What Are the Differences in H1, H2 & H3 Tags?

Heading Tags Create Visual Depth in Web Content

• Titles always hold the H1 tag.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  In content written for the web, H1 is always used as the first heading and most important. Headings are always larger than the standard paragraph font and size and are used to draw attention to the title of an article or content.
  
  

Use Heading Tags H2 and Under As Subheadings or to Bold

• Subheadings take on lesser heading tags like H2 and H3Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  H2 headings and anything after are used as subheadings. They are styled smaller than H1 headings and are used throughout the content to break up the text. The main differences are in the sizes of the heading tags. For example, if the paragraph text is set to Arial 12 font, the H1 tag will be something like Arial 18, H2 will be Arial 16, H3 will be Arial 14 and so on. Heading tags can be customized to the designer's wants and needs, and can even be different fonts altogether.
  
  

Heading Tags for Browser Communication over Bold Text

• Using heading tags makes communication with the computer more efficient.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  In web browsers, heading tags get more weight than bold text. Designers, coders, and bloggers use heading tags as a tool to visually bold the inline text and communicate a message to the web browser. Since bold does not tell a web browser anything important (it only bolds text for the reader), bold is ineffective in communicating with search engines for things such as rankings. If a phrase is within heading tags however, it tells the browser that this string of content is important and stands out from the rest of the paragraph. This is an excellent strategy for page rank.
  
  

Search Engine Optimization

• Following best practices makes it easier for coders and developers to understand a designer's method.Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  The H1 tag should contain broad keywords relative to your subject and the H2 tag should contain the next narrower set of key words. This helps in indexing and optimizing for search engines.