diff --git a/app/assets/css/journal-base.css b/app/assets/css/journal-base.css
index 8561a2b..7675430 100644
--- a/app/assets/css/journal-base.css
+++ b/app/assets/css/journal-base.css
@@ -203,7 +203,10 @@
   color: var(--journal-color-muted);
 }
 
+/* The card is one link (UI-SPEC L5): the title anchor stretches over the
+   whole card, and the card shows the keyboard focus. */
 .journal-post-card {
+  position: relative;
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;
   gap: var(--journal-space-2);
@@ -213,6 +216,11 @@
   background: var(--journal-color-bg);
 }
 
+.journal-post-card:has(.journal-post-card__title a:focus-visible) {
+  outline: 2px solid var(--journal-color-accent);
+  outline-offset: 2px;
+}
+
 .journal-post-card .journal-featured-image {
   margin: calc(-1 * var(--journal-space-4)) calc(-1 * var(--journal-space-4)) var(--journal-space-2);
 }
@@ -230,6 +238,13 @@
   text-decoration: none;
 }
 
+.journal-post-card__title a::after {
+  content: "";
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  border-radius: inherit;
+}
+
 .journal-post-card__date {
   color: var(--journal-color-muted);
   font-size: 0.85em;
@@ -239,10 +254,6 @@
   margin: 0;
 }
 
-.journal-post-card__more {
-  margin-top: auto;
-}
-
 .journal-related {
   margin-top: var(--journal-space-5);
 }
diff --git a/app/components/Journal/PostCard.vue b/app/components/Journal/PostCard.vue
index 1c4e396..ae7ca1c 100644
--- a/app/components/Journal/PostCard.vue
+++ b/app/components/Journal/PostCard.vue
@@ -1,26 +1,31 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
-// One post in a listing: image, title link, date and excerpt.
+// One post in a listing: image, title link, date and excerpt (UI-SPEC L5).
+// The title link is the card's only anchor (D-80): the image is not a link
+// and there is no separate "read more" link; the whole card is clickable
+// through a CSS stretched link on the title (journal-base.css), with the
+// focus ring on the card. Post links carry no rel. headingLevel is 2 in a
+// listing and 3 under the related posts' own h2 (D-52).
 import type { JournalPost } from '../../utils/types.ts'
 import { formatJournalDate } from '../../utils/view.ts'
 
-const props = defineProps<{ post: JournalPost }>()
+const props = withDefaults(defineProps<{ post: JournalPost; headingLevel?: 2 | 3 }>(), { headingLevel: 2 })
 const { localeProperties } = useI18n()
 const links = useJournalLinks()
 const href = computed(() => links.postLink(props.post.slug))
 const date = computed(() => formatJournalDate(props.post.published_at, localeProperties.value.language ?? 'en'))
+const heading = computed(() => (props.headingLevel === 3 ? 'h3' : 'h2'))
 </script>
 
 <template>
   <article class="journal-post-card">
-    <NuxtLink v-if="href && post.featured_image_url" :to="href" class="journal-post-card__image" tabindex="-1" aria-hidden="true">
+    <div v-if="post.featured_image_url" class="journal-post-card__image">
       <JournalFeaturedImage :src="post.featured_image_url" :alt="post.title" />
-    </NuxtLink>
-    <h2 class="journal-post-card__title">
+    </div>
+    <component :is="heading" class="journal-post-card__title">
       <NuxtLink v-if="href" :to="href">{{ post.title }}</NuxtLink>
       <template v-else>{{ post.title }}</template>
-    </h2>
+    </component>
     <time v-if="date" class="journal-post-card__date" :datetime="post.published_at ?? undefined">{{ date }}</time>
     <p v-if="post.excerpt" class="journal-post-card__excerpt">{{ post.excerpt }}</p>
-    <NuxtLink v-if="href" :to="href" class="journal-post-card__more">{{ $t('journal.readMore') }}</NuxtLink>
   </article>
 </template>
diff --git a/app/components/Journal/PostList.vue b/app/components/Journal/PostList.vue
index 59eeba3..4f85a35 100644
--- a/app/components/Journal/PostList.vue
+++ b/app/components/Journal/PostList.vue
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
 // A grid of post cards, or the empty-state text when there are none.
+// headingLevel goes to every card (3 under the related posts' h2).
 import type { JournalPost } from '../../utils/types.ts'
 
-defineProps<{ posts: JournalPost[]; empty?: string }>()
+defineProps<{ posts: JournalPost[]; empty?: string; headingLevel?: 2 | 3 }>()
 </script>
 
