Reference
What is Heading structure?
Heading structure is the hierarchy of h1 to h6 elements describing how a page is organised. Screen reader users navigate by it, search engines read it to understand a page’s subject, and heading level is structure rather than font size.
Also called: h1 h2 h3 · document outline
The rules
- One h1 per page, describing what the page is about
- h2 for main sections, h3 for subsections beneath them
- Never skip a level to get a smaller font — style it instead
- Never use a heading element purely for visual weight
Why screen reader users care most
Assistive technology can list every heading on a page and jump between them, which is how a blind user skims. A page with one heading, or with headings chosen by size, offers nothing to skim — the equivalent of a document with no paragraph breaks.
The SEO angle
Headings tell a search engine how a page is organised and what each section covers. A well-structured page can win several long-tail queries from its subsections, which is impossible when the whole page is one undifferentiated block.
Where this is covered in depth
A definition can only go so far. Technical SEO, in the order the problems actually block you covers this properly — 4 minutes, free, no email required.
Who wrote this
Anas Bin Masud builds e-commerce sites and does technical SEO for businesses in the UK, Canada and Pakistan. These definitions come from client work rather than from a content brief — where an entry describes a mistake, it is usually one found on a real site. More about how I work.