Heading element is empty (accessibility): what it is, why it matters, and how to fix it

One or more heading elements on this page are empty or contain only non-text content without accessible text alternatives. Screen readers announce these as headings but cannot communicate their content.

Screen reader users navigate pages by jumping between headings. Empty headings disrupt this navigation, as the screen reader announces a heading but provides no context about the section it introduces. This wastes the user's time and creates confusion about the page structure.

Add text content to the heading or remove it if it serves no structural purpose. If the heading contains an image or icon, add appropriate alt text or aria-label.

This is a medium-severity issue: individually modest, but it compounds — dozens of medium issues across hundreds of pages add up to a real quality deficit in how search engines assess the site. It belongs to the accessibility family of checks.

Run a free Dr Urls audit: it crawls your site, detects heading element is empty (accessibility) on every affected page, shows example URLs, and generates a ready-to-use fix task. Re-scan after fixing to verify the issue is gone.