Why heading structure matters
Headings are the table of contents of a page. Readers skim them to decide whether to stay, screen reader users jump between them to navigate, and search engines use them to understand what each section is about.
Problems usually come from choosing heading tags for how they look rather than what they mean: an H4 used because it is the right size, or a logo wrapped in an H1 on every page. The outline this tool produces shows the page the way a screen reader or search engine sees it.
Good heading practice
- Use one H1 that says what the page is about.
- Use H2 for the main sections and H3 for sub-sections inside them.
- Do not skip levels on the way down. Going back up (H4 to H2) is fine.
- Never use headings just to make text bigger. Use CSS for that.
- Keep headings short and descriptive.