A surprising number of school website problems have nothing to do with design, hosting or development. They come down to the way content is added and maintained day to day.
Many of these issues stem from everyday website content management rather than technical problems with the website itself.
The good news is that many of the most common problems do not require a developer. They can be corrected by the people who create and maintain the website, using tools already available within the content management system.
During CMS training sessions, we spend time covering content formatting because small decisions can have a significant impact on accessibility, usability and search visibility. None of them require technical redevelopment, but all of them can affect accessibility, usability and content visibility.
Parents, carers, prospective staff and other visitors rarely visit a school or trust website to read every page from start to finish. More often they need one piece of information quickly, whether that’s a term date, admissions information, a contact email or details of an upcoming event.
As AI-powered search experiences continue to evolve, well-structured content is becoming increasingly important. While headings alone will not improve rankings, they help search engines and AI systems understand the relationship between different sections of content.
This article looks at eight common content formatting mistakes found on school and trust websites, along with practical steps editors can take to avoid them.
1. Adding Another H1 Heading Inside the Page
The H1 is the main heading that describes the subject of a page.
On Cleverbox websites, it is normally created automatically from the page title. Adding another H1 within the main content can therefore duplicate the top-level heading and make the page structure less clear.
Editors should usually begin the main content sections with H2 headings. H3 headings can then be used for subsections within an H2, with H4 available when a further level is genuinely needed.
- H1: the page title, normally generated automatically
- H2: a main section of the page
- H3: a subsection within an H2 section
- H4: a further subsection within an H3 section
Cleverbox tip: Check the page title before adding your first content heading. If the title already appears at the top of the page, start your content sections at H2.
2. Choosing Headings Because of How They Look
A heading is not simply a way to make text larger or bolder. Its purpose is to describe the structure of the content.
Selecting H3 or H4 because it appears closer to the preferred size can create a confusing page outline. The visual appearance of headings is controlled by the website design, while the heading level communicates the relationship between sections.
For example, a Careers page might contain the following structure:
- H1: Careers
- H2: Our Careers Programme
- H2: Careers Advice
- H3: Year 10
- H3: Year 11
- H2: Employer and Provider Access
The W3C guidance on headings recommends nesting headings according to their rank and avoiding skipped levels where possible. This helps users understand how sections relate to one another.
Cleverbox tip: Read only the headings on the page, without the paragraphs beneath them. If they still provide a useful outline of the content, the structure is probably working well.
3. Using Bold Text Instead of a Real Heading
Bold text may look like a heading to a sighted visitor, but it remains an ordinary paragraph in the page code. A screen reader will not identify it as part of the heading structure and automated systems may not recognise that a new section has started.
The GOV.UK guidance on headings specifically advises content editors not to use bold text as a substitute for a proper heading.
Use bold formatting to draw attention to a word, date or short phrase within a paragraph. Use an actual heading style when introducing a new section or subsection.
Cleverbox tip: If a line explains what the next group of paragraphs is about, it probably needs to be a heading rather than bold body text.
4. Pasting Content Directly from Word, Email or a PDF
Many school website updates begin in a Word document, email or policy file. Copying this content directly into the website can bring unwanted formatting with it, including font styles, colours, spacing, tables and hidden code.
This can cause inconsistent presentation or make content behave differently on mobile devices. It may also leave headings and lists looking correct visually while using the wrong underlying structure.
Use the CMS option for pasting from Word or cleaning pasted content where it is available. Once the text has been added, reapply the correct website heading, paragraph and list styles through the editor.
- Check that headings use the correct heading level
- Rebuild lists using the list controls
- Remove unnecessary colours, fonts and spacing
- Check quotation marks and special characters
- Preview the page before publishing
Cleverbox tip: Do not try to recreate a Word document exactly on a web page. Print documents and websites are used differently, particularly on smaller screens.
5. Publishing Large Blocks of Unbroken Text
Visitors rarely read a school website page from beginning to end. They scan it for a date, instruction, contact detail, policy or answer to a specific question.
