Heading Hierarchy Checker
Paste page HTML to see every H1 to H6 as a crawler reads it, catch multiple H1s, skipped levels, empty and duplicate headings, and check that the topic is stated.
How to use the heading checker
- Open the page in your browser, view the source (Ctrl+U or Cmd+Option+U), select all and copy. Paste it into the box. The analysis runs as soon as you paste and again every time you edit.
- Leave “ignore header, nav, footer and aside” on for a normal audit so menu headings and widget titles do not pollute the outline. Turn it off if you want to see every heading the theme prints.
- Add the page’s primary topic to check that the H1 states it and that the H2s either mention it or cover its sub-topics.
- Read the outline at the bottom. Indentation shows nesting. If the indentation does not match how the page reads, the heading levels are wrong.
- Copy the outline into a document if you are writing a content brief or reporting to a client.
What the checks mean
One H1
The H1 is the page’s own statement of its topic. Two H1s usually means a theme is printing the post title and the content has another one, which is exactly the situation many WordPress themes create. Search engines cope, but it dilutes the signal and confuses screen reader users who jump between headings.
No skipped levels
Going from H2 straight to H4 breaks the outline. Assistive technology reads heading levels as a table of contents, and a skipped level implies a missing section. It is also a sign that headings are being chosen for their font size rather than their meaning.
Empty and duplicate headings
Empty heading tags come from page builders and copy-paste. Duplicate headings usually mean template sections were cloned. Both are easy to fix and both make the outline less useful.
Question headings
Headings phrased as questions match how people search and feed FAQ and People Also Ask features. The count is informational: a guide with none may still be fine, but a page that is meant to answer questions should have some.
Topic coverage
The topic check is deliberately loose. The H1 should name the subject; the H2s should not all repeat it. “Local SEO for Restaurants” as an H1 with H2s about Google Business Profile, menus, reviews and delivery apps is a good structure even though only the H1 contains the phrase.
Heading structure that helps both readers and crawlers
- Write headings that make sense on their own. Someone scanning only the headings should understand what the page covers.
- Use H2 for the main sections and H3 for sub-points within a section. H4 and below are rarely needed outside documentation.
- Do not use heading tags for styling. If you want big text that is not a section title, style a paragraph.
- Keep the H1 close to the page title but not necessarily identical. The title tag carries the brand; the H1 does not need to.
- In WordPress, make sure your theme prints one H1 and your content starts at H2. If your editor template inserts an H1 block, remove it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I paste a URL instead of HTML?
No. Browsers block scripts on one site from fetching pages on another, so a client-side tool cannot download your page. View the source and paste it; it takes a few seconds and keeps everything on your machine.
Do heading levels affect rankings?
Headings help search engines understand the structure and sub-topics of a page, which matters for passage ranking and featured snippets. A clean outline is a small direct factor and a large indirect one, because it makes the page easier to read and cite.
My theme prints the title as an H1 and my content has one too. Which do I remove?
Keep the theme’s H1 and remove the one in the content, unless the content H1 is a designed hero heading, in which case disable the theme title for that page.
Related tools
Background reading: how heading structure serves readers and crawlers, in the SEO copywriting guide.