What is an H1 tag?

How it works

Headings form an outline. The H1 is the page's main heading, H2s mark major sections, and H3s sit inside H2s. Screen reader users navigate by this outline, jumping from heading to heading, so a logical structure is an accessibility requirement as much as an SEO habit.

Google uses headings to understand the structure and topic of a page, and it sometimes uses the H1 as the source when it rewrites a title in results. Google has said that multiple H1s are not a problem for search, and HTML allows them. Still, one clear H1 per page is the simplest structure for readers and tools, and most audits flag pages with none.

Example

<h1>How to Brew Pour-Over Coffee</h1>
  <h2>What you need</h2>
  <h2>Step-by-step method</h2>
    <h3>Rinse the filter</h3>
    <h3>Bloom the grounds</h3>
  <h2>Troubleshooting sour or bitter cups</h2>

The H1 states the topic, H2s split it into sections, and H3s break down one section. Heading levels are chosen by structure, not by the font size you want. Use CSS for size.

In WordPress

In WordPress the theme outputs the H1, normally from the post or page title. That means the block editor's title field is effectively your H1, and headings you add inside the content should start at H2. Adding another H1 block in the content creates a second one. Some themes and page builders wrap the site logo in an H1 on every page, or print the post title as an H2, so check a published page's source. Hydrogen SEO's site health score includes a content structure area that looks at heading hierarchy; see site health score.

Common mistakes

• No H1 at all, often because a page builder hero uses styled divs.
• Skipping levels, jumping from H1 to H4 for visual size.
• Using headings for styling of non-heading text such as taglines.
• An H1 that says nothing, like Welcome or Blog.