Definition

Heading hierarchy

Updated Feb 9, 2026

Definition

Heading hierarchy is the ordered use of H1 through H6 tags to structure a page's content into a logical outline.

Plain English

It's the table of contents built into your HTML. One H1, then H2s for sections, H3s for subsections, and so on.

Why it matters

  • Helps crawlers and LLMs understand page structure.
  • Improves accessibility for screen readers.
  • A broken hierarchy makes content harder to extract and cite.