A guide to using website header tags for your purpose-driven business

Ah, header tags on a website page: they're so often neglected but they're so important for your website – for SEO, and for accessibility.

In my line of work as a copy and content writer, I come across a lot of websites that aren't properly structured with header tags. While people who've DIYed their sites can be forgiven for not using the correct header hierarchy, what also surprises me is how many professional website designers don't use them either.

If you're not sure what header tags are, and why you need them for your purpose-driven business' website, this is the article for you. I'll break down what they are, why they're vital for your website structure, and how you can check yours. The excellent news is that it's a really simple thing to do, but will have massive benefits for your website and making sure it's working as hard as it can be.

What the dickens are header tags?

Header tags (aka headers, aka H tags) are used to structure each page on your website by breaking up the body copy. Think of them as the headline of the page and then its subheadings. Dividing your copy like this helps search engines to scan and index the page, and also helps human readers scan the page and see what each section is about.

Header tags start at H1 and then go in order – H2, H3, H4, H5, etc.

How do I structure my website copy with header tags?

The first thing to remember is that there should only ever be one H1 on the page. This is the header that needs to be doing the most heavy lifting: it should spell out exactly what the page is all about (preferably using keywords that you've identified from research) in a way that both search engines and humans can understand.

The rest of the page's content needs to then be further divided using H2s, H3s, etc. Think of the H2s as the subheadings of the page, with H3s used to subdivide content underneath H2s, and H4s beneath that, and so on. (Unless you've got a page with a load of lists, it's unlikely you'll go deeper than an H4.)

As an example for how a page can be structured, let's look at my wedding copywriting website. On The Wedding Wordsmith, the home page is set up like this:

H1: Compelling SEO copywriting for wedding businesses

H2: The Wedding Wordsmith's copywriting and content services

H3: Full website copywriting

H3: Website copyediting

H3: Blog strategy and writing

H3: Website audit

Using a simple statement with relevant keywords, the H1 clearly demonstrates to both search engines and real people that this is a web page all about SEO copywriting for wedding businesses. The H2 introduces a section that gives more detail about these writing services, then the H3s further divide this into each copywriting service.

This means that humans scrolling down the page can instantly find the section that's relevant to them, while search engines can also scan the page easily and know what each section of copy is about.

But why exactly does my purpose-driven business website need header tags?

As mentioned above, there are two reasons for using header tags: SEO and accessibility/user experience. They play an important role in both of these.

Google and other search engines use the header tag structure to scan each page, then index the content to be returned in searches. The easier it is for a search engine to instantly understand what your page is about and how it can help people, the more likely it is to be presented as an answer to someone's query. This is why header tags are really important for SEO.

To use my wedding copywriting website as an example again, because my H1 is 'Compelling SEO copywriting for wedding businesses', anyone typing in 'SEO copywriting wedding business' will (hopefully!) be presented with my website as an answer to this query.

From a user experience point of view, header tags are a great way to break up the copy on the page so human readers can scan it and see what it's about. From an accessibility point of view, screen readers (programmes that read web page copy aloud or translate it into Braille) also use header tags to help them navigate the page, and need this structure to do it effectively.

So three great reasons to sort out your header tags.

How to check if your website has a proper header structure

If you're not sure whether your website pages have been set up with header tags, there are lots of free sites (such as Seobility) that will scan it and show you how's it structured.

If you maintain your website yourself, you'll see the options for changing header tags in the text editing box, where you can change text to be an H1, H2, H3, paragraph etc.

A very important point to note: you do not need to use the default font that your website has set for each header. I think this is often why I see websites with multiple H1s, or skipping the proper hierarchy – if someone doesn't realise what header tags are and thinks they're font options, they'll choose the header based on its appearance, not its proper place in the hierarchy. Instead you need to structure the page correctly, then choose what font works best for each header tag.

Need some header help?

If the thought of checking and sorting out your header tags makes your head spin, I can help! This is part of the audit I do for each website going through my copy clinic, while all my done-for-you website copywriting or done-with-you website editing includes this as standard. Drop me an email to talk more if this is something you'd like more help with!