Heading hierarchy

The logical, nested structure of HTML heading elements (h1 through h6) that organizes web content into a navigable outline. A well-structured heading hierarchy uses heading levels sequentially without skipping levels, with a single h1 for the page title, h2 for major sections, h3 for subsections, and so on. Screen reader users rely heavily on heading navigation — pressing the H key to jump between headings — to understand page structure and locate content efficiently. Inconsistent, missing, or overused headings create significant barriers, as they force users to read content linearly rather than scanning by section. Proper heading hierarchy is a foundational requirement of WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).