Why index pages are important?
Tackling complex site structures for easier content discovery
Many agency websites contain hundreds of pages. Without index pages, much of this content becomes hard to locate or buried deep within the site.
Index pages solve this structural challenge by acting as curated directories. They present grouped content in a clear, scannable format, improving visibility and access across large sites.
Think of index pages as road signs: they guide users toward the right content instead of leaving them to guess their way through.
Helping users find what they need, faster and with less effort
Most members of the public don’t land on your homepage to browse, they come with a task in mind.
Index pages also support this behavioural need by:
Organising content into clear, task-based categories
Reducing irrelevant choices
Minimising cognitive effort
This helps users make decisions quickly and confidently, improving both usability and perceived trust.
This is how an index page appears on GOV.UK: it presents topics in a clear list format, with each page title and description helping users quickly understand what the page is about. This makes it easier for users to decide where to go next.
For example, if you're a business owner looking to start a business, you'd naturally be drawn to the link titled "Setting up."
SEO benefits
Index pages don’t just help users. They also improve your site’s visibility in search engines by:
Helping search engines understand the depth and relevance of your content on a topic
Creating strong internal links that make it easier for search engines to crawl your site
Encouraging users to explore more pages, which can boost rankings through better engagement
Acting like a topic hub, similar to pillar pages, which supports better keyword relevance and discoverability
Too many clicks?
We get your concern about having too many clicks. But putting all links on one page can actually make things harder for users. When people see too many choices at once, they:
Have trouble scanning the page
Feel overwhelmed
Are more likely to give up
This is a bigger problem than asking users to click once more.
📌 Focus on the user
Remember, our main goal is to help users find information easily. Most users don’t mind an extra click if it helps them make clearer, more confident choices.
A good index page with clear titles and groups gives users structure and helps them know where to go next.
Index pages too restrictive?
We understand that the current editing options for auto-generated index pages can feel limited. However, these pages offer key benefits:
They reduce the need for manual updates when new pages are added under a folder
They ensure consistency and scalability, especially for large sites with many editors
While customisation options are still limited, you can already adjust elements like the order and thumbnails of child pages. Learn how to edit your index pages.
🏃 We're working on it
We’re actively working to add more customisation features and will share updates in future releases. Stay tuned by checking our release notes here.