TL;DR – HTML headings help organize the structure of a web page by providing titles and subtitles of various levels.
Contents
HTML Heading: a Definition
HTML headings name sections of a webpage. It simplifies page navigation, helping to create a pleasant user experience. Using HTML headings of different importance levels, you can convey the structure and hierarchy in your page:
Some beginners get confused between HTML headings, headers and <head> elements. The difference is explained clearly in the table below:
| Element | Definition |
|---|---|
| <h1> – <h6> | Names sections of a web document to provide structure |
| <head> | Contains machine-readable metadata (e.g., encoding information) |
| <header> | Contains introductory or navigational information |
Six Levels of HTML Heading Tags
There are six HTML heading tags in total: <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5> and <h6>. A smaller number means a smaller heading used to name a less important paragraph:
<h1>I am the most important heading in the world</h1>
<h2>I am a less important heading in the world</h2>
<h3>I am an even less important heading in the world</h3>
<h4>I am a heading and I am not the least important</h4>
<h5>I am almost the least important heading in the world</h5>
<h6>I am the least important heading in the world</h6>The HTML <h1> heading tags surround the most significant and most visible heading in the whole page, and the <h6> heading represents the least essential one which is almost as small as simple paragraph text.
HTML Headings: Useful Tips
- HTML headings help search engines index the page's structure and understand its content. Thus, using well-written headings can help improve your website's findability.
- You shouldn't use more than one
<h1>element. It is also advised to nest HTML headings by the level and avoid skipping them.