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Headings skip a level

In the reportPages skip heading levels (e.g. H1 → H3)

heading_level_skip · Review item

Short answer

This appears when a page's heading tags jump more than one level down, for example from H1 straight to H3. The HTML standard asks each heading to be at most one level deeper than the one before it, and this check reads the tag numbers. Renumber the headings so the levels step down one at a time.

Severity: Notice. It is a notice: worth tidying for readers and assistive technology, and not a ranking problem.

Why it matters

The HTML standard requires each heading after another to be at the same level, a higher level, or exactly one level deeper. It counts computed heading levels, which the headingoffset and headingreset attributes can change; this check compares the literal tag numbers and does not read those attributes. A skipped level makes the outline harder to follow for people using screen readers and for programs that read the structure.

What to do

  1. Look at the finding: it shows where each jump is, for up to 25 jumps, and the first 25 headings of the outline, up to 200 characters each; a jump may fall outside that excerpt.
  2. Change the deeper heading to the missing level, for example <h3> to <h2>, and keep the styling you want in CSS.
  3. Check again with this one address once the change is live.

When to leave it as it is: if the page is built from reusable blocks whose heading levels you cannot change, you can leave it; the check does not measure any effect on search.

What we read

We read the HTML each page returned, without running JavaScript, and list its <h1> to <h6> in order, leaving out headings marked hidden, aria-hidden="true" or inert. A page is reported when a heading is more than one level deeper than the heading right before it; going back up is fine, and the first heading is not compared with anything, so starting at H2 alone is not reported; a later jump, such as H2 to H4, still is.

If counting or ignoring empty headings would change where the jumps are, the page is not judged. Every page that answered 200 with HTML is checked, including pages marked noindex, and a page with more than 128 headings is not judged.

Example & evidence

Illustrative example — two headings in a row, not a live audit.

Address: https://bakery.example/rye-bread. The main content we read:

<h1>Rye bread</h1>
<h3>Ingredients</h3>
<p>Rye flour, water, salt, sourdough starter.</p>

The heading after the H1 is an H3, so the page is reported: The heading sequence jumps H1 → H3 at position 2.

A possible correction: change <h3>Ingredients</h3> to <h2>Ingredients</h2>.

Confirm & check again

Check for yourself: view the page source and list the heading tags in order; each should be at most one level deeper than the one before.

Check again: Full audit — re-read this address; the page must answer 200 with complete HTML. The finding closes when no jump remains. If empty headings make the outline ambiguous, or the page cannot be fetched, the check cannot conclude.

Limits & sources

It is not a ranking factor and not an accessibility verdict. The check uses the tag numbers, not visual size, does not see headings added by JavaScript, and counts headings hidden only with CSS.

Confidence: High because the heading levels are read directly from the HTML.

Sources

  • WHATWG, HTML Standard — requires each heading after another to be at most one level deeper than it. Checked 25 September 2026.

Editorial review: 29 September 2026