methodology / Accessibility / #55

Heading hierarchy validity

live factor #55 · Accessibility · scoring impl: implemented · weight 0.7%

What we measure

Page headings should descend in order — H1, then H2s, then H3s. Skipping levels (jumping H1 to H4) breaks how screen readers navigate the page.

How to improve your score

Audit your headings and renumber so they're sequential. Most pages should have one H1, several H2s, and H3s only nested inside an H2.

Data source

Data source for this factor is not yet documented.

Implementation notes

Parse heading tags in document order, check for skipped levels and multiple H1s.

Scoring

Scoring formulas are versioned with the methodology. The current method (v1.1.0) maps raw measurements to pass, warn, fail. Factor weights determine how much each contributes to the composite — see the methodology index for the full table.

Version history

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