How Pages Use Structure

 Think about the stories you read in a newspaper: for each story, there will be a headline, some text, and possibly some images. If the article is a long piece, there may be subheadings that split the story into separate sections or quotes from those involved. Structure helps readers understand the stories in the newspaper.

The structure is very similar when a news story is viewed online (although it may also feature audio or video). This is illustrated on the right with a copy of a newspaper alongside the corresponding article on its website.

Now think about a very different type of document — an insurance form. Insurance forms often have headings for different sections, and each section contains a list of questions with areas for you to fill in details or checkboxes to tick. Again, the structure is very similar online.