SEO Small

Fix skipped heading levels

Headings form the document outline that both search engines and screen readers rely on to understand a page. That outline only holds together when levels descend one step at a time: an h1 followed directly by an h3, with no h2 between them, is a skipped level that breaks the structure. This check complements seo.single-h1, which counts the top-level heading but says nothing about how the levels beneath it nest.

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Why it matters

A heading that jumps from h1 to h3 with no h2 leaves search engines and screen readers with a broken document outline, weakening topical structure and making the page harder to navigate non-visually.

How to fix

1 Audit the heading hierarchy in document order and find where a level is skipped.
2 Demote or promote headings so each step down moves by exactly one level.
3 Choose heading levels for structure, not for font size; style the visual size with CSS instead.

Common mistakes

Choosing a heading level for its default font size rather than its place in the outline, then skipping a level to get the look wanted.
Dropping in a component or template partial whose headings start at the wrong level for where it is embedded, jumping past an intermediate level.
Fixing a missing h1 by promoting a deep heading without also renumbering the headings in between, leaving a gap further down.

How to verify

1 Use a heading-outline browser extension or the accessibility tree and confirm no level is skipped on the way down.
2 Read the headings in document order and check each step down moves by exactly one level.
3 Confirm heading levels reflect structure and that any purely visual sizing is done with CSS rather than the level.

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