Missing H1

Silktide checks that every page has a main heading, known as an H1, and that it contains readable text. The H1 states what the page is about, for visitors, , and search engines alike.

In , the main heading is marked with the <h1> tag. Large styled text is not a substitute - the tag itself is what carries the meaning:

<h1>Contact us</h1>

Why this matters

The H1 is the first thing many visitors orient by. People using commonly jump straight to the H1 to confirm they are on the right page and to skip past navigation to the main content. Without one, they have to listen through the page top to work out where they are. Search engines also give the H1 special weight when judging what a page is about, so a missing or empty H1 hurts both accessibility and ranking.

How to fix it

Add a single <h1> near the top of the main content, describing the page in a few words. Most page templates render the page title as the H1 automatically - if yours doesn't, adjust the template.
Make sure the H1 contains real text. An H1 holding only an image counts as empty unless the image has :

<!-- Problem: no readable text -->
<h1><img src="company-logo.png"></h1>

<!-- Fixed: the alt text becomes the heading text -->
<h1><img src="company-logo.png" alt="About Company Inc."></h1>

Plain text is best - it is readable by everything and easy to maintain.

How Silktide tests this

Skip pages that return a "404 Not Found" error, where a missing H1 is not meaningful.
Look for <h1> elements on each remaining page.
If the page has none, report the page as missing its H1.
If the page has H1s, report each one whose content - including the alternative text of any images inside - contains no letters or numbers.

Troubleshooting

My page has a big title at the top

A title that is only styled to look like a heading doesn't count - the text must be inside an <h1> tag. See Potential headings for how Silktide detects these.