 <template>
   <div class="journal-post-list">
-    <JournalPostCard v-for="post in posts" :key="post.id" :post="post" />
+    <JournalPostCard v-for="post in posts" :key="post.id" :post="post" :heading-level="headingLevel ?? 2" />
     <p v-if="posts.length === 0" class="journal-post-list__empty">{{ empty ?? $t('journal.index.empty') }}</p>
   </div>
 </template>
diff --git a/app/components/Journal/RelatedPosts.vue b/app/components/Journal/RelatedPosts.vue
index 1b4c59e..23b7504 100644
--- a/app/components/Journal/RelatedPosts.vue
+++ b/app/components/Journal/RelatedPosts.vue
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
 // Related posts under a post. The page passes the API's related_posts, or
-// the latest posts when the post has no category.
+// the latest posts when the post has no category. The section heading is an
+// h2 and the cards' titles h3 (D-52).
 import type { JournalPost } from '../../utils/types.ts'
 
 defineProps<{ posts: JournalPost[] }>()
@@ -9,6 +10,6 @@ defineProps<{ posts: JournalPost[] }>()
 <template>
   <section v-if="posts.length" class="journal-related">
     <h2 class="journal-related__title">{{ $t('journal.post.related') }}</h2>
-    <JournalPostList :posts="posts" />
+    <JournalPostList :posts="posts" :heading-level="3" />
   </section>
 </template>
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index de71624..d2e5a45 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     "dev": "nuxi dev .playground",
     "build:playground": "nuxt build .playground",
     "test": "node --test --test-reporter=tap tests/*.test.ts",
-    "smoke:ssr": "node testing/smoke-ssr.mjs --output .playground/.output --fixtures testing/fixtures/acme --expect testing/expect-acme.txt && node testing/smoke-ssr.mjs --output .playground/.output --fixtures testing/fixtures/acme --expect testing/expect-acme-hint-off.txt --env NUXT_PUBLIC_SEO_LINKS_NEW_TAB_HINT=false",
+    "smoke:ssr": "node testing/smoke-ssr.mjs --output .playground/.output --fixtures testing/fixtures/acme --expect testing/expect-acme.txt && node testing/smoke-ssr.mjs --output .playground/.output --fixtures testing/fixtures/acme --expect testing/expect-acme-title-h1.txt --env NUXT_PUBLIC_JOURNAL_POST_TITLE_TAG=h1 && node testing/smoke-ssr.mjs --output .playground/.output --fixtures testing/fixtures/acme --expect testing/expect-acme-title-p.txt --env NUXT_PUBLIC_JOURNAL_POST_TITLE_TAG=p && node testing/smoke-ssr.mjs --output .playground/.output --fixtures testing/fixtures/acme --expect testing/expect-acme-hint-off.txt --env NUXT_PUBLIC_SEO_LINKS_NEW_TAB_HINT=false",
     "dev:prepare": "nuxt prepare .playground",
     "check:git-install": "bash scripts/check-git-install.sh"
   },
diff --git a/testing/expect-acme-title-h1.txt b/testing/expect-acme-title-h1.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2f7729
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testing/expect-acme-title-h1.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# SSR expectations with journal.postTitleTag forced to h1
+# (NUXT_PUBLIC_JOURNAL_POST_TITLE_TAG=h1, UI-SPEC L6 override). The title is
+# an h1 in both Journal H1 modes; with the setting off the body keeps its h1,
+# so the page has two: the documented consequence of the override, which
+# the crawler reports.
+200 /blog/heading-on count=<h1:1 contains=<h1 class="journal-post__title"
+200 /blog/heading-off count=<h1:2 contains=<h1 class="journal-post__title" contains=<h1>Body heading one</h1>
diff --git a/testing/expect-acme-title-p.txt b/testing/expect-acme-title-p.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..66e3ce9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testing/expect-acme-title-p.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# SSR expectations with journal.postTitleTag forced to p
+# (NUXT_PUBLIC_JOURNAL_POST_TITLE_TAG=p, UI-SPEC L6 override). With the
+# Journal H1 setting on, the body's h1 is demoted, so the page has no h1:
+# the documented consequence of the override, which the crawler reports as
+# h1_missing.
+200 /blog/heading-on count=<h1:0 contains=<p class="journal-post__title"
+200 /blog/heading-off count=<h1:1 contains=<p class="journal-post__title" contains=<h1>Body heading one</h1>
diff --git a/testing/expect-acme.txt b/testing/expect-acme.txt
index d2e223f..a7b51fb 100644
--- a/testing/expect-acme.txt
+++ b/testing/expect-acme.txt
@@ -87,3 +87,19 @@
 # heading-off: new tab off keeps the editor rel and the domain-list nofollow,
 # without target, noopener or the hint.
 200 /blog/heading-off contains=<a href="https://partner.test/x" rel="ugc nofollow">the partner</a> contains=<a href="https://other.test/y">another site</a> notcontains=target="_blank" notcontains=noopener notcontains=(opens in a new tab)
+
+# Heading convention (UI-SPEC L6) and one link per post card (L5) on every
+# fixture page: exactly one <h1, no skipped level, each card one <a, post
+# cards h2 in listings and h3 under the related posts' h2, no read-more link.
+200 /blog headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1 notcontains=journal-post-card__more
+200 /blog?page=2 headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1 contains=· Page 2
+200 /pl/blog?page=2 headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1 contains=· Strona 2
+200 /blog/category/news headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1
+200 /blog/category/quiet headings=strict count=<h1:1
+200 /blog/tag/release headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1
+200 /blog/author/jane-doe headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1
+200 /search?q=acme headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1
+200 /blog/hello-acme headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1 contains=<h2 class="journal-related__title" contains=<h3 class="journal-post-card__title" notcontains=<h2 class="journal-post-card__title" notcontains=journal-post-card__more
+200 /blog/heading-on headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1
+200 /blog/heading-off headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1
+200 /blog/uncategorised-note headings=strict cardlinks=1 count=<h1:1
diff --git a/testing/smoke-ssr.mjs b/testing/smoke-ssr.mjs
index 4a637fc..40abac4 100755
--- a/testing/smoke-ssr.mjs
+++ b/testing/smoke-ssr.mjs
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
 //
 // Expectation grammar, one check per line ('#' starts a comment line):
 //   STATUS PATH [contains=TEXT] [notcontains=TEXT] [count=TEXT:N] [type=PREFIX]
-//               [header=NAME: VALUE] [noheader=NAME]
+//               [header=NAME: VALUE] [noheader=NAME] [headings=strict]
+//               [cardlinks=N]
 //   resolves PATH N   the fixture SEO API has seen exactly N resolve calls for
 //                     PATH so far (PATH * counts every resolve call)
 // A value runs until the next ` contains=`, ` notcontains=`, ` count=`,
@@ -15,7 +16,12 @@
 // applies. count= wants exactly N occurrences of TEXT in the body (N is the
 // number after the last colon); header= wants the response header NAME to
 // equal VALUE (both trimmed); noheader= wants it absent. The same grammar
-// as vue-seo-layer's testing/smoke-ssr.mjs. Requests are plain GETs that do
+// as vue-seo-layer's testing/smoke-ssr.mjs, plus two checks of the
+// heading and card rules (UI-SPEC L5, L6), both on the markup outside
+// <script> elements: headings=strict wants exactly one <h1 and no skipped
+// level in document order (h2 then h4 fails; going back up is fine);
+// cardlinks=N wants at least one .journal-post-card and exactly N <a in
+// each. Requests are plain GETs that do
 // not follow redirects and carry `X-Forwarded-For: 203.0.113.7`. After the
 // lines, at least one fixture API request must have carried that address
 // (the SSR fetches forward the visitor's x-forwarded-for), and every
@@ -57,7 +63,33 @@ function parseArgs(argv) {
   return /** @type {{ output: string, fixtures: string, expect: string, env: Record<string, string> }} */ (out)
 }
 
