See the heading outline of any page and catch the mistakes that confuse readers, search engines and AI tools: a missing or duplicate H1, skipped levels, empty headings and headings that are too long. Paste the page HTML and the tool draws the structure instantly.
How to use the Heading Checker
- Open the page you want to check in your browser.
- Right-click and choose “View page source”, or press Ctrl+U on Windows or Cmd+Option+U on Mac.
- Select all, copy, and paste the HTML into the box.
- Read the outline. Each heading is indented by level, and problems are shown in red.
- Fix the issues in your page editor, then paste the updated HTML to check again.
Why heading structure matters for SEO and AI search
Headings are the table of contents of a page. Search engines use them to understand which topics a page covers and how sections relate to each other. AI search tools go further: they split pages into chunks, usually a heading and the text beneath it, and decide which chunk answers a question. A clear outline with one H1 and descriptive, question-style H2s makes each section easier to find and quote. Screen reader users rely on headings to move around the page, so a clean structure also improves accessibility.
Heading rules worth following
- Use exactly one H1 that states the main topic of the page.
- Go down one level at a time: H2 under H1, H3 under H2. Do not jump from H2 to H4.
- Write headings that describe the section, ideally as the question a reader is asking.
- Keep headings under about 70 characters.
- Do not use headings just to make text bigger. Use styling for that.
Pros
- Visual, indented outline of every heading
- Flags missing and multiple H1s, skipped levels and empty headings
- Spots duplicate and overly long headings
- Works with any CMS; runs privately in your browser
Cons
- You need to paste the HTML; it cannot fetch a URL
- Headings added later by JavaScript will not appear in page source
- Menus and footers may add headings that are not part of the content
- It checks structure, not writing quality
Frequently asked questions
Is having two H1 tags bad for SEO?
Google says multiple H1s will not break rankings, but one clear H1 is still best practice for readers, accessibility and a clean outline.
Do skipped heading levels hurt rankings?
Not directly, but they make the structure harder to follow for screen readers and for tools that summarise pages.
Why does my theme add headings I did not write?
Many themes use headings for the site name, widgets or footer titles. Ask your developer to change those to plain text where they are not real section headings.
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