I get this message every so often. Not routinely though, sporadically. The first few times I would follow its directions but here it is again and I would like to put an 'end' to it.

If you edit a page you will notice at the top by default the Heading such as:

Welcome to {$SITE_NAME*}

This is by default set to be formated with Heading 1. If you have changed the format of the top heading you will get this error.

Thanks for your reply Rick and yes, it is true that I have recently removed the H1 tag, on the site opening page, in favor of a defined font size. Sounds like that was 'on the mark' with your diagnosis.

…and I think you are telling me I HAVE to use the H1 default or else I will get these errors. It is arbitary, by design and I should tread lightly here?
…or maybe it is just important to maintain the H1 tag on the page title - what ever the H1 CSS formatting it represents.

Well, I changed the title formatting back to the H1 tag (and I am holding my tongue in the prescribed manner for good luck) The title is not as impressive now. but it's all give and take I'm finding out.

What happens if I go into CSS and change the ".main_page_title {…}" default for H1 coding to something else - what else would that affect?

The alert box mentioned specifically SEO, breadcrumbs and web accessibility. How would this affect search engine optimization and the rest?

Now your getting a little beyond my knowledge. It does say in that error that you can still use the H1 heading to make everything work but then hide it through CSS changes. Again beyond my knowledge, I am sure someone that knows a lot more than me will guide you in the right direction. Good luck

rick said

 It does say in that error that you can still use the H1 heading to make everything work but then hide it through CSS changes.

Its seems that from what I've been reading, that rick's observation to hide it through CSS, might be the best way to do it. When a search engine values <h1> text as a signal of relevance, it's the <h1> element itself they look for.

I read also that because of abuse, some search engines decided they could not value <h1>, <h2> tags any more than regular text - the abuse just clouded the picture. But at various times and at some engines they still may be used in various ways where they are given more clout than regular text.

I think that if you go into CSS and change the ".main_page_title font-size: from 1.8em; to let's say 1.2em; or less, that you would be pretty safe, since it is still an <h1> element on top of the page and the proof would be that you get no SEO error from the "save test". Also, the following remark was written with the code: "The screen title is by default an h1, but we define the styles separately so we can style this special title independently (there are lots of cool things we could do to it)"

I'm not an expert either, but I think that it is logical!

I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it and if I did break it put it back the way it was!

Anyway thanks Islander-aua, I was not aware of the SEO value of the H1 tag.

I got the H1 error to disappear off my site (because I don't have any "text" on my front page except blocks) but cannot for the life of me remember how. Even going through the code, I cannot remember. If I figure it out, I'll let you know.