Issue guide
Heading structure problems
Headings create an outline; random levels harm navigation.
Broken heading order makes document outlines confusing—screen reader users skip levels or miss the structure you intended.
See this on your site
Run a scan, then match rule names in your report to the sections below.
At a glance
Instructional
Skips levels
Page title
Subsection (styled as heading but wrong level)
Logical sequence
H1 Page title
H2 Section
H3 Subsection
Increase heading levels by one where possible; avoid picking tags for font size alone.
Why this matters
- Heading navigation is a primary way to explore long pages.
- Skipped levels feel like missing sections.
Where this shows up
Use this list to spot the same pattern on your templates and key URLs.
Content
- Blog posts pasted from Word
- FAQ sections
- Marketing blocks
Navigation
- Mega-menus that reuse heading levels for styling
Fix priority — address first
- Long policy, help, and account pages.
- Templates reused across hundreds of URLs.
Fix priority — can follow
- Short pages with a single clear h1 and one section.
Who is affected
Screen reader users navigating by headings and landmarks, and voice control users.
Fix this in your platform
Stack-specific steps, pitfalls, and verification. Core issues link under /wordpress, /shopify, /react, or /nextjs; all issues also have /fix/… URLs.
Why structure matters
Screen reader users jump by headings. Skipping from h1 to h3 breaks expectations; multiple h1s can be acceptable if scoped correctly.
Examples (bad vs good)
Bad
h1 then h4 for a card title “for design”.
Good
h1, h2 for section, h3 for card title—or adjust CSS instead.
How to fix
- Export or inspect the heading outline for the page.
- Renumber levels so they increase by one step at a time within sections.
- Use CSS for visual size; keep semantics honest.
- Rescan.
Platform-specific notes
Where this often comes from on common stacks—and what to change.
- WordPress
- Page builders make it easy to pick heading blocks for visual hierarchy—audit outline view.
Common mistakes
- Choosing heading levels for font size instead of outline.
- Multiple h1s without clear landmarks separating regions.
How to verify the fix
- Run a headings bookmarklet or screen reader headings menu.
- Confirm one logical h1 per view where appropriate.
- Rescan after CMS template changes.
Related: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.
Related guides
Run another scan
After you ship a fix, rescan the same URL and keep both report links to compare.
Broader topics
Principles on these pages overlap with HTML issues: PDFs for documents and downloads, mobile for touch, contrast, and small screens.
Related issues
Next steps
Keep the scan, fix, rescan loop going
Ship a fix, then run another scan on the same URL. Each run gets its own report link so you can compare before and after.
Open scan