diff --git a/bin/boilerplate/_config.yml b/bin/boilerplate/_config.yml
index ed0df5ea..57b390a2 100644
--- a/bin/boilerplate/_config.yml
+++ b/bin/boilerplate/_config.yml
@@ -72,6 +72,10 @@ collections:
     output: true
     permalink: /:path/index.html
 
+# avoid titles being converted to headings (https://github.com/carpentries/styles/issues/633)
+titles_from_headings:
+  enabled: false
+
 # Set the default layout for things in the episodes collection.
 defaults:
   - values:
diff --git a/bin/boilerplate/reference.md b/bin/boilerplate/reference.md
index 8c826167..ca4459ce 100644
--- a/bin/boilerplate/reference.md
+++ b/bin/boilerplate/reference.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 ---
+title: "Reference"
 layout: reference
 ---