SeonixSeonix
On-page SEO

H1 & Heading Checker

Enter a URL or paste HTML to see every heading on the page in order, H1 to H6, as an indented outline. The checker flags a missing, empty or repeated H1, levels that skip (an H2 followed straight by an H4), empty headings and long text without subheadings — and explains how to fix each one.

It reads the HTML the server sends, the way most crawlers do, so headings that appear only after JavaScript runs are not counted — which is worth knowing too.

FreeNo signupChecks the live pageUpdated October 2026

H1 & Heading Checker

Our server fetches the public page you name and keeps no copy; pasted HTML is checked in your browser.
Read the result

What a clean heading outline looks like

Headings are the page's table of contents. Readers skim them, screen readers navigate by them, and search and answer engines use them to see what each part of the page is about.

  • H1

    One per page

    States what the page is about — usually the same topic as the title tag, in the words a reader expects.

  • H2

    Main sections

    One per section or question. Long text without H2s is hard to scan and gives answer engines nothing to quote.

  • H3–H6

    Sub-points

    Nest under the section they belong to. Most pages never need H5 or H6.

  • H2 → H4

    Skipped level

    Jumping two levels down breaks the outline for screen readers. Use H3, or promote the heading.

  • <h2></h2>

    Empty heading

    Usually an icon or a spacer marked up as a heading. Give it text or make it a plain element.

  • font-size

    Levels are not font sizes

    Pick the level by structure and set the size with CSS. A small H2 is fine; a big H4 for a section title is not.

An outline that reads well

H1  How to choose running shoes
  H2  Know your foot type
    H3  Flat feet
    H3  High arches
  H2  Match the shoe to the surface
  H2  When to replace them
Each H2 is a section a reader might jump to; each H3 belongs to the H2 above it.
Seonix Site Health dashboard: an overall score of 91 out of 100, SEO, technical, speed and AI search scores, and the list of issues to fix
Site Health checks every page for SEO, technical, speed and AI-search issues and marks which ones Seonix fixes for you.
How it works

How to check a page's headings

  1. 01

    Enter a URL or paste HTML

    Check the live page, or paste the source of a draft or a page behind a login — pasted HTML never leaves your browser.

  2. 02

    Read the outline

    Headings appear in page order, indented by level, with chips on levels that skip, empty headings and repeats.

  3. 03

    Fix the H1 first

    One H1 that says what the page is about, close to the title tag. Then make sure H2s mark the main sections.

  4. 04

    Close the gaps

    Turn skipped levels into the next level down, give long text descriptive H2s, then run the check again.

Honest notes

What this checker does and does not do

It checks structure, not wording: whether headings exist, in which order and at which level. It doesn't judge whether a heading is well written or contains a keyword.

It reads the HTML as served. Headings added by JavaScript after the page loads aren't seen — Google renders JavaScript later and may see them, most AI crawlers won't. Headings hidden with CSS are still counted, because they are in the HTML.

Several H1s are allowed in HTML, and Google has said it copes with them; the checker marks them as something to improve, because one H1 gives the clearest signal.

Our server fetches the public URL you enter and keeps no copy; pasted HTML is processed in your browser and never sent.

Seonix does this on autopilot

Check the headings on every page, not just this one

The free Seonix site audit crawls your whole site and flags pages with no H1, several H1s and a broken heading hierarchy — alongside titles, meta descriptions, broken links and the rest of your technical SEO. On paid plans Seonix also researches, writes and publishes articles built to rank in Google and get cited in AI answers.

Analyze my site free
For your stack

SEO on autopilot for the site you have

Seonix researches, writes and publishes articles — and keeps the technical side in check — wherever your site lives.

WordPress sites

The free Seonix plugin connects in one click: articles publish as native posts, and SEO fixes and llms.txt are handled for you.

WordPress SEO automation

SaaS products

Your AI coding agent connects your app to Seonix from one prompt; keyword-backed articles then publish to your own domain on schedule.

SaaS SEO on autopilot

Custom-built websites

No WordPress needed: your site exposes one small endpoint and articles arrive as native pages in your own design.

SEO for custom websites
Also onShopifyWebflowWixGhost

Frequently asked questions

How many H1 tags should a page have?

One is the best practice: a single H1 that states what the page is about. HTML allows more, and Google has said multiple H1s won't hurt rankings, but one clear H1 removes all doubt for search engines, screen readers and anyone skimming. A common accident is a logo or a slider caption marked up as H1 — the checker lists every H1 it finds.

Is skipping heading levels bad for SEO?

It rarely costs rankings directly, but it breaks the outline: screen-reader users jump between headings by level, and machines reading the page lose the parent-child structure. Go one level down at a time (H2 → H3 → H4); going back up from an H4 to an H2 to start a new section is fine.

What is the difference between the title tag and the H1?

The title tag sits in the page's head and is what search results and browser tabs show; the H1 is the visible headline on the page. They usually say the same thing, often in slightly different words — for example a shorter H1 and a title with the brand name at the end.

How do I check headings without a browser extension?

Enter the page URL in the checker above, or paste the HTML if the page is a draft or behind a login. You get the outline in page order, the count per level and the issues with fixes — nothing to install.

Do headings help pages appear in AI answers?

Clear headings help answer engines find the passage that answers a question: a heading phrased like the question, followed by a direct answer, is easy to lift. They don't guarantee a citation, but a wall of text without sections gives an engine nothing to quote.
Free tools

More free tools

All free tools
On-page SEO

Meta Tag Checker

Title, description, canonical, robots and Open Graph — with Google and social previews.

Checks the live pageOpen tool
On-page SEO

Keyword Density Checker

Count words and phrases, measure keyphrase density and spot keyword stuffing in any text or page.

Runs in your browserOpen tool
AI search · GEO & AEO

AI SEO Checker

Can ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews read and quote your page? A score and the fixes that matter.

Checks the live pageOpen tool