<h1>–<h6>: The HTML Section Heading elements

The <h1> to <h6> HTML elements represent six levels of section headings. <h1> is the highest section level and <h6> is the lowest. By default, all heading elements create a block-level box in the layout, starting on a new line and taking up the full width available in their containing block.

While using multiple <h1> elements on one page is allowed by the HTML standard (as long as they are not nested), this is not considered a best practice. A page should generally have a single <h1> element that describes the content of the page (similar to the document's <title> element).

Note: Nesting multiple <h1> elements in nested sectioning elements was allowed in older versions of the HTML standard. However, this was never considered a best practice and is now non-conforming. Read more in There Is No Document Outline Algorithm.

A common navigation technique for users of screen reading software is to quickly jump from heading to heading in order to determine the content of the page. Because of this, it is important to not skip one or more heading levels. Doing so may create confusion, as the person navigating this way may be left wondering where the missing heading is.

Leave a Comment