Multiple H1 Tags

What This Means

Two or more <h1> elements were found in the page DOM. While the HTML5 specification technically permits multiple H1s within separate sectioning elements, the conventional and recommended practice is one H1 per page.

Why It Matters for SEO

A page with multiple H1s presents search engines with ambiguity about which heading represents the primary topic. If one H1 says "Running Shoes" and another says "Customer Reviews", engines must infer which is the core subject. One is clearly primary; the other is a section label that would be better served by an H2.

Multiple H1s most commonly result from CMS themes that output the page title as H1 and also wrap a sidebar widget title or a hero section heading in H1. Page builder blocks are a frequent source.

What the Platform Checks

The platform counts all <h1> elements in the rendered DOM. This check fires when the count exceeds 1.

How to Fix It

Designate one H1 as the page's primary heading and demote all others to H2 or H3:

• Identify every H1 using your browser's inspector (Elements panel, filter by h1).
• The main content heading — the one introducing the page's primary topic — should remain H1.
• Any other H1s that label sections, sidebars, or widgets should be changed to H2 or styled differently without using H1.
• In WordPress: check your active theme's template files — widgets and custom blocks sometimes output H1 by default.

After fixing, re-run the audit or check with a headings-outline browser extension to confirm only one H1 remains.