-const OPTION_KEYS = ['contains', 'notcontains', 'count', 'type', 'header', 'noheader']
+const OPTION_KEYS = ['contains', 'notcontains', 'count', 'type', 'header', 'noheader', 'headings', 'cardlinks']
+
+/** The page markup without <script> elements (the payload, JSON-LD). @param {string} body */
+function markup(body) {
+  return body.replace(/<script\b[\s\S]*?<\/script>/gi, '')
+}
+
+/** The heading rule's failures (UI-SPEC L6). @param {string} body @returns {string[]} */
+export function headingFailures(body) {
+  const levels = [...markup(body).matchAll(/<h([1-6])(?=[\s>])/gi)].map((m) => Number(m[1]))
+  /** @type {string[]} */
+  const out = []
+  const h1 = levels.filter((l) => l === 1).length
+  if (h1 !== 1) out.push(`${h1} <h1 elements, want 1`)
+  let previous = 0
+  for (const level of levels) {
+    if (level > previous + 1) out.push(`heading h${level} after ${previous === 0 ? 'no heading' : `h${previous}`} skips a level (order ${levels.join(',')})`)
+    previous = level
+  }
+  return out
+}
+
+/** The anchors per post card. @param {string} body @returns {number[]} */
+export function cardLinkCounts(body) {
+  const cards = markup(body).split(/<article class="journal-post-card"/).slice(1)
+  return cards.map((card) => (card.slice(0, card.indexOf('</article>')).match(/<a[\s>]/g) ?? []).length)
+}
 
 /**
  * @typedef {{ status: number, path: string, options: Array<{ key: string, value: string }> }} ExpectCheck
@@ -128,6 +160,15 @@ export function checkResponse(check, res) {
     } else if (key === 'noheader') {
       const got = res.headers.get(value)
       if (got !== null) out.push(`header ${value} is ${JSON.stringify(got)}, want none`)
+    } else if (key === 'headings') {
+      if (value !== 'strict') out.push(`headings=${value}: want headings=strict`)
+      else out.push(...headingFailures(res.body))
+    } else if (key === 'cardlinks') {
+      const want = Number(value)
+      const counts = cardLinkCounts(res.body)
+      if (!Number.isInteger(want)) out.push(`cardlinks=${value}: want a number`)
+      else if (counts.length === 0) out.push('no .journal-post-card on the page')
+      else if (counts.some((n) => n !== want)) out.push(`post cards hold ${counts.join(',')} links, want ${want} each`)
     }
   }
   return out