Heading Checker

What is the Heading Checker?

The Heading Checker is a free tool that reads a page's HTML and lists every H1 to H6 heading in the order it appears, indented by level. It counts each level and flags what makes a page hard to scan: no H1, several H1s, skipped levels such as H2 straight to H4, empty headings and headings over 70 characters.

How to use the Heading Checker

1. Paste the URL of the page to check.
2. Press Check headings.
3. Read the count of each heading level and the list of issues to fix.
4. Read the outline from top to bottom. If it does not summarise the page on its own, the headings need work.

What is a heading and subheading?

A heading is the title of a page or a section, marked up as an HTML heading tag from <h1> to <h6>. The H1 is the page's main heading, H2s are its sections, H3s are subsections of an H2, and so on. Subheadings are everything below the H1. Together they form an outline that readers scan, screen readers navigate, and search engines and AI models use to work out what each part of the page covers.

Can a page have more than one H1?

Yes. HTML allows it, and Google has said several H1s are not a problem for its systems. One H1 is still the better default: it states the page's topic once, it is what most screen reader users jump to first, and most SEO audits flag a second one. The common cause is a theme that wraps the logo or the site name in an H1 on every page, which this checker will show.

What does a good heading structure look like?

A good structure reads like a table of contents: one H1 naming the page's topic, an H2 for each main section, and H3s only inside an H2 that has distinct parts. A guide to pricing pages might run H1 "How to write a pricing page", then H2 "What to put above the fold", with H3s "Plan names" and "Annual toggle", then H2 "How many plans to show".

Read your outline in this checker without the body text. If a stranger could not tell what each section covers, rename the headings before you touch anything else. The On-Page SEO Audit checks the headings alongside the title, meta description and the rest of the page.

Do headings matter for AI answers and featured snippets?

They matter a great deal. Answer engines split a page into passages, and a heading is the strongest signal of where one passage ends and the next begins. A heading phrased as the question people ask, followed by a direct answer in the first sentence, is the pattern most often lifted into featured snippets and AI answers. The checker counts how many of your subheadings are questions. The AI Readiness Audit checks the rest of what answer engines need.

Skipped levels and headings used for styling, such as a big H2 that is really a call to action, blur that structure.