Headings, page titles and link text: the structure behind a page

A sighted visitor understands a page at a glance: the large text at the top is the main topic, the bold lines below divide it into sections, the bar across the top is the navigation. A screen reader user cannot glance. They rely on the structure built into the code, and they use it to move around. Many screen reader users jump from heading to heading to find what they need, or bring up a list of every link on the page.

When that structure is missing or wrong, the page becomes a long, flat stream of text.

The criteria involved

Headings

HTML provides six heading levels, from h1 to h6. They describe an outline, not a font size:

• One h1 per page, usually the main page heading, such as "Physiotherapy services".
• h2 for each main section, such as "Sports injuries" and "Book an assessment".
• h3 for subsections within an h2, and so on.

Under 1.3.1, text that visually acts as a heading must be coded as a heading. Under 2.4.6, headings must describe what follows. A heading that says "Welcome" or "Learn more" above a section about pricing does not help someone scanning a list of headings.

How page builders lead to misused headings

Website builders and themes make it easy to pick a heading level from a menu, and the levels are styled with different sizes. That convenience produces some recurring patterns:

• Choosing a level for its size. A short tagline is set as h2 because it looks right, while the real section headings below it are plain bold paragraphs.
• Skipping levels. The page goes from h1 straight to h4 because the h4 style was the preferred size.
• Several h1s, or none at all, because the logo, the hero banner and the page heading were each given h1 styling, or the main heading was made with a large paragraph style.
• Headings for non-headings. Phone numbers, prices, button-like calls to action and testimonial quotes are marked as headings to make them stand out.
• Repeated theme headings. Footer and sidebar widgets add headings such as "Recent posts" on every page, sometimes at a higher level than the page content.

The fix is usually to separate the two decisions. Choose the heading level that matches the outline, then adjust its appearance with the builder's style settings or a small CSS change. Visitors see the same page; assistive technology gets a sensible outline.

Landmarks and other structure

Landmarks are named regions of a page: header, navigation, main content, and footer. In HTML they come from elements such as header, nav, main and footer. Screen reader users can jump directly to them, and a correctly marked main region supports a "skip to main content" link (see our article on keyboard access).

The same principle covers lists and tables. A set of items that looks like a list should be coded as a list, so a screen reader announces "list, 5 items". A table of data should have header cells, so each value is read with its column name. Tables should not be used purely for layout.

Page titles

The page title is the text shown in the browser tab and in search results. It is also the first thing a screen reader announces when a page loads. Under 2.4.2 each page needs a title that describes its topic or purpose.

A common failure is every page sharing the same title, usually just the business name. A good pattern puts the specific topic first: "Book an appointment – Your Business Name". Pages created by duplicating an existing page often keep the original's title, so check them.

Link text

Under 2.4.4, the purpose of a link must be clear from its text, or from its text together with its context, such as the sentence or list item it sits in. Links reading "Click here", "Read more" or "Learn more" are the usual problem. When a screen reader user brings up a list of links, ten entries that all say "Read more" give them nothing to choose between.

• Instead of "Click here to download our price list", use "Download our price list (PDF)".
• Instead of "Read more" under each service, use "Read more about sports injury treatment", or make the service name itself the link.

Image links need alternative text that describes the destination, not the picture. A logo that links to the home page might have the alternative text "Your Business Name home".

Page language

Under 3.1.1, the default language of each page must be set in code, for example lang="en-CA" on the html element. Screen readers use it to choose the correct pronunciation. If it is missing or wrong, a screen reader may read English text with French pronunciation rules, or the reverse. Bilingual sites should set the language on each page, and passages in a different language should be marked as well (3.1.2 Language of Parts, Level AA).

Next steps

Many of these issues can be corrected in a page builder's editor without code. Our article on page builder sites covers what owners can usually fix themselves, and our checklist includes structure checks. Our method explains how we test structure with screen readers.

Talk to us

If your headings were chosen for their looks, we can correct the structure while keeping every page visually the same. See our services or contact us to discuss your site.

Last reviewed October 2026.