Page Structure

This page will cover:

This page explains how to structure and organize your website pages — including how to use parent/child pages, write clear titles and URLs, and decide when to hide certain pages from search engines for better usability and SEO.

Diagram showing parent pages and their children, with an orphaned page

Parent / Child Pages

  • Parent pages: Top-level pages.
  • Child pages: Subpages nested under a parent.
  • Why it matters:
    • Organizes content and navigation.
    • Shapes URL structure (e.g., example.com/about/team/).
    • Groups related pages for better site organization.

Best Practices:

  • Parent pages should link to their child pages (in menus, page content, or URLs).
  • Parent pages provide an overview and guide users to child pages.
  • Avoid orphan pages—every page should be accessible from somewhere on your site.
Diagram showing a no indexed page

Exceptions: When to Hide a Page from Search Engines

  • Some pages, like campaign-specific landing pages for paid media, shouldn’t appear in search results.
  • How to hide pages (instructions for WordPress > Yoast SEO):
    • Open the page’s Yoast SEO settings.
    • Expand the Advanced section.
    • Set “Allow search engines to show this Page in search results?” to No > page becomes noindex.
  • Important: This prevents the page from showing in sitemaps and search results, but won’t block direct access via URL. Use Password-Protected or Private settings to fully restrict access.

Nesting Pages

Nesting pages creates a hierarchy on your website, organizing child pages under a parent page. This helps structure your site and your navigation menu.

  • What it means:
    • Making one page a subpage of another.
    • Example: “Our Team” nested under “About Us.”
  • Why it matters:
    • Affects how pages appear in menus.
    • Changes the page’s URL.

Nesting Example:

  • Not nested: example.com/team
  • Nested under “About Us”: example.com/about/team

Nesting Best Practices

  • Use nesting for topical groups, not for every page.
    • Good: /services/branding/
    • Overkill: /about/company/leadership/press/
  • Keep URLs short and meaningful. A hierarchy should clarify, not clutter.
  • Match structure to content strategy, not menu design. Menus are for user navigation; hierarchy is for site organization.
  • Plan before publishing. Changing page hierarchy later can require redirect setup and internal link updates.

When Nesting is Helpful:

  • To show clear relationships

    When pages belong to a logical group (e.g. “About Us” > “Our Team,” “Our History,” “Careers”) nesting reinforces that hierarchy.

  • For user context

    Breadcrumbs, side menus, and URL paths all communicate where a user is within the site.

  • For SEO clarity

    Search engines read hierarchy as a signal of topic grouping: example.com/services/seo/ tells Google “SEO is part of Services.”

  • For organization in your CMS

    When a site has dozens of pages, the admin page list can get messy. Parent-child nesting helps keep related pages together.

    When Nesting Can Cause Problems:

    • Overcomplicated URLs

      Going too deep (e.g. /company/about/history/leadership/) creates long URLs that are hard to read and manage.

    • Mismatched navigation

      Your site menu doesn’t have to reflect the full hierarchy. You might nest a page for organization, but keep it top-level in the menu for simplicity.

    • Moving or renaming parent pages

      Changing a parent’s slug (e.g. /services/ > /what-we-do/) breaks all child URLs unless you handle redirects carefully.

    • Unnecessary complexity

      For small sites or pages that stand alone, flat URLs (/contact/, /blog/, /faq/) are easier to manage and remember.

      Page Titles (H1s)

      • Your page title typically becomes:

        • The H1 (Heading 1) on the page (visible headline)
        • The default title in the browser
        • The default slug (URL)

      • Ideal Length

        • 40–60 characters is a good general range.
        • Long enough to include key information or keywords
        • Short enough to stay readable and avoid wrapping awkwardly in navigation or search results
        • Think of it like a chapter title: clear, informative, and scannable.

      • Tone and Style

        • Be clear first, brand tone second.
          Good: “About Asher Agency” (clear and keyword-friendly)
          Less effective: “A Little About Our Company” (charming but vague)
        • Use creative language sparingly: best for blog posts or campaigns, not core pages (About, Services, Contact).
        • Keep link text consistent: link labels should match page titles (e.g., a “Blog” link should go to a page titled “Blog”).

        A good rule of thumb: Visitors (and Google) should understand what the page is about in 3 seconds or less.

        URLs and Slugs

        Note: do not move around any pages (which changes the URL) unless you also create a 301 redirect.

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