Heading Hygiene & Structure Manager
Clean outline for screen readers and search engines — one H1 per page, no jumps.
What does "Heading Hygiene & Structure Manager" mean?
Headings (<h1> until <h6>Headings are the table of contents structure of a page. Screen readers navigate from section to section using heading shortcuts, while search engines interpret them as topic maps. Heading hygiene means using exactly one heading. <h1>, seamless hierarchy (no h2 → h4-Jump), Headings describe what follows.
Obligation and Benefit — WCAG 1.3.1.
WCAG 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) is Level A. A page with three h1s or one h4 immediately after h1 It's semantically broken — screen reader users lose their bearings, SEO suffers (Google uses heading outlines for topic understanding). Plus: a consistent structure manager in the backend prevents the editorial team from accidentally misusing headings as "big bold text".
How we will solve it specifically.
- Exactly one per page
<h1>(usually page title or hero headline). - Seamless hierarchy:
h1 → h2 → h3, no jump fromh2directly onh4. - The structure manager in the backend displays the outline live during editing — visual validation instead of sampling.
- Theme templates render headings semantically, not for design reasons (no
h3just because 24px is desired — that's what CSS is for). - Linter in the pre-publish hook: blocks publishing in case of heading violation (optional).
- In the DigElite plugin, live in every page class: conscious
h1/h2/h3-Strategy per section.
Related building blocks of our module suite
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Full keyboard navigation
WCAG 2.1.1Every function is accessible — without a mouse. Essential for screen reader users, helpful for everyone else.
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Contrast scanner with auto-audit
WCAG 1.4.3Ongoing contrast checking in the backend — regression is reported before the editorial team notices anything.
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ARIA Live Regions
WCAG 4.1.3Dynamic content (form errors, loader, mini-carts) is announced by the screen reader.
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AI alt text generator
WCAG 1.1.1No more "image without a description". AI provides the first draft — editorial team refines it.
Do you need this exact module?
15-minute initial consultation — we'll clarify whether it's relevant for your site.
Further information:
BFSG overview ·
Performance overview ·
BAFA funding ·
FAQs
