Have you ever stopped reading an article because you couldn’t get to the required section quickly? This is most likely due to the lack of a clear index or table of contents that summarizes the sections of content in this article for you.
Therefore, having a table of contents on the site is necessary to arrange the way the content of this site is presented, especially the long articles on it, to make them easier to read and access.
On websites built using WordPress, this will certainly be easy to achieve. So if you are looking for a way to do this, this article will definitely be useful to you, as we will talk about the most prominent ways to include a table of contents on the site.
First: What is the table of contents?
The table of contents is a list of main and sub-headings that serve as headings linked by quick navigation links known as jump links. These titles take the visitor directly to specific sections on the page or post just by clicking on one of these titles without the hassle of scrolling and searching for what is required within the content, especially if this content is long.
The importance of having a table of contents on the site
To illustrate the importance of the table of contents, it can be likened to a book with a large content, consisting of several chapters and sections. Would it be neat if this book had no main and sub-headings arranged in an index at the beginning of the book in order to help the reader know the content of the book and the sections it contains with ease?
The same applies to digital content published on websites. On sites that usually publish long-form content, most of which is in the form of articles, having a table of contents on the site will be necessary and sometimes indispensable.
The importance of the table of contents is that it greatly improves the users’ experience by highlighting the important sections and main headings in the article, as the reader can go directly through the link to the section in question that is most relevant to what he is searching for.
He may read the entire article; But in the order he wants instead of adhering to the author or publisher’s order.
On the other hand, the table of contents helps search engine algorithms by naming and heading important sections, thus enabling these engines to understand the topic and content of the article and display formatted and brief excerpts in the search results. This contributes to bringing visitors to the site and gives them a better impression of it.
Methods and steps for creating a table of contents
There is more than one way to create a table of contents on a WordPress site, and in our article we will discuss two of the most prominent methods that meet this purpose, which are either manually through the WordPress editor or automatically through plugins, as follows:
1) Create a table of contents through the HTML editor
This is the traditional way to add a table of contents, by adding a component (menu) from the list of components on the page or article where the table of contents is requested. We will later write the items that we want to place in the table of contents inside this list.
After this list, add new components to all main and sub-headings in the article
Now determine the rank of each title, then go to the title component settings, then from the advanced settings section, put the jump link in the ( HTML jump link ) box. You must be aware that it is not allowed to put spaces between words in this link, and it is recommended to choose a short sentence that indicates the title. Directly, its words are separated by a dash ( – ) or an underscore ( _ ).
Then go back to the list you created in the first step and add items or table titles within this list. It is preferable to put a caption such as (index or table of contents) at the beginning of this list.
In this step, select each address that you added to the list separately and include it with a link in the name of the jump link that you placed in the previous step, which was the importance of the logo, taking into account the need to place the hashtag symbol (#) before the name of the link so that it is recognized as an internal link on the site. It is linked to the correct section and title to be #Importance_of_Logo , and the option to display the title in a new tab can also be activated.
Thus, you have a table of contents that works efficiently on the site, and the visitor becomes fully aware of the summary of the article’s content. If he wants to move to any of the titles and parts of the content, he will be able to do so with one click.
For example, in our article, if the visitor wants to move to a section (the best sites for making free logos online), he can click with his mouse on the corresponding title in the table of contents.
Clicking on this title will take the visitor directly to the location of this part in the article, saving him time and effort.
Read also: Create a search box on your WordPress site
2) Create a table of contents through plugins
There are many plugins that enable you to add a table of contents to your WordPress site with high efficiency, some of which are free, such as:
- LuckyWP Table of Contents : This plugin has advanced display and customization settings, in addition to specifying the minimum number of titles to be attached to the table.
- Rich Table of Contents : This add-on has advanced settings such as: controlling whether the table appears automatically or appears manually on pages, controlling the number of titles that appear, and other settings.
