Heading Structure Checker

This heading structure checker shows the H1 to H6 outline of any page and points out the problems in it: skipped levels, empty or vague headings, missing or extra H1s, and repeated headings. Paste a page’s HTML or a Google Docs or Word draft, and you get an indented outline with each issue linked to its heading. Everything runs in your browser, so drafts never leave your computer.

What the heading checker looks for

People skim headings, screen reader users jump between them, and search engines use them to understand each section. The checker looks for:

• H1 checker: whether the page has an H1, whether it has more than one, and whether the first heading is the H1.
• Skipped levels. A jump such as H2 to H4, with the level that would fit instead.
• Empty headings, including headings that hold only an image with empty alt text.
• Vague headings such as “Read more” or “Click here”.
• Repeated headings that make two sections hard to tell apart.
• Hidden headings and long sections of more than 300 words with no subheading.
• Title and keyword checks: whether the H1 and title tag describe the same topic, whether your focus keyword appears in the H1 and a subheading, and whether it’s repeated in too many headings.

How to check the heading tags on a live page

Open the page in your browser, press Ctrl + U (Cmd + Option + U on a Mac) to view its source, select everything, and paste it into the checker. You can also upload a saved HTML file.

By default, the tool checks the main content only. Most themes put the logo, menus, sidebar, and footer outside the <main> or <article> element, and those headings repeat on every page. Choose The whole page to include them, labeled Header, Navigation, Sidebar, or Footer.

If a page is built with JavaScript and its source looks empty, open the developer tools, right-click the <html> element, choose Copy outerHTML, and paste that.

Checking drafts from Google Docs and Word

Copy a draft from Google Docs or Microsoft Word and paste it into the box. The tool reads the Heading 1 to Heading 6 styles and builds the same outline before the article is published. Bold text that only looks like a heading doesn’t count, which is how a CMS will see it too.

Do header tags matter for SEO?

Yes, though much of the usual header tags SEO advice overstates them. Google uses heading tags to understand the topics on a page, so clear, descriptive headings that match what people search for help. The exact markup matters much less. Google’s SEO Starter Guide says that having headings in semantic order is great for screen readers, but from Google Search’s perspective it doesn’t matter if you use them out of order. It also says there is no magic or ideal number of headings on a page. Google’s John Mueller has said for years that several H1s on a page are fine for search.

So the heading structure checker flags a skipped level or a second H1 as a suggestion or note, not an SEO error, because they matter to readers and accessibility rather than rankings. An empty heading is flagged as an error.

Myth	What’s true
A page must have exactly one H1 to rank.	Several H1s don’t hurt rankings. One clear H1 is still easiest for readers, so the H1 checker shows it as a note.
Skipping from H2 to H4 is an SEO penalty.	Google ignores heading order. It’s an accessibility issue, flagged by tools such as Lighthouse.
More keywords in headings means better rankings.	Repeating the keyword in every heading reads as stuffing. Use it in the H1 and where it fits naturally.

Why heading structure matters for accessibility

For people who use screen readers, headings are the main way to move around a page. In WebAIM’s Screen Reader User Survey #10 (December 2023 to January 2024), 71.6% of respondents said that navigating through headings is the first thing they do to find information on a long page, and 88.8% found heading levels very or somewhat useful. An empty heading is announced as just “heading level 2”.

Headings also relate to two WCAG success criteria. 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) asks that text that looks like a heading is marked up as one, and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA) asks that headings describe their topic. WCAG doesn’t strictly require headings to be in order, but nesting levels without gaps is the recommended practice, and Lighthouse’s accessibility audit reports headings that skip levels.

Reading the heading outline

The heading structure checker shows every heading indented by level, with its line number, section word count, and any problems. Select a check to jump to its heading.

Use Copy outline for a brief or ticket, Copy as Markdown for a content plan, or Download CSV to compare pages, or your outline with a competitor’s, in Excel or Google Sheets.

Common heading mistakes and how to fix them

• Choosing a level for its size. Picking H4 because it looks smaller causes skipped levels. Choose the level that fits the outline, then change the size with CSS or your theme’s typography settings.
• Logo or site name as the H1. Many older themes wrap the logo in an H1 on every page. Make the page title the H1 and the logo a normal link.
• Icon-only headings. A heading that contains only an image needs alt text, or it’s announced as empty.
• Bold text instead of headings. A bold line looks like a heading but isn’t one, so it doesn’t appear in the outline or help navigation.
• Very long headings. Over about 90 characters, move the detail into the paragraph.

Writing headings people and search engines understand

Good headings work like signposts: short, specific, and in the reader’s words. Put the main topic in the H1 and keep it close to the title tag, since both describe the same page. Use H2s for the main questions or steps, and H3s only for parts of an H2 section. Phrasing some H2s as the questions people actually ask, such as “How long do trail shoes last?”, makes sections easy to find and quote, so the checker counts question headings for you. Answer the question in the first sentence after the heading.

A focus keyword belongs in the H1 and, where it fits naturally, in one or two subheadings. The keyword check tolerates simple plurals, so “trail running shoe” counts for “trail running shoes”, and it warns you when the keyword is in more than 60% of the headings.

Headings in WordPress and other CMSs

In WordPress, the post title is usually the H1 heading tag, so start your content with Heading 2 in the block editor rather than adding another H1. Rank Math and Yoast check subheadings for your keyword, but not the full outline your theme produces, so run the published page through the heading checker. The same applies to Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow.

More tools for on-page SEO

Once your heading structure checker results are clean, check how the page appears in Google with the SERP Snippet Preview, set up social previews with the Open Graph Generator, and add structured data with the Article Schema Generator. For images in your headings and content, the Image Optimizer compresses and resizes them in your browser.