A site dedicated to housing is not structured like a general blog. The hierarchy must reflect the complexity of user journeys: homeowners seeking renovation assistance, tenants facing inadequate housing, property professionals, or local authorities managing a local urban planning plan. Each section carries editorial responsibility and, since June 2025, expanded digital accessibility obligations for private services.
Digital accessibility of a housing site: a mandatory section, not just a legal mention
The French transposition of the European Accessibility Act, which came into effect on June 28, 2025, has changed the scope. Social landlord websites, social housing operators, or platforms related to housing can no longer be satisfied with a line in the footer referring to a generic statement.
Accessibility must have its own section in the hierarchy, with at least an up-to-date RGAA compliance statement, a dated improvement plan, and a functional reporting channel. We still observe too many housing sites where the accessibility page links to an untagged PDF, which contradicts the stated objective.
The RGAA also evaluates downloadable office documents. A site publishing renovation guides, diagnostics, or aid files in PDF must ensure that these files are navigable via keyboard and compatible with screen readers. A poorly designed “Resources” or “Download” section can invalidate the compliance of the entire site.
To explore an example of a structured hierarchy around these constraints, the site idhabitat.fr in detail illustrates how to organize the various thematic entries of a housing portal.
Hierarchy by user journey and not by internal organization chart
The most common mistake on institutional housing sites is to base the hierarchy on the organization chart of the structure: one section per department, service, or administrative device. The visitor arrives with a concrete situation, not with knowledge of the internal organization.
Each main section must correspond to an identifiable need: renovating one’s home, reporting inadequate housing, understanding a local urban planning plan, accessing social housing assistance. The thematic entry takes precedence over the institutional entry.
We recommend structuring the first level of navigation around a maximum of four to six entries:
- Renovation and assistance (MaPrimeRénov’, support from France Rénov’, eco-loan) with an evolving pathway updated with each regulatory change
- Social housing and allocation, including local observatories and data on vacant housing
- Urban planning and land, with access to planning documents and construction rules
- Reporting and safety (inadequate housing, unsanitary conditions, danger), with a direct contact form
A fifth level can cover inclusive actions: adapting housing for disabilities, provisions for specific audiences, links with the social policies of the territory.
Content hierarchy within each section
Within each section, the logic remains the same: the most requested information first, followed by technical documents. A visitor seeking renovation assistance wants to know if they are eligible first, not to read the history of the program.
First-level pages must answer the main question in less than three screens. Detailed content (laws, calculation grids, observatory reports) should be placed in sub-pages or downloadable tagged documents.
Resources section and downloadable documents: the recurring weak point
The “Resources” or “Documents” section is often a catch-all. On the housing sites we audit, it accumulates PDFs from several years without chronological or thematic classification, without update indications, and rarely with accessible tagging.
A housing site naturally publishes many documents: departmental housing plans, land observatory reports, aid program notices, reports on social housing. Each document must be linked to its thematic section, not isolated in a generic library.
The best practice is to duplicate the download link: once in the relevant thematic section (where the visitor needs it), and once in a centralized index for professionals looking for a specific document. The centralized index should offer filters by theme, date, and document type.
File formats and RGAA compliance
A scanned PDF without a text layer is unusable for a screen reader. Documents from observatories or housing diagnostics must be generated in tagged PDF, with a structure of headings, accessible tables, and alternative text on graphics. This requirement is not cosmetic: it conditions the overall compliance of the site.
Regulatory updates: frequency and traceability on a housing site
Housing assistance programs change several times a year. MaPrimeRénov’ has undergone recent changes in scope, mandatory support rules evolve, and eligibility thresholds shift. A housing site displaying outdated conditions loses its credibility and exposes its visitors to errors in their journey.
Each page related to an aid program must display its last updated date. Not in invisible metadata, but clearly visible before the content. We recommend a simple banner at the top of the page: “Information verified as of [month/year].”
The energy renovation section is the most sensitive. Changes to MaPrimeRénov’ or the conditions of support from France Rénov’ require active monitoring. An editorial calendar dedicated to regulatory updates, distinct from the publication calendar of new content, helps avoid oversights.
- Quarterly verification of aid and program pages
- Archiving of previous versions (useful for professionals and appeals)
- Visible notification when a page is being updated due to a regulatory change
A well-structured housing site is not distinguished by the volume of its sections but by the rigor of their maintenance. The clearest hierarchy becomes misleading if the content it organizes is outdated. The structure serves the content, and the content is only valuable if it remains reliable at the time the visitor consults it.