- Easy Table of Contents : This add-on is simple to use and has many features, which makes it one of the leading add-ons for adding a table of contents within websites. Therefore, we will rely on it in our practical explanation.
- CM Table of Contents , which can be used in a free version, and can also be upgraded to a paid version for $29. One of its advantages is that it enables adding a table of contents automatically and anywhere on the page.
We will complete this explanation using the Easy table of contents add-on, which I will explain in detail in the following paragraphs.
1) The first step is to install the Easy Table of Contents plugin by going to Plugins in the WordPress control panel, then choosing ( Add New ) and searching for the name of the plugin.
Then after finding the add-on, click on the ( Install Now ) button.
After the installation is complete, activate the add-on on the site to take advantage of its features, by clicking on the ( Activate ) button as shown in the following image.
Then go to the ( Settings ) section in the control panel and choose ( Table of Contents ) to manage the add-on, and determine where the table of contents will be displayed and how it will appear to the visitor.
You will now see a window containing all of the add-on settings. The settings are divided into three sections, as shown in the following images:
The first section ( General ) shown in the image above contains the general settings for the add-on, through which you can specify where the table of contents is displayed on the page, the types of content that you want to support with a table of contents, and set the feature of automatic insertion of the table into your site’s content through ( Auto Insert ), in addition to specifying Top caption of the table of contents through ( Header label ).
Through the ( Show when ) option, you can specify the number of titles that must be reached in order for the table of contents to be included automatically.
The second section of settings is Appearance, through which you can control the way the table is displayed and customize its appearance, such as: display settings, colors, whether it is fixed or appears floating on the page, the table background color, borders, font size and color.
The next section is the Advanced Settings section, and from here you can customize the advanced add-on settings, such as activating the heading sections that you want to show in the table, what you want to exclude from display, and other settings.
After setting all the settings, we move to the next step, which is to start adding the table of contents itself by going to the content ( page or post ) where you want to place the table, then pressing the + button , then adding ( title ) and writing the title you want. You will notice that additional settings for the table of contents appear. At the bottom of the content to enable you to control it.
Then, after adding the titles, determine the type and rank of each title. Pay close attention to the distribution of these titles, because they add a professional character to the table and improve the arrangement and coordination of the content.
If we wanted to simplify the topic, we could liken the main title to the title of a book, the first subtitle to the sections and chapters of this book, the third subtitle to the contents of each chapter, the fourth to the content of each of the titles under the chapters, and so on.
It is worth noting that in this method we do not need to add titles twice as is the case in the previous method. Rather, it is sufficient to add them only once and adjust their rank, and they will be attached to the table of contents automatically.
Immediately after publishing the article, the table of contents will appear in the place you chose and in the same appearance that was set as shown in the image above. Thus, we have added a table of contents through the extension ( Easy Table of Contents )
What happens after creating a table of contents?
There are some things and tips that will add professionalism to your schedule when implemented, and improve its appearance and the way its content is presented. Here we review some of them:
1) Pay attention to the titles
The ranks of the headings cannot be ignored, as they are the basis of the arrangement in the table, and they play a major role in coordinating the content, improving the reading experience for visitors and facilitating their access to the required section.
2) Customize the view
Pay attention to the way the table is displayed, as it is no less important than the content of the table itself. It adds an aesthetic character to the site and shows the compatibility of its display. Pay attention to making the color assigned to the table compatible with the colors used on the site.
3) Pay attention to the location of the table
One of the most important things to consider is where the table is displayed, as the place where the table is displayed determines how quickly the visitor can access the information. It is recommended to always place it after the main title of the article, and avoid placing it in the middle or at the end of the content.
Conclusion
We cannot ignore the importance of the table of contents on the site and the extent of its impact on visitors, facilitating them to reach what they want quickly and improving their reading experience, in addition to many other benefits.
So choose what suits you from among the previous methods that we mentioned in our article and that are compatible with the nature of the content on your site, and take into account the notes and warnings that we provided to obtain a distinctive and professional table of contents with ease.
