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Mechanics module WCAG 1.3.1 Level A

Heading hygiene

Detects and corrects skipped heading levels, duplicate H1s, and missing structure.

What it does

Function in one sentence — and in three sentences

Screen readers often navigate using headings—like a table of contents. If headings are skipped (H2 → H4), the logic is broken. If multiple H1 headings exist (typical in themes with "Page Title" + "Hero Headline"), the hierarchy is corrupted.

Heading Hygiene scans the heading structure of each page and corrects the order if necessary — without changing the visible text.

This is how the plugin implements it.

Technical measures

  • Heading tree analysis: all H1–H6 elements captured in DOM order.
  • Jump detection: reports H2→H4 gaps in the module log.
  • Auto-Demotion: When there are multiple H1 headings, the second and following ones are automatically demoted to H2 (text remains, style remains).
  • Aria Level Override As a non-destructive alternative: HTML remains H1, semantic level corrected via `aria-level`.
  • Admin ReportList of all pages with heading problems, sorted by severity.
In the plugin backend

You can find these settings in the module tab.

  • Repair strategy: Auto-Demotion / Aria-Level / Reporting only
  • H1 limit: 1 (strict) / 2 (tolerant)
  • Exception pages (URL pattern)
  • CSS style preservation in the demo: yes / no
  • Admin report frequency: daily / weekly / on-demand

Path in Admin: WP-Admin → Accessibility → Modules → Heading Hygiene

When do you need the module?

Use case

Recommended for any page with more than 5 subpages. Particularly critical for blogs, club websites with member areas, and page builders that allow free placement of H2/H3 headings.

Related modules

That fits together thematically.

  • Language attribute

    WCAG 3.1.1

    Sets correct `lang` attributes at the HTML root and element level for foreign language passages.

  • ARIA Manager

    WCAG 4.1.2

    Automatically assigns correct ARIA roles, states, and properties to interactive elements.

  • WCAG 2.4.4

    It finds generic link texts ("more", "here", "click") and provides concrete suggestions for retexting them.

Activate the module for your site?

In the initial 15-minute consultation, we will clarify whether the module is relevant for your theme and content type — and what the setup looks like.

15-minute initial consultation
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