HTML Tutorial · HTML Basics · Lesson 4 of 34

HTML Headings and Paragraphs

Structure text with h1–h6, paragraphs, line breaks and horizontal rules.

Headings

HTML has six heading levels, <h1> (most important) to <h6>:

Example 1Try it yourself
<h1>Heading level 1</h1>
<h2>Heading level 2</h2>
<h3>Heading level 3</h3>
<h4>Heading level 4</h4>
<h5>Heading level 5</h5>
<h6>Heading level 6</h6>

Headings create the page's outline. Search engines and screen-reader users rely on it, so:

  • Use one <h1> per page — the main topic.
  • Don't skip levels (<h2> then <h4>).
  • Never pick a heading just for its size — style text with CSS instead.

Paragraphs and breaks

<p> defines a paragraph. <br> forces a line break inside a block (e.g. an address); <hr> marks a thematic break:

Example 2Try it yourself
<p>This is a paragraph. Paragraphs are separated by space above and below.</p>
<p>
  ReadyCamel Ltd<br>
  1 Example Street<br>
  London
</p>
<hr>
<p>A new topic starts after the horizontal rule.</p>

Test yourself

How many <h1> elements should a page usually have?

  1. None
  2. One
  3. One per section
  4. As many as you like
Show answer

Answer: One