Pillar Page Examples: Choose the Right Format
A pillar page covers a broad topic and connects it to more focused supporting content, as described in HubSpot’s documentation. Its format can emphasize learning, explanation, browsing, or lookup. The six public examples below show how those choices affect what stays on the central page and what belongs on a linked page.
Six pillar page examples at a glance
These pages were reviewed on October 4, 2026. The format labels below are editorial descriptions of their content organization. The final column recommends a use for each structure.
| Public example | Format | What the central page does | Suggested use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs’ SEO guide | Chapter hub | Summarizes numbered chapters and links to lessons | Teach a subject through distinct modules |
| Atlassian’s Agile overview | Branching overview | Explains the concept and links to frameworks and practices | Introduce a subject with several related branches |
| Tofugu’s Japanese learning guide | Detailed learning path | Explains study stages, prerequisites, and practice resources | Guide a process with an order of study |
| Wine Folly’s Wine 101 guide | Curated resource collection | Groups article and video links under short topic introductions | Organize an existing library around practical questions |
| Yoga Journal’s pose directory | A–Z directory | Links pose names and pose-type categories | Support lookup by a known name or category |
| Muscle & Strength’s workout hub | Category catalog | Offers category routes and individual workout listings | Narrow a collection by goals, equipment, or experience |
The useful comparison is the division of work between the center and its destinations. A chapter hub puts most teaching on separate pages. A detailed guide keeps more explanation in one place. A directory makes identifying the right destination its main contribution.
1. Ahrefs: a chapter hub for learning a broad subject
Ahrefs’ Beginner’s Guide to SEO uses numbered chapters with short introductions and links to lessons and narrower sections, covering search engines, keyword research, content, link building, technical SEO, local SEO, and AI’s effect on SEO.
This structure makes the central page a syllabus with useful context. The main teaching sits in the linked material, while the hub shows how the parts fit together. It provides both an ordered route and direct access to a particular subject.
Borrow the chapter numbering, concise summaries, and descriptive lesson links for a curriculum. Keep each chapter’s purpose distinct. Review the sequence whenever a lesson is added or revised, and give enough context on the hub to explain why each module belongs there.
2. Atlassian: an overview with multiple branches
Atlassian’s Agile page combines an explanation of Agile with navigation into Scrum, Kanban, project management, and tutorials, grouping narrower practices such as sprint planning and retrospectives within those broader areas.
The page therefore serves as an introduction and a map of related subjects. Its branches offer different directions through the material rather than a single required course. That is the main distinction from the Ahrefs chapter approach.
Borrow the broad explanation followed by clearly named branches for a topic with multiple methods or applications. Explain the relationship between the parent topic and each branch before presenting long lists of destinations. Use deeper category pages for narrower material when those categories make the choice clearer. Review the branch labels as the content library grows.
3. Tofugu: a detailed guide with a learning path
Tofugu’s guide to learning Japanese organizes initial, beginner, and intermediate study into stages with explanations, prerequisites, and focused links. Its hiragana typing section lists reading hiragana as a prerequisite and links to keyboard setup and typing guides.
The central page does substantial explanatory work. The linked pages carry specific lessons and instructions, while the guide explains their place in its proposed sequence. This combines a full guide with a route through supporting content.
Borrow this structure for an ordered process: explain each stage, state the prerequisite, and identify the next action. Keep a table of contents for direct access to later stages. Review the central instructions alongside the linked lessons so that changes to one step remain consistent with the rest of the path.
4. Wine Folly: a curated collection with short introductions
Wine Folly’s Wine 101 page groups resources around wine basics, serving and glassware, tasting, handling, and food pairing, using short introductions followed by focused article links and including video material in the tasting section.
Its central page explains the territory without reproducing each lesson. The headings organize the library around recognizable subjects, while the introductions give context for selecting a resource. The structure offers several entry points with less central-page explanation than Tofugu’s guide.
Borrow the section introductions and themed link groups for a mature library. Select resources that serve each section’s purpose, and summarize that purpose in plain language. Keep destinations current and remove redundant links during review. Use the hub to make the available material understandable, with deeper explanations carried by the selected resources.
