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How to structure your page headings

Headings are the titles and subtitles on a page. In the code they have levels, from H1 for the main heading down to H6.

Those levels form an outline. Screen reader users can jump from heading to heading through it, and search engines use it to understand the page. Large bold text is not a heading unless it is set as one in the code. Your report lists a finding when the main heading is missing, when there are several, or when a level is skipped.

What a clear outline looks like

• Use one H1 that says what the page is about.
• Use H2 for the main sections and H3 inside an H2 section.
• Going deeper, move one level at a time. Someone who hears an H3 straight after an H1 may think a section is missing. Going back up from H3 to H2 is fine.
• Choose the level by its place in the outline, and set the size separately.

Google has said its systems can handle several H1s, so that finding is a small one. A single H1 still gives visitors a clearer outline.

How to fix it

1. Decide which line is the page's main topic. Make it the H1.
2. Change any other H1 to H2.
3. Go down the page and fix each heading that skips a level.
4. If a heading now looks too big or too small, change its style and keep its level.

• WordPress: themes usually print the page or post title as the H1, so start the content at H2. In the block editor, the Heading block lets you pick the level. Yoast and Rank Math do not usually change your headings. A logo marked as H1 is a theme matter.
• Shopify: many themes print the product or page title as the H1. Levels in other sections are often set in the theme code, so this may need a developer.
• Wix: select the text and look for its SEO and accessibility settings, where you can choose the HTML tag without changing the look. Wix advises against an H1 in the site header, because it appears on every page that shows the header.
• Squarespace: formatting text as Heading 1, 2 or 3 applies that level. Blog post titles are usually H1 already, so start the post at Heading 2.

A developer can work from this: "Give each template one H1, keep the heading levels in order, and use CSS for sizes."

How to check

1. Open the page in a desktop browser, right-click and choose View page source.
2. Search for <h1. You should find one match.
3. Search for <h2 and <h3 to see the order.

Our search check reads the HTML your site sends. If you can see a heading on the page and we report no H1, it may be styled text, or a script may add it after loading.

Your report's Rescan button runs the checks again after you publish the change.