How to Create a Table of Contents in WordPress?
Last Updated on 15th September 2023 by Ajmer Singh
Do you want to know “How to create a Table of Contents in WordPress”?
First of all, What is a Table of contents?
Websites can be a bit chaotic and hard to navigate.
A table of content, which is often called TOC for short, makes navigating your website simple and easy.
Sometimes, it’s wise to organize your blog post with a table of content.
Whether that’s for your readers or just so you can better remember what goes on where.
A Table of Content can be used to show your readers what they are browsing.
The table of contents allows the reader to quickly scan the entire piece and jump to a specific section or chapter.
A table of content is a series of clickable headings with intersecting hierarchy, included under the ‘pages’ tab of your WordPress website.
This is an effective way to encourage visitors to read your posts as they can use them as a step-by-step guide to your blog topics.
Organizing and navigating your WordPress website is made easy by creating a table of content, or TOC for short.
Instead of relying on the visitor to find what they are looking for.
Manually navigating their way through your website, you can use a table of content to tell the visitor exactly how the website is structured.
Just like increasing website speed, a Table of contents is also part of SEO.
| My Blogging Picks of 2023 |
|---|
Steps to Create a Table of Contents in WordPress
To create and implement a table of contents easily, we use the Lucky WP Table of Contents plugin.
1. Install & Activate the LuckyWP Table of Contents Plugin
First of all, you need to login to your dashboard – click on plugins – add new – search table of contents – Lucky WP Table of Contents – Install – Activate.
Now on the left side, hover over to settings – you will find a new icon – table of contents – click on it.
Now we will explain to you every single setting step by step,
- General
- Appearance
- Auto insert
- Processing headings’
- Misc.
2. General Settings
Minimal count of headings: “2”
If the count of headings in the post is less, then the table of contents is not displayed.
Means – If your article contains less than 2 headings then a Table of content is not created.
Depth: 6
Hierarchical view: Enable
Numeration: Decimal numbers (nested)
Numeration suffix: None
Title: Table of contents
Toggle show/hide: Enable
Label show: Show
Label hide: Hide
Smooth scroll: Enable
Scroll offset top: 24
3. Appearance Settings
Width: Auto
Float: None
Title font size: Default
Title font weight: Bold
Items font-size: Default
Colour scheme: Light colours
Background colour: Your choice
Border colour: Your choice
Title colour: Your choice
Link colour: Your choice
Hover link colour: Your choice
Visited link colour: Your choice
4. Auto-insert Settings
Auto insert Table of contents: Enable
Position: Before first heading
Post types: Post
5. Processing Headings
Always for post types: Post
6. Misc Settings
By level: Leave blank for proper heading hierarchy
By text: leave
Hash format: As heading(#Example_Heading_Text)
Convert to lowercase: uncheck
Replace underscores_ with dashes- : uncheck
SEO: Default
Show panel “Table of contents” in post types: Post
List markup tags: DIV
Additional classes: Leave blank if you are not a developer
After done with all the above settings, now visit one of your posts.
You can get your Table of Contents ready!
Wrapping Up – How to Create a Table of Contents in WordPress
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Install & Activate the Plugin | - Go to the WordPress dashboard. - Navigate to Plugins > Add New. - Search for "LuckyWP Table of Contents" plugin. - Click "Install Now" and then "Activate." - The plugin will be ready for use. |
| 2. General Settings | - Access the WordPress dashboard. - Go to Settings > Table of Contents. - Configure general settings such as enabling the table of contents for posts or pages. - Set the position of the table of contents (before content, after content, or manual placement using a shortcode). - Choose whether to enable the table of contents for specific post types. |
| 3. Appearance Settings | - Within the Table of Contents settings, navigate to the "Appearance" tab. - Customize the table of contents appearance, such as adjusting the title, text color, background color, and border style. - Configure the font size and style for the table of contents. - Enable or disable the display of numbering in the table of contents. |
| 4. Auto-insert Settings | - In the WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Table of Contents. - Click on the "Auto-insert" tab. - Select the heading types you want to include in the table of contents automatically. - Choose where to automatically insert the table of contents (before content, after a specific heading, or manual placement using a shortcode). - Save your settings. |
| 5. Processing Headings | - The plugin automatically generates the table of contents based on the headings in your content. - Headings must be formatted using the appropriate HTML tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) for the plugin to recognize and include them in the table of contents. - The table of contents will be displayed on your posts or pages according to the settings you configured. - Update your content as needed to adjust the table of contents. |
| 6. Misc Settings | - This step covers additional miscellaneous settings available in the LuckyWP Table of Contents Plugin. - These settings may include options related to advanced customization, compatibility with other plugins, or specific behavior of the table of contents. - Access the WordPress dashboard and navigate to Settings > Table of Contents to explore and configure the miscellaneous settings. |
You can use any other plugin but when I tested other plugins I got some conflicts.
Like Table of Contents being displayed on my pop-ups also.
So I used the LuckyWP Table of Contents plugin.
Hope this helps you to create a Table of contents in WordPress website.
People also search for:
- SEO Clarity: Understanding Canonical URLs in WordPress
- Author Recognition Made Easy: Recommended Plugins for WordPress
- PPC Face-Off: A Comprehensive Comparison of Google’s Advertising Platforms
- Traffic Metrics Explained: Understanding Page Views and Impressions
- Content Creation Mastery: Tips for Producing Unique Material