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Heading structure checker

Paste HTML to audit its H1 to H6 heading structure: see the outline and catch skipped levels, missing H1s, and empty headings.

HTML source

Paste a full page or a content snippet.

Outline and issues

Results appear here.

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Why heading order matters

Headings form the document outline that screen readers and search engines use to understand your page. A logical H1 to H6 descent tells assistive tech how sections nest, while skipped levels confuse both users and crawlers.

The classic mistakes are multiple H1s, jumping from H2 straight to H4, and headings used for styling rather than structure.

How the audit works

Your HTML is parsed in document order and every heading is listed with its level, indented to reveal the hierarchy visually. The checker then flags structural issues with plain explanations of what to fix.

A clean outline reads like a table of contents; if the indented list looks wrong, the structure probably is.

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Heading Checker FAQs

How many H1 tags should a page have?
Exactly one. It should describe the page's main topic, similar to the title tag but not necessarily identical.
Is skipping from H2 to H4 really a problem?
Yes for accessibility. Screen reader users navigate by heading level, and a skipped level suggests a missing section.
Do headings affect SEO rankings?
They help search engines understand content structure and topical relevance. Clear hierarchies support rankings; they are not a magic boost alone.
Can I check a live URL directly?
Paste the page source instead. Browsers block fetching arbitrary URLs from a page due to CORS, so view-source and paste is the reliable path.
Are empty headings harmful?
They create confusion for screen readers and look like errors to validators. Give every heading descriptive text or remove it.
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