5. Yoga Journal: a directory for named-item lookup
Yoga Journal’s A–Z Directory of Yoga Poses presents a table with English and Sanskrit names linking to individual entries and pose-type labels linking to categories such as standing poses and backbends.
The table supports two routes through the same collection: find an entry by name or browse related entries by type. Its contribution is identification and organization. The individual pages carry the detailed material.
Borrow this format for a glossary or a collection of named items. Include alternate names where they help lookup, use consistent category labels, and keep every entry connected to its destination. Add a separate introductory route for learning the subject from the beginning. Review names, category assignments, and links whenever entries change.
6. Muscle & Strength: a catalog that narrows a large collection
Muscle & Strength’s workout page offers categories including muscle building, strength, bodyweight, beginner, and at-home workouts, and presents individual plans with attributes such as experience level and training days per week.
This structure gives the central page two functions: choose a relevant part of the collection or inspect a featured item directly. The category layer carries further browsing, while the individual plan pages carry the full resource.
Borrow category navigation and comparable item attributes for a substantial resource catalog. Choose labels that express the differences needed for selection. Keep attributes consistent across listings so that resources can be compared. Add category layers only where they make the collection easier to narrow, and review classifications as new items enter the library.
Choose the format by the page’s main job
Start with the task the central page must complete. The formats above support different tasks, and a page can combine them. Give one task priority in its opening and navigation.
- Teach a subject in modules: use a chapter hub with an ordered list, chapter summaries, and separate lessons.
- Explain a concept and its branches: use an overview with a central explanation and clear distinctions among the linked areas.
- Guide an ordered process: use a detailed path with stage explanations, prerequisites, and links to the relevant actions.
- Organize an existing library: use a curated collection with short introductions and selected resources grouped by purpose.
- Find a named item: use a directory with consistent names, alternate terms, and category routes.
- Select from many resources: use a catalog with categories and comparable attributes.
Then check the supporting content. A chapter hub needs lessons that teach distinct modules. A collection needs useful articles to curate. A directory needs meaningful individual entries. A catalog needs categories that reduce the selection work. Build the central explanation first where the library lacks it, and choose the format around the material that can actually support the page.
Keep the topic boundary explicit. State what the page covers in its introduction, and group only resources that fit that promise. The supporting pages should answer narrower questions or provide specific resources within the same subject. Write a one-sentence purpose for the central page and each destination before deciding where the detailed material belongs.
How long should a pillar page be?
Set the length by the explanation the central page needs to provide. A directory requires useful labels and organized entries; a process guide requires enough instruction to make its sequence understandable. A substantial introduction can justify a longer page, while a resource collection can keep its explanations concise.
Google’s helpful-content guidance says Google has no preferred word count and asks whether readers learn enough about a topic to help achieve their goal. Use that standard to decide whether the central answer needs more detail.
Keep shared definitions and orientation on the pillar. Put specialized instructions, individual entries, and deeper comparisons on supporting pages when they deserve separate treatment. Summarize that material on the hub only to the depth needed to understand the next choice. Use headings and a table of contents to make a long guide navigable.
Plan the links and ongoing review
Link each section to the resource that extends it. Use destination names or short descriptions that explain what the link offers. Google’s link guidance recommends descriptive, reasonably concise anchor text and explains that crawlable links generally use an HTML anchor with an href attribute.
Google also states that there is no ideal link count for a page. Select links by relevance and usefulness, and give each one enough surrounding context. Separate the page’s own section navigation from links to supporting resources so that the next action is clear.
Add a contextual route back to the central resource from supporting pages, following HubSpot’s topic-and-subtopic model. That return route should identify the broader subject and help connect the focused material to the rest of the collection.
Review the center and its destinations together. For a chapter hub, check the sequence and lesson summaries. For an overview, check the branch definitions. For a collection, check the selected resources. For a directory or catalog, check names, attributes, categories, and destinations. Update the hub when supporting material changes so that the page’s explanation and navigation continue to match the available content.