---
title: Semantic Heading Order | Accessibility Rule
description: Heading levels should only increase by one
source_url:
  html: https://testingbot.com/support/accessibility/web/rules/heading-order
  md: https://testingbot.com/support/accessibility/web/rules/heading-order/index.md
---
# Ensure the order of headings is semantically correct

Rule ID: heading-orderUser Impact: moderateGuidelines: Best Practices

The `heading-order` rule checks that heading elements (`<h1>` through `<h6>`) are used in a logical, hierarchical order. Headings help organize page content and improve navigation for screen reader users.

## What is being tested?

The rule verifies that headings are:

- Marked with proper heading tags (`h1` through `h6`).
- Ordered hierarchically (for example, an `h2` follows an `h1`, not an `h3`).
- Used only for actual headings, not just to style important text.

## Correct markup example

    <h1>Setting the Exposure Manually on a Camera</h1>
      <p>Put text here...</p>
    <h2>Set the ISO</h2>
      <p>Put text here...</p>
    <h2>Choose an aperture</h2>
      <p>Put text here...</p>
    <h2>Choose a shutter speed</h2>
      <p>Put text here...</p>

## Best practices

- Start the main content with a single `<h1>`.
- Use `<h2>` for major sections and `<h3>` for subsections, continuing down to `<h6>` if needed.
- Apply heading tags only to headings, not to regular or decorative text.
- Ensure that heading text is brief, clear, and meaningful.

## Why it matters

Headings convey the page structure to both sighted and screen reader users. Sighted users often rely on visual cues like text size, but screen reader users depend on proper heading markup to navigate quickly.

Correctly ordered headings improve accessibility and usability and also benefit search engine optimization (SEO), as search engines use headings when indexing, filtering, and ranking pages.

Well-structured headings allow all users to get a quick overview of the page’s content and save time navigating to the sections that matter to them.

## Other Rules

Interested in other web accessibility rules? Please see these other rules:

- [image-redundant-alt](https://testingbot.com/support/accessibility/web/rules/image-redundant-alt)
- [label-title-only](https://testingbot.com/support/accessibility/web/rules/label-title-only)
- [landmark-banner-is-top-level](https://testingbot.com/support/accessibility/web/rules/landmark-banner-is-top-level)
- [landmark-complementary-is-top-level](https://testingbot.com/support/accessibility/web/rules/landmark-complementary-is-top-level)
- [landmark-contentinfo-is-top-level](https://testingbot.com/support/accessibility/web/rules/landmark-contentinfo-is-top-level)