Long paragraphs make this harder, particularly for visitors reading on a mobile phone or those who find dense content difficult to process. Important information can easily become buried even when the wording itself is accurate.
Break the page into sections with descriptive headings. Keep each paragraph focused on one main point, and use lists when presenting steps, requirements or groups of related items.
The GOV.UK Design System guidance on lists recommends using lists to make blocks of text easier to read and to divide information into manageable sections.
Cleverbox tip: A long page is not automatically a bad page. A well-organised page with clear headings, short paragraphs and useful navigation can be easier to use than several fragmented pages.
The best layout depends on the content. Accordions can reduce initial scrolling, while a full-page layout keeps more information immediately visible. The important thing is to choose the format that helps the visitor.
6. Using Vague Link Text Such as “Click Here”
Link text should explain where the visitor will go or what will happen after the link is selected. Phrases such as “click here”, “read more” and “find out more” provide very little information when viewed out of context.
Descriptive links are more useful for people scanning a page and for screen-reader users moving through a list of links. They also give search engines clearer information about the destination page.
- Use “View our admissions arrangements” instead of “Click here”
- Use “Download the Year 7 transition guide” instead of “Download”
- Use “Contact the safeguarding team” instead of “Email us”
- Use “Read the school uniform policy” instead of “More information”
Google’s guidance on link best practice explains that visible anchor text helps both people and Google understand the page being linked to.
Cleverbox tip: Avoid pasting a full web address into the middle of a paragraph. Link a short, meaningful phrase instead.
7. Using Images or PDFs Instead of Structured Page Content
An image of a table, poster or letter may appear to be a quick way to publish information, but the content inside it can be difficult to read on mobile devices and may not be available to screen readers.
Common examples include:
- Admissions arrangements
- Term dates
- Governance information
- Examination and assessment results
- SEND provision information
- Safeguarding contact details
- Trust policies
- Central trust governance documents
PDFs still have a valid role, particularly when visitors need to download or print an official document. However, essential instructions, dates and contact details should not be available only inside a PDF when they could be presented clearly on the web page.
We frequently see schools upload posters, scanned letters, timetable images and meeting documents that contain information visitors need quickly. While downloadable documents remain useful, important dates, deadlines, contact information and key instructions should usually also be included as page content.
Statistical information should be entered as a proper table where the relationships between rows and columns matter. Steps or collections should be formatted as lists. Important explanatory information should normally appear as page text.
- Use a table for results, dates or comparable data
- Use a list for steps, requirements or grouped items
- Use page text for key instructions and explanations
- Use a PDF when a downloadable official document is genuinely required
Cleverbox tip: If visitors must open a document simply to find one important date or telephone number, consider adding that information to the page as well.
8. Publishing Without Previewing the Page
Content that looks tidy inside the editor may behave differently on the live website. Headings can wrap unexpectedly, tables may require horizontal scrolling, images may crop differently and pasted formatting can become more obvious.
Preview the page before publishing and review it at a narrow screen width. You do not need a collection of devices for a useful first check. Resizing the browser window can quickly reveal dense paragraphs, awkward headings and links that are difficult to distinguish.
- Check the page title and heading order
- Scan for long paragraphs
- Test every link
- Review tables and images at a smaller width
- Check image alternative text
- Confirm lists use the correct formatting
- Remove any duplicated or placeholder content
Cleverbox tip: Read the page as if you are a parent looking for one answer quickly. If the relevant section is difficult to spot, the page probably needs clearer headings or a simpler opening paragraph.
Quick Self Test
The examples throughout this article reflect widely accepted school website best practice, rather than platform-specific requirements.
Before publishing a page, ask:
- Can I understand the page by reading only the headings?
- Can I identify the purpose of every link without its surrounding text?
- Can I access important information without downloading a document?
- Does the page still make sense on a mobile screen?
- Would a parent, prospective staff member or stakeholder find the information they need within a few seconds?
Good Formatting Helps More Than One Audience
Website formatting is sometimes treated as a visual finishing touch. In practice, it is part of how the information works.
