HeadingHierarchy [rule] v1.0.0

Heading elements (h1–h6) MUST form a strict, gap-free hierarchy: exactly one h1 per document, and each subsequent heading is at most one level deeper than its predecessor. Skipping levels (e.g. h2 directly to h4) and using multiple h1s is forbidden.

Checks

• @community/check-heading-hierarchy

Applies To

@community/type-html-artifact

Severity

high

Severity Combination

document has 0 or >1 h1                       → BLOCK  (WCAG SC 1.3.1, 2.4.6)
heading level skip detected (e.g. h2 → h4)    → BLOCK
headings styled with non-heading tags         → WARN

Failure Mode

Screen-reader users navigate by heading; broken hierarchy makes the document outline unintelligible. Search engines down-rank pages with malformed outlines. Visual-only 'big bold text' that is not an h-tag is invisible to assistive tech.

Remediation

• Audit the heading outline with the WAVE or axe extension — verify a single h1 and contiguous levels.
• Replace styled <div class='heading-lg'> with a real <h2> (and style the h2).
• If a section truly has no parent heading, lift it to its proper level rather than jumping numbers.
• Use the HTML5 outline algorithm: each <section> resets the implicit level — but always verify with a real screen reader.

Exceptions

• • Case: Standalone widgets without page context
  • Allowed When: An embedded widget (e.g. a third-party chat) renders inside a host page; the widget owns its internal hierarchy starting at h2 or below.

HeadingHierarchy [rule] v1.0.0

Heading elements (h1–h6) MUST form a strict, gap-free hierarchy: exactly one h1 per document, and each subsequent heading is at most one level deeper than its predecessor. Skipping levels (e.g. h2 directly to h4) and using multiple h1s is forbidden.

Checks

• @community/check-heading-hierarchy

Applies To

@community/type-html-artifact

Severity

high

Severity Combination

document has 0 or >1 h1                       → BLOCK  (WCAG SC 1.3.1, 2.4.6)
heading level skip detected (e.g. h2 → h4)    → BLOCK
headings styled with non-heading tags         → WARN

Failure Mode

Screen-reader users navigate by heading; broken hierarchy makes the document outline unintelligible. Search engines down-rank pages with malformed outlines. Visual-only 'big bold text' that is not an h-tag is invisible to assistive tech.

Remediation

• Audit the heading outline with the WAVE or axe extension — verify a single h1 and contiguous levels.
• Replace styled <div class='heading-lg'> with a real <h2> (and style the h2).
• If a section truly has no parent heading, lift it to its proper level rather than jumping numbers.
• Use the HTML5 outline algorithm: each <section> resets the implicit level — but always verify with a real screen reader.

Exceptions

• • Case: Standalone widgets without page context
  • Allowed When: An embedded widget (e.g. a third-party chat) renders inside a host page; the widget owns its internal hierarchy starting at h2 or below.

Applies To

@community/type-html-artifact

Severity

high

Validates With

• @w3c/source-wcag-22

Severity Combination

document has 0 or >1 h1                       → BLOCK  (WCAG SC 1.3.1, 2.4.6)
heading level skip detected (e.g. h2 → h4)    → BLOCK
headings styled with non-heading tags         → WARN

Failure Mode

Screen-reader users navigate by heading; broken hierarchy makes the document outline unintelligible. Search engines down-rank pages with malformed outlines. Visual-only 'big bold text' that is not an h-tag is invisible to assistive tech.

Remediation

• Audit the heading outline with the WAVE or axe extension — verify a single h1 and contiguous levels.
• Replace styled <div class='heading-lg'> with a real <h2> (and style the h2).
• If a section truly has no parent heading, lift it to its proper level rather than jumping numbers.
• Use the HTML5 outline algorithm: each <section> resets the implicit level — but always verify with a real screen reader.

Exceptions

• • Case: Standalone widgets without page context
  • Allowed When: An embedded widget (e.g. a third-party chat) renders inside a host page; the widget owns its internal hierarchy starting at h2 or below.

See Also

• @community/check-heading-hierarchy