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Use WordPress’s semantic Heading block to represent your page structure, then style each heading independently. In most posts and pages, the page title is the H1; major sections use H2; and subsections inside an H2 use H3. Choose levels for their structural relationship—not because a particular size looks right.
What heading tags do
HTML provides six heading ranks, from H1 (highest) through H6. A heading introduces and labels a section of content, allowing readers and assistive technologies to understand how sections relate to one another.
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative summarizes the purpose plainly: “Headings communicate the organization of the content on the page.” Screen-reader users can list headings and jump between them, while other readers can scan the page more easily.
Large, bold or colored text is not automatically a heading. Visual appearance alone does not create the programmatic structure that browsers and assistive technologies expose.
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Choose the right level for each section
| Level | Typical role | Example |
|---|---|---|
H1 |
The page’s primary title | How to Properly Use Heading Tags in WordPress |
H2 |
A major section directly under the page title | Choose the right level |
H3 |
A subsection within an H2 | When to use H3 |
H4–H6 |
Further nested sections when the content genuinely needs them | A detailed subtopic within an H3 |
WordPress documentation describes the common pattern as follows: “In most cases, the page title is used as the <h1> tag, with subsequent Heading blocks added as H2, H3, and so on.” “In most cases” matters: your theme or template may already render headings for site-wide elements such as navigation or a banner. Inspect the actual rendered page before changing structural headings supplied by the theme.
Use H2 for peer sections
Use H2 when a section is a direct child of the page’s main topic. Sections at the same level should normally be siblings, such as “Add a Heading block,” “Fix the visual style,” and “Check the outline.”
Use H3 for a subsection inside an H2
If an H2 contains distinct subtopics, give each one an H3. For example, an H2 called “Write useful labels” could contain H3 sections for “Name the topic” and “Keep labels concise.”
Do not choose a rank for its font size
Picking H4 because it looks smaller than H3 breaks the outline if the content is actually an H3-level subsection. Select the semantic level first, then change typography or other styles separately.
Understand when a rank can appear to jump
Avoid skipping from H2 to H4 when you are opening a subsection: H3 is normally the next nested rank. However, heading ranks describe nesting, not simply the order in which tags appear. Once an H4 subsection has ended, a new peer section can begin with a higher-rank heading such as H2. Do not force every heading to be exactly one number above or below the preceding heading.
Rank #3
How to add a heading in the Gutenberg editor
- Open the block editor. Edit the post or page in WordPress.
- Insert the Heading block. Select the Block Inserter and search for Heading. You can also type
/headingin a paragraph block. WordPress documents shortcuts such as/h2, and typing##followed by a space can create an H2. - Choose the semantic level. In the Heading block toolbar or settings, select H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 or H6.
- Write the section label. Enter a short phrase that tells readers what follows.
- Adjust appearance independently. Use the block’s typography, size, spacing, color or theme style controls to achieve the desired design without changing the heading rank. Available controls vary by theme.
- Preview the rendered page. Check that the heading fits the surrounding content and that the theme has not added unexpected structural headings.
Write headings that help readers
Headings and labels should “describe topic or purpose,” according to W3C guidance. A reader scanning only the headings should be able to understand the page’s main path.
- Describe the section’s actual subject or task.
- Keep the wording concise, but include the key distinction readers need.
- Use parallel wording for sibling sections where that improves scanning.
- Avoid repeated labels such as “Introduction,” “More Information,” or “Other” when a specific description is possible.
- Do not add heading markup to text that is merely a decorative callout, caption or paragraph.
For example, “Change heading typography without changing its level” is more useful than “Styling,” because it tells readers what the section covers.
Rank #4
Inspect your heading structure in WordPress
- Open the editor’s Document Overview panel.
- Select the Outline tab.
- Review every heading label and its nesting.
- Confirm that the page title is represented appropriately, major sections are peers, and subsections sit under the correct parent.
- Look for headings used only to obtain a visual effect, skipped ranks that do not reflect a real relationship, vague labels, and sections that should be ordinary paragraphs or lists instead.
The Outline view is a useful built-in check, but also preview the published page. A theme, template part or plugin can contribute headings that are not visible in the post’s content blocks.
Do headings help SEO?
Well-structured headings can help search engines understand and index a page, and they make the content easier for people to navigate. That is a structural and accessibility benefit—not a promise of a particular ranking result.
Best Value
There is no universal search-ranking rule in this guidance requiring a specific number of H1 elements. Do not add extra H1s, force keywords into headings, or change a level merely to pursue an assumed ranking formula. Use the rank that accurately represents the document and write labels that genuinely describe the content.
Quick Recap
Common heading mistakes and fixes
- Using H2 because it looks right: keep the correct semantic rank and change typography instead.
- Jumping from H2 to H4 for a nested section: use H3 unless the outline has a genuine intermediate level.
- Styling a paragraph to look like a heading: replace it with a Heading block when it introduces a real section.
- Using headings for decoration: use paragraph, group, separator or other appropriate blocks for text that does not label content.
- Writing vague or duplicated labels: name the topic or purpose specifically enough to support scanning.
- Assuming the editor contains the whole outline: inspect the rendered page for headings supplied by the theme and template.
A practical pre-publish checklist
- The page has a clear primary title and an appropriate H1 arrangement for its template.
- Each major topic is an H2, and each nested topic uses the next appropriate rank.
- No level was selected solely for font size or visual emphasis.
- Every heading introduces a genuine section and describes what follows.
- Sibling sections use consistent ranks.
- The Document Overview’s Outline tab matches the intended content structure.
- The published preview remains understandable with styles disabled or when headings are navigated non-visually.
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