Many of the same improvements that support school website accessibility also help search engines, AI tools and visitors understand content more effectively.
A clear page structure helps visitors scan and understand content. It helps screen-reader users navigate between sections. It gives search engines clearer signals about topics and relationships, and it makes individual passages easier for AI-powered search systems to interpret.
This is becoming increasingly important as AI-powered search experiences continue to evolve. Systems such as Google AI Overviews and AI assistants rely on well-structured content to understand topics, relationships and key information within a page.
That does not mean adding keywords to every heading or restructuring pages purely for automated tools. Google makes clear in its SEO Starter Guide that there is no single change that guarantees a top ranking. The priority should remain useful, accurate and well-organised content.
Most importantly, these improvements are within the reach of website editors. The CMS provides the structure and formatting tools, while the person publishing the content decides how effectively they are used.
The technology can only take you so far. The schools that get the best results are usually the ones that take ownership of their content and keep it organised, accurate and up to date.
Make Your School Website Content Work Harder
Most school website content issues do not require a redevelopment project. In many cases, a focused content review and a clearer publishing process can deliver significant improvements in accessibility, usability and search visibility.
If your school or trust website has grown over time, a focused content review can identify where headings, links, tables, documents and page layouts need attention. In many cases, the solution is not a redevelopment. It is a clearer approach to using the tools already available.
Cleverbox works with schools, colleges and multi-academy trusts to improve website structure, accessibility, content management and search visibility. We can review your current website, provide practical guidance for editors or deliver additional CMS training for the people responsible for keeping your content up to date.
If your website has been managed by several different staff members over time, it is often surprising how quickly small formatting inconsistencies begin to appear. A content review can usually identify practical improvements without requiring a redesign or redevelopment project.
You may also find our CMS training resources useful when reviewing existing content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heading hierarchy shows how sections of content relate to one another. It helps visitors scan a page and enables assistive technologies to provide navigation between sections. A logical structure also gives search engines and other automated systems clearer information about the organisation of the page.
Using one clear H1 as the main page title remains a sensible content-authoring approach. On Cleverbox websites, the H1 is normally created automatically from the page title, so editors should not add another H1 inside the content.
No. Moving from H1 directly to H3 is not automatically a WCAG failure, but skipped levels can make the structure more confusing. Editors should use a logical H1, H2, H3 and H4 sequence where the content supports it.
Clear titles, descriptive headings, useful link text and properly structured content can make a page easier for search engines to crawl and understand. Formatting alone will not guarantee rankings, but it supports the clarity, usability and relevance expected from good website content.
Some tools can extract information from images and PDFs, but results can vary. Important public information is more reliably available to visitors, assistive technologies and automated systems when it is also provided as structured HTML text on the page.
Usually not. Heading levels, paragraphs, links, lists, tables, image descriptions and pasted formatting can normally be reviewed and corrected through the CMS. A developer may be needed when the issue relates to the template, component behaviour or underlying website code.
Website content should be reviewed regularly throughout the year, particularly when policies, staffing information, statutory information or contact details change. As a general rule, schools should carry out a wider content review at least annually to identify outdated information, broken links and formatting issues that may have accumulated over time.
Accessibility focuses on ensuring that everyone can access and use website content, including visitors who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation or other assistive technologies. SEO focuses on helping search engines understand and present content appropriately. Many content best practices, such as clear headings, descriptive links and logical page structure, support both accessibility and search visibility.
Content formatting alone will not guarantee that a page appears in AI-generated answers. However, clear headings, descriptive links, structured tables and well-organised page content can make information easier for search engines and AI systems to understand, interpret and reference accurately.
Many trusts choose to publish centrally managed information, such as policies, governance content and statutory information, while allowing individual schools to maintain their own local content. Establishing clear content standards, regular review processes and consistent formatting guidance can help create a more cohesive experience across the trust estate while reducing duplication and administrative effort.
Talk to the Cleverbox Team
Contact us to discuss a school website content review, CMS refresher session or a wider website project. We will help you identify the right approach for your school or trust.