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Resolving Duplicate H1 and Heading Issues in the Sydney Theme

10 threads Sep 7, 2025 Theme → Sydney

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Many users of the Sydney WordPress theme encounter issues with HTML heading tags, particularly duplicate H1 tags, which can negatively impact SEO and site design. This guide explains the common causes and provides solutions to help you regain control over your site's heading structure.

Why Duplicate H1 Headings Occur

The core of the issue often lies in the theme's default structure. On the homepage, the site title is typically the only H1. However, on posts and pages, the theme may output both the site title and the post/page title as H1 tags. Search engines generally recommend a single H1 per page to clearly define the primary content, making this a common SEO concern.

Common Solutions for Heading Issues

1. Modify Theme Files (Advanced)

For users comfortable with code, the most direct solution is to edit the theme's template files. For example, to change a slider title from H2 to H1, you would locate the relevant line in a file like sydney/inc/slider.php.

Important Note: Any changes made directly to theme files will be overwritten when the theme is updated. This method requires re-applying the changes after each update.

2. Use Custom CSS for Styling

If your goal is purely visual (e.g., changing the font size of a massive H1 title or removing uppercase styling on H3s), Custom CSS is the safest and most upgrade-proof method. You can add CSS code through the WordPress Customizer under Additional CSS.

Example: To target a large post title, you could use a selector like:
.title-post.entry-title { font-size: 2rem; }

Using specific class selectors helps ensure your styles are applied correctly and don't conflict with other theme elements.

3. Investigate with Browser Tools

If you are unsure where an extra H1 is coming from, use your browser's inspector tool. You can also temporarily add a bold CSS rule to visually identify all H1 elements on the page:

h1 { border: 10px solid red; }

This can help you pinpoint the source of the duplicate heading, which could be from the theme, a page builder widget, or another plugin.

Conclusion

Managing headings in the Sydney theme often requires a combination of investigation and targeted fixes. For structural changes to HTML tags, editing theme files is an option but comes with maintenance overhead. For visual styling changes, Custom CSS is the recommended approach. Always remember to clear your cache after making changes and test your site on different browsers to ensure the fixes work correctly.

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