Write the page title before you write the page
The title is a filter
You're halfway through writing a page about your return policy when you realize you're also explaining shipping timelines, warranty coverage, and how to contact support. The page sprawls because you never decided what it was actually about.
Write the title first. Not a working title. Not a placeholder. The actual title users will see. Make it specific enough that it excludes things.
"Returns" is too vague. "How to return an item" is a constraint. Now you know the warranty section doesn't belong here. Neither does the shipping timeline. You're writing instructions for one specific action, and the title told you that before you wasted time on tangents.
The title sets the scope
Every sentence you write should fit under that title without stretching. If you have to mentally justify why something belongs, it probably doesn't.
Say your title is "Adding users to your workspace." You start writing about user roles, then permissions, then how to remove users, then how to transfer ownership. Stop. The title says adding users. Roles might stay if they're part of the add flow. Everything else is a different page.
When you write the title first, scope creep becomes obvious. You notice when you're drifting because the material stops matching the promise.
Titles force you to pick one thing
Most sprawling pages happen because you're trying to cover three related topics under one vague heading. "Account settings" could mean profile info, notification preferences, billing details, security options, or privacy controls. That's five pages, not one.
Write five titles instead: "Update your profile information," "Manage email notifications," "Change your billing details," "Set up two-factor authentication," "Control your privacy settings." Now you know what goes where. The actual writing becomes easier because each page has a job.
You can still link between them. But each page answers one question, and the title tells you which one.
Bad titles hide in ambiguity
If your title could mean multiple things, your content will try to cover all of them. "Getting started" is the worst offender. Started with what? Installation? First project? Basic concepts? Account setup?
"Install the software on macOS" is better. "Create your first project" is better. "Set up your account" is better. Pick one. Write that page. Move on.
Vague titles let you avoid decisions. Specific titles make you commit to what the page is actually doing. That commitment makes everything else faster.
The title is the test
Before you publish, read the title, then skim the page. Does every section support that exact title? If you have to squint to make something fit, cut it or move it somewhere else.
The title isn't a summary of what you wrote. It's a constraint that should have shaped what you wrote. When you write headings before you write the section, the same principle applies — the heading decides what belongs underneath.
Write the title first. Let it do the work of keeping you focused. Everything else gets easier when you know what you're not writing.