SEO

Heading hierarchy

Exactly one H1 per page, descending hierarchy, no skipping levels. The cheapest SEO and accessibility check that exists.

Authority: WHATWG
Version: HTML Living Standard
Jurisdiction: Global
Source: html.spec.whatwg.org
Last reviewed: 2026-04-28
Last verified: pending

What it is

HTML heading elements (h1–h6) used to convey document structure. The Living Standard expects a single h1 per page and a logical descending hierarchy.

Why it matters

Search engines weight h1 heavily for page topicality. Screen readers use the heading tree to navigate. Failing this is rarely a render bug — it's almost always a CMS misconfig.

Who it applies to

Every public-facing HTML page.

How WQI scores it

Web Quality Index considers this standard satisfied when the supporting factor passes.

#	Factor	Status
13	H1 tag presence	live

Related standards

See also: WCAG AA , WCAG A

Standards that share factors with this one

Auto-computed from overlapping factor tickets in satisfiedBy, excluding standards already listed under "See also" above. Strong overlap suggests these standards rise and fall together when sites are scored.

Google Search Essentials 1 shared factor SEO Google's umbrella ranking-and-eligibility guide — replaced the old `Webmaster Guidelines` in 2022. Three pillars: technical requirements, spam policies, and the helpful-content / E-E-A-T quality bar.

Other references

guidance MDN — Heading elements