How to use header tags in your wedding website copy

I'm here today to talk about a simple but oh-so-important part of your website: your header tags.

Hopefully you know the importance of getting keywords into your website copy to help you get found on Google, but did you know how important it is that your copy is also properly structured with appropriate header tags?

As a copywriter who specialises in working with wedding businesses, I often see web pages that aren't properly structured with header tags. And it's not just DIY websites: I'm surprised by how often professional web designers don't do this either.

The good news is that structuring the copy on your wedding website with header tags is a relatively easy task. And the even better news is that it has not one but two massive boosts for you, both in terms of SEO and also in terms of accessibility.

So let's start with the basics of what header tags are, and then move on to how you can make sure you've used them to structure your wedding business website's pages. (I promise, it'll be worth the read!)

What are header tags?

Also known as headers or H tags, header tags are what you use to structure the content on each of your website's pages. They help search engines index the page, and are also helpful for human readers to be able to scan the page and see what information is on there.

Header tags start at H1, the most important, then go down in order – H2, H3, H4, etc.

Why does my wedding business website need header tags?

There are two reasons you need header tags: for SEO and for accessibility/user experience.

Let's start with Google and other search engines. They use the header tags to scan each page and index what it's about. Having a page properly set up with header tags (that also contain keywords) immediately tells a search engine what the page is about.

At the same time, header tags break up your copy for human readers, allowing them to scan and easily see what's included on a page. Screen readers (which read aloud the text on a web page or translate it into braille) also use header tags to navigate a page. They need this structure to be able to effectively work through the page. So proper header tags help you with accessibility and user experience on two fronts.

How do I structure my website copy with header tags?

Your H1 is the most important header tag, as it's telling Google what the page is about – essentially, it's the page title. Each page should only have one H1 and you need to make sure it contains some relevant keywords that tell Google about the page, as well as helping human visitors know what to expect.

The rest of your page's content should then be structured using H2s, H3s, H4s, etc. H2s are used for subheadings, H3s are used for sub sections or lists under H2s, H4s are sub sections or lists under H3s... and so on. (Mostly you'll only ever use H1-H4, unless you've got a page with loads of lists.)

Let's take my other website as an example for how to use header tags. On Written by Helen, the home page looks like this:

H1: Impactful SEO copywriting for creative and purpose-led businesses

H2: Written by Helen's copy and content services

H3: Done-for-you website copywriting

H3: Website copyediting

H3: Blog post writing

H3: Website audit

The H1 tells both Google and human readers what the page is about by including a clear statement of fact with relevant keywords. The H2 and H3s then break the content up, so people can scan it easily – as can the search engines.

How to test if your wedding website has headers

Not sure if your website pages have header tags? Use something like Seobility to scan your site and you'll find out how it's structured, then you can make amends as required.

If you DIY your website you'll see options for your header tags in the text editing box – there'll be an option to have text set as a paragraph, H1, H2, H3, etc. Simply highlight the text then change as appropriate.

Here's a massive tip: you don't need to use the default font assigned to each header tag – it can easily be changed. I think this is where so many problems arise: if people don't realise the purpose of header tags but think instead that they're labels for the fonts on offer, it's really easy to end up with six H1s on a page!

Want some help with headers?

I genuinely enjoy helping websites work harder, which includes sorting out on-page SEO such as header tags. If the thought of adding 'check and amend your header tags' to your already epic to-do list makes you feel panicky, I'd love to help – get in touch for a non-obligation chat about my website audit and editing services.