Short answer
One clear H1 per page is the simple best practice. HTML allows more than one, and Google has said several H1 tags are not a problem, but a single H1 that names the page's main topic is easiest for visitors, screen readers and crawlers to understand. Follow it with H2 and H3 subheadings in order, and write a different H1 for every page.
Should a page have one H1 or several?
The H1 is the page's main heading, the headline a visitor sees at the top. HTML allows more than one, and nothing breaks if a page has two. Google's John Mueller has said in public office-hours sessions that Google's systems handle multiple H1 tags without trouble. Still, one is the better default, for three reasons:
- It states the topic in one line, so there is no doubt what the page is about.
- Screen reader users often jump from heading to heading, and one H1 gives them a clear starting point.
- It keeps templates simple, so a theme or page builder is less likely to add stray H1 tags.
How should I structure headings on a page?
Think of headings as the table of contents: H1 is the title of the book, H2 the chapters and H3 the sections inside a chapter. Do not skip a level just because the font looks right, and do not pick a heading level for its size. Use CSS for looks and headings for meaning. Google has said it does not need a strict order, but screen readers and accessibility guidelines do, and a clear outline helps people skim. An outline for a bakery's delivery page might be:
- H1: Sourdough bread delivery in Pune
- H2: How ordering and delivery work
- H2: Our loaves and boxes
- H3: Plain sourdough
- H3: Seeded sourdough
- H2: Delivery areas and times
Descriptive headings, often phrased as the question a reader has, also help assistants quote a section. See how to write content AI assistants quote.
What should the H1 say, and how is it different from the title tag?
| Aspect | Title tag | H1 |
|---|---|---|
| Where people see it | Search results, browser tabs and bookmarks | At the top of the page itself |
| Who reads it | Someone deciding whether to click | Someone who has arrived and wants confirmation |
| Length | About 50-60 characters, brand last | Whatever reads well as a headline |
| Style | Compact and keyword-led | Natural, like a headline |
They should agree on the topic but need not match word for word. For the bakery page, the title could be Sourdough Bread Delivery in Pune | Crust Lane and the H1 Fresh sourdough, delivered to your door in Pune. Use the main phrase in both, naturally, and never stuff it. See how long a title tag should be.
What H1 mistakes do templates cause?
- The logo is the H1. Many themes wrap the site name in an H1 on every page, so each page's main heading is the brand and the real headline becomes an H2.
- No H1 at all. The big heading is a styled
divorp, or text inside an image, so no real heading exists. - A hidden H1. A heading hidden with CSS so that only crawlers see it. Visitors should see what search engines see.
- The same H1 on every page, such as a blog template that prints the blog's name instead of the post title, or a category template that shows “Products” on forty pages.
- Several H1s from components, such as a hero slider in which each slide is an H1, or a popup built with one.
- An H1 added by script. Some crawlers, including several AI crawlers, do not run scripts, so they never see it. Prefer headings present in the HTML the server sends.
How do I check and fix my H1 tags?
- Count them on one page
Open the page, right-click, choose View page source and search for the h1 element. Or open the developer console and run
document.querySelectorAll("h1").length. The answer should be 1. - Check every page
Use a crawler or a browser extension that lists the H1 text of each page. Sort it to find pages with none, with several and with identical text.
- Fix the template first
Change the logo wrapper to a
divorp, and make the post or product title the H1. One template change repairs hundreds of pages. - Re-check after publishing
Crawl again and confirm that the changes took effect.
Arcline lists pages with no H1 or more than one as low-priority items, along with h3 headings that have no h2 above them. Its “Page basics” score covers this. On pages it can edit safely, its autopilot (Premium) can keep a single main heading; elsewhere you get the steps. See the features page.