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Meta titles

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Overview

A meta title is a snippet of text that summarises a web page’s content. Office file formats, such as Word documents, don't have meta titles but usually do have a title property that works in a similar way (see Document titles for Word users).

Web page meta titles should clearly and concisely describe the page contents or purpose. They should also be unique.

This broadly matches with good SEO practice. Google cuts off page meta titles at around 65 characters. Titles don’t have to fit inside this limit for accessibility, but shorter titles are better.

A poor page meta title would be:

University of Leeds | Study > International students > Preparing for Leeds > Travel information

A better page meta title would be:

Travel information for international students | University of Leeds

Here the title is brief and the useful description of the page is placed before the description of the website.

What and why: A page meta title shows in the browser’s title/tab bar, as the clickable link in search results, and will be announced by screen readers. Document title properties work in a similar way. Clear, concise, unique titles make it easier for everybody to identify whether a page is relevant without having to read page content. Duplicate titles make it harder from someone to know which page or document they need.

Using ‘ing’ in titles

Use the active verb (eg ‘Submit’) if you use the page to do something.

A good example of meta title for a form page is:

Submit your PGR funding application | University of Leeds

Use the present participle (eg ‘Submitting’) if the page is about doing something, but you do it elsewhere.

A good meta title for a guidance page would be:

Submitting your PGR funding application | University of Leeds

(Adapted from Government Digital Service content design guidance.)

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How to

Meta titles for Jadu users

Meta titles on Jadu sites are tightly managed and structured. It’s unlikely you will need to change a meta title.

If you do need to change a meta title, carefully consider the phrasing. Changing the document title may also affect how your page appears in things like navigation areas elsewhere on the site. Aim for a short title.

How to set a meta title in Jadu

Set the meta title by using the ‘Document Title’ field.

  1. Click on the page’s large title, next to the word ‘Edit’, from its ‘Document Details’ page.The Document Details area in Jadu showing links to edit a page and its details.
  2. Edit the ‘Document Title’ field and select the ‘Save’ button.The Document Title field and other options and fields in the Jadu 'Document Details' page.
Tips

The metadata in the ‘metadata’ field for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) purposes is unrelated to the page meta title.

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Meta titles for WordPress users

Adding a page meta title to your WordPress document is simply a case of providing a meaningful title in the 'Add title' space at the top of a new page.

Adding a short, descriptive piece of text in the Add Title box at the top of the page creates the meta title in WordPress.

Be aware that changing a page title may also affect how the page appears in navigation areas around the site. Aim for a short title.

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Document titles for Word users

Microsoft Word documents do not have meta titles but they do have a ‘Title’ field in the ‘Properties’ area that should always be accurate.

How to change a document title property in Word

  1. Select the ‘File’ tab in the toolbar.Some of the options in the Home toolbar in Microsoft Word.
  2. Select ‘Info’ in the side navigation.
    The 'Info' option in the 'File' view in Word.
  3. In the ‘Properties’ area, add your document title to the ‘Title’ field.The Title field in the Info area in Microsoft Word.
Tips

To ensure that when you save a new document you are always asked to fill in its properties, use the ‘File’ menu, then select ‘Preferences’, then select ‘Save’, and check ‘Prompt for document properties’.

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Meta titles for SharePoint users

A SharePoint page's meta title is dictated by the text you enter as the page's visual title. This also sets the final page of the page's URL. Provide a meaningful title in the 'Add a title' space at the top of a new page.

The meta title will change if you update your page's title, although the page's URL may not be changed. Be aware that changing a page title may also affect how the page appears in navigation areas around the site. Aim for a short title.