Heading Structure Checker

What Is a Heading Structure Checker?

A Heading Structure Checker is a tool for reviewing the organisation of headings within a web page. It examines H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6 elements and presents them in the order in which they appear in the supplied HTML.

Heading hierarchy provides a structural outline for web content. A well-organised hierarchy can make long pages easier to understand, help visitors find relevant sections and provide useful structural information to search engines and assistive technologies. This tool makes it easier to identify common heading problems without manually inspecting every heading in your HTML.

Why Use Heading Structure Checker?

Manually reviewing a large HTML document can make it easy to overlook an incorrectly ordered or empty heading. Heading Structure Checker provides a quick structural overview and highlights common patterns worth reviewing.

How to Use Heading Structure Checker

Use the checker to quickly review the heading hierarchy of a page before publishing new content or auditing an existing page.

1. Copy your HTML — Copy the HTML source or the relevant section of markup containing your page headings.
2. Paste the HTML — Paste the markup into the Heading Structure Checker input field.
3. Check the structure — Select Check Heading Structure to analyse all H1 through H6 elements.
4. Review the results — Examine the heading counts, generated outline and recommendations, then make appropriate changes to your HTML if necessary.

How to Create a Logical Heading Hierarchy

HTML heading elements provide semantic structure to web content. An H1 is commonly used for the primary topic or title of a page. H2 elements can then introduce major sections, while H3 elements can organise subsections within an H2. H4, H5 and H6 can be used for further levels when the content genuinely requires them.

The most important consideration is that headings should describe the relationship between sections rather than being selected purely for their visual appearance. CSS should be used for visual styling, while the appropriate heading level should be selected according to the document's actual structure.

H1, H2 and H3 Heading Structure

A straightforward page might use one H1 for its primary subject, several H2 headings for major sections and H3 headings for subsections belonging to those H2 sections. For example, an article about website security could use an H1 for the article title, H2 headings for topics such as password security and software updates, and H3 headings for individual recommendations within those sections.

Why Avoid Unnecessary Heading Level Jumps?

An unexpected jump, such as moving directly from H2 to H4, can make the relationship between sections less obvious. It may be appropriate in unusual document structures, but in ordinary web content it is generally clearer to introduce headings in a logical sequence. This is particularly useful for people who navigate content using heading levels.

Understanding Heading Structure Checker Results

The checker identifies H1 through H6 elements in the HTML supplied to it and lists them in source order. The summary provides individual counts for H1, H2, H3 and H4, with H5 and H6 combined for a compact overview. The outline also displays the text contained within each heading.

The tool checks for several common patterns, including a missing H1, multiple H1 elements, empty headings, a first heading that is not H1 and jumps of more than one heading level. These are recommendations rather than absolute rules. The correct structure ultimately depends on the content and semantics of the page.

Frequently Asked Questions