Table of Contents
Although you can try and keep the blogs as short as possible, some topics demand hordes of information. Then the reader looking for a particular info might feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of text? In that case, a well-crafted table of content (TOC) can be a real saving grace.
A TOC acts like a roadmap, guiding your readers to specific sections of your pages and posts and enhancing their overall experience. Fortunately, creating a TOC in WordPress is a breeze.
In this blog, I’ll show how the WordPress experts go about adding the TOC with and without plugins.
Why Add a Table of Content in WordPress?
Often, rather than exploring a complete topic, readers are scanning for specific information. That’s where a table of content comes in. It gives the readers a clear overview of your content structure, so they can jump directly to the sections that pique their interest. Here’s how it can transform your WordPress content.
Enhanced User Experience
A TOC helps readers quickly scan the content structure and jump directly to the sections that pique their interest. This saves them time and frustration, leading to a more satisfying experience.
Improved Accessibility
Along with WordPress accessibility practices, you can add TOCs for those who prefer a quick content overview. They can readily navigate lengthy posts or identify key information without having to scroll through the entire piece.
Boosted SEO
Search engines like Google value well-structured content. A clear TOC signals organization and helps search engine crawlers understand the content’s hierarchy. That can help potentially improve your search ranking and drive more organic traffic to your website. You can implement the WordPress SEO strategies quite well.
A table of contents would be an excellent addition to your website if you want to improve the user experience. That’s why the SEO experts make sure to add it to every page or post possible.
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How to Create a Table of Contents in WordPress?
There are two ways to create a table of contents in WordPress. You can install a WordPress plugin or go about the manual approach.
Using a WordPress Plugin
As with other functionalities, you can add a TOC on WordPress by installing a plugin. It’s good for someone who isn’t comfortable with coding and other technicalities.
Step 1: Open the WordPress admin dashboard and explore the TOC plugin options. Popular options include Easy Table of Contents and Table of Contents Plus among others. Make sure you choose the best WordPress plugin after considering all the necessary factors.
Step 2: After the plugin installation, open its configurations in the WordPress settings. Here, you can typically specify which post types (posts, pages, etc.) should display a TOC.
It will also let you choose the heading levels to include (H2, H3, etc.) and customize the TOC’s appearance to match your website’s design.
With the settings configured, most TOC plugins will automatically generate a table of contents based on your headings whenever you create a new post or page.
Using the Manual Method
While plugins offer ease, you can get more control over the TOC’s look and feel with the manual approach. But you will need some familiarity with HTML. Here’s how the process goes.
Step 1: First, structure the content with the headings. Use heading tags (H2, H3, etc.) to define the different sections of your content.
Step 2: Insert an anchor tag (e.g., <a id=”section-1″>) before each heading you want to include in the TOC. Give each anchor a unique ID for easy linking.
Step 3: In a separate section of your post or page, build an unordered list (<ul>) containing the text you want to display for each section.
Step 4: Wrap each list item in a link tag (<a>) and set the href attribute to the corresponding anchor ID you created in step 2 (e.g., <a href=”#section-1″>Section 1 Text</a>).
While the manual method offers more customization, plugins provide a user-friendly and time-saving alternative.
If you’re not comfortable with manual coding, consult with our WordPress development company. Our experts can add custom tables of contents in your blogs quite effectively.
FAQs on Creating a Table of Content in WordPress
- Potential Performance Impact: Some complex plugins might add a slight load on your website's performance. Choose a lightweight and well-maintained plugin to minimize this impact.
- Reliance on Third-Party Code: If the plugin is not updated or maintained properly, it could introduce security vulnerabilities or compatibility issues in the future.
Conclusion
Incorporating a table of contents (TOC) into your WordPress content is a strategic move that enhances user experience, improves accessibility, and can even benefit your SEO.
For a quick and convenient solution, plugins are excellent choices, offering customization options and automatic generation. If you prefer more control over the TOC’s appearance and have some coding knowledge, the manual approach might be suitable.
If you need help with this functionality for your website, consult our WordPress professionals today!
