Titles on Websites | Accessible Technology</title>
Techniques using content management systems
Content management systems such as WordPress or Drupal automatically generate the <title> element from the page name. They typically follow the above best practice, and combine the page name and site name and add them to the <title> element.