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Speak the user's language

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The most important thing we can do when phrasing headings (and content in general) is to use the same terms that our audience uses themselves.

 For example, if you create a section called Contingency planning, and your audience generally has a high-school education, you should use a more common term like Emergencies.

Note that "speaking the user's language" is not the same thing as the common advice to "avoid jargon". If your audience regularly uses jargon themselves (for example, programmers who are comfortable with terms like AJAX and hypervisor), then you should consider using those terms in your headings and your content. While jargon is often opaque for outsiders, it is efficient and precise for insiders.

If you're not sure which terms your audience uses, there are several sources to check:

• If you run an open card sort to generate ideas for your site tree, pay attention to the headings that your participants create.
  
  
• If you do contextual inquiry with your users, review your notes or recordings for verbatim terms that they use.
  
  
• Check your search logs to see what your site visitors are typing into the search box.
  This has the double value of showing what your users couldn't find by browsing, and what words they use during navigation.
  
  

Make headings clear

•  e.g. bus website
  

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