What it means
Headings turn a long page into named sections. Someone comparing services can move directly to pricing, requirements, or cancellation terms. Screen readers can also use heading structure for navigation. A line that merely looks large or bold is not necessarily marked as a heading in the underlying page.
H1 is the highest heading level; H2 and H3 describe progressively nested sections. Choose levels to reflect how the information is organized, then style them to suit the design. Increasing the number of headings does not make the page more useful, and a short contact page may need very few sections.
Hypothetical example: organizing a maintenance service page
Imagine a page headed Office equipment maintenance. It has two main sections, Plans and Booking a visit. Under Plans, the owner explains Monthly cover and One-off repairs. The structure helps a customer distinguish alternatives without turning every price or button into a heading.
If the initial response has no H1 but the browser has one, the title may have been added by JavaScript. That is worth checking in the extracted versions; it is not proof that every reader misses it.
| Heading level | Hypothetical heading | Role |
|---|---|---|
| H1 | Office equipment maintenance | Page topic |
| H2 | Plans | Main section |
| H3 | Monthly cover | Subsection within Plans |
| H2 | Booking a visit | Next main section |
How BLURSOR measures it
In the report: Main headings before JavaScript (H1) · Main headings after JavaScript (H1) · Section headings before JavaScript (H2) · Section headings after JavaScript (H2) · Subsection headings before JavaScript (H3) · Subsection headings after JavaScript (H3) · Heading structure
BLURSOR counts H1, H2, and H3 opening tags in the captured HTML, separately for the initial response and browser snapshot when available. The counts include markup that may belong to hidden or repeated interface sections. They do not measure font size, screen position, or whether a heading describes the following text.
The single-report heading finding uses exactly one H1 as its basic passing heuristic. It does not fully validate heading order or accessibility. Treat that result as a prompt to inspect the outline, not a rule that every valid page must match the same template. An unavailable browser count is not a measured zero.
What to do next
- Read just the headings in order and check whether they describe the page's actual sections.
- Ask your editor or developer to use real heading elements and levels that reflect the content hierarchy.
- Check unexpected duplicate headings and headings that appear only in the browser before changing the design.
What it cannot tell you
- Counts cannot establish a clear hierarchy, meaningful wording, or accessibility conformance.
- The checker does not demonstrate that a heading structure causes indexing, citations, or better rankings.
Sources and further reading
The definitions below describe the underlying concepts. The measurement section describes BLURSOR’s own checks.