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Can you use multiple h1 tags on a page?

SEOMiddle~1 min read
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Yes, you can, but it requires caution.

Historically:

It used to be strictly recommended: only one <h1> per page, as the document's main heading. This was considered correct for SEO and accessibility.

Now (HTML5):

Under the HTML5 standard, it is acceptable to have multiple <h1> tags if they are used within independent sections - for example, in <article>, <section>, <aside>, <nav>, etc.

Example:

html
<main> <h1>Main page heading</h1> <section> <h1>Section heading</h1> <p>Content...</p> </section> <article> <h1>Article heading</h1> <p>Article text...</p> </article> </main>

This is acceptable if each <h1> is contextually the main heading within its block.

But in practice:

  • Search engines (Google, Bing) handle multiple <h1> tags fine, but prefer that there be one main <h1> that reflects the essence of the page.
  • Screen readers and SEO tools can still treat multiple <h1> tags as a sign of confusion in the hierarchy.
  • For consistency and ease of analysis, it is better to use one <h1>, then <h2>, <h3>, and so on.

Conclusion: You can, if you know what you're doing. But most often it is simpler and safer: one <h1> per page, hierarchy going down. It is both cleaner and clearer.

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