A WordPress table of contents is re­com­men­ded for pages with longer content and subchapters as it creates a better page structure. This way you will not only improve the user ex­per­i­ence, but also your SEO, as search engines will be able to cat­egor­ise and rank your page better. To create a table of contents, you can use both handy WordPress plugins and the somewhat more elaborate list block with jump links.

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The ad­vant­ages of a WordPress table of contents

When using the open source software WordPress to create a WordPress site, or a WordPress blog, a table of contents helps site visitors find their way around, get a quick overview of the topics offered, and quickly un­der­stand the layout of the site.

The same goes for search engines, which use crawlers and web scraping to find, collect, and cat­egor­ise web content. With a table of contents, search engines are able to read and rank your pages better. This way you ensure effective search engine op­tim­isa­tion and better ranking in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Google may even add jump links directly to your topics if you use a table of contents. This increases your vis­ib­il­ity even more.

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WordPress plugins to create for a table of contents

There is a WordPress plugin for prac­tic­ally every need. When wondering how to add tables of contents on WordPress sites, there are numerous free plugins available that improve the design, structure, and your WordPress SEO.

The best plugins for a WordPress table of contents:

Plugin (free) Char­ac­ter­ist­ics
Easy Table of Contents Widely used, multiple settings (post type, auto insert, placement), widget function as sticky sidebar
Table of Contents Plus Very popular plugin (large community), based on Wikipedia, settings for design, po­s­i­tion­ing, expand/collapse, and sitemap for all posts
LuckyWP Table of Contents Com­pat­ible with Gutenberg editor, SEO friendly, can insert auto­mat­ic­ally or manually, widget for sidebar plus smooth scrolling function
Heroic Table of Contents Default settings for tables of contents and in­teg­ra­tion/editing as block in Gutenberg editor (direct editing of sub­head­ings)
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Plugins for a WordPress table of contents in detail

The basic function of table of contents plugins is usually similar. Page headings and sub­head­ings are written down, marked with jump links, and linked in the table of contents. Depending on the plugin, ad­di­tion­al features are added such as a sticky sidebar that allows the table of contents to move down the page as the reader scrolls, an expand and collapse function, in­di­vidu­al editing options and, in some cases, support for the Gutenberg editor. Note, however, that you can’t install plugins if you have the free WordPress.com package.

Easy Table of Contents

With just a few clicks, you can create an automatic table of contents from the existing headings with the Easy Table of Contents plugin. In fact, Easy Table of Contents is con­sidered to be a further de­vel­op­ment of the ‘Table of Contents Plus’ plugin, which we present below. In com­par­is­on, ETC is known for its easy operation as well as a practical widget function that enables you to integrate the table into the sidebar. This way, the table of contents is always in view.

Other features: You determine which post types are included in the table of contents, use the support of the ‘Rank Math’ tool for keywords ranking, SEO analyses, and Google Trends. You also determine whether tables of contents are created for all posts via ‘Auto Insert’ or manually and how sub­head­ings (H1, H2, etc.) should be struc­tured and designed.

Image: Download page for the ‘Easy Table of Contents’ plugin
The ‘Easy Table of Contents’ plugin enables you to create tables of contents from existing headings. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-table-of-contents
Ad­vant­ages Dis­ad­vant­ages
Practical ‘Auto Insert’ function No option for minimum word count for dis­play­ing table of contents
Support for Rank Math (SEO op­tim­isz­a­tion) When the table moves down the page as the user scrolls, this can sometimes lead to display problems
In­di­vidu­al, intuitive operation with versatile setting and design options, e.g. for post type, heading structure, and format Support isn’t optimal when problems arise

Table of Contents Plus

Table of Contents Plus is one of the most popular plugins for a WordPress table of contents and is also the basis of the ‘Easy Table of Contents’ plugin. It impresses with its easy operation and flexible settings for the design, the structure, the placement, and the com­pos­i­tion of the table. The table can also be visibly in­teg­rated in the sidebar and the user ex­per­i­ence can be optimised through smooth scrolling. Op­tion­ally, you can choose whether the table of contents is displayed in an expanded way as default or if the reader should expand it. Par­tic­u­larly clear: TOC+ can be used to generate an ad­di­tion­al sitemap that shows all subpages and posts.

Image: Download page for the ‘Table of Contents Plus’ plugin
The ‘TOC+’ plugin boasts user-friendly operation and many features such as smooth scrolling and ad­di­tion­al sitemaps. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/table-of-contents-plus/
Ad­vant­ages Dis­ad­vant­ages
Best-known plugin with many in­di­vidu­al setting options Long sub­head­ings cannot be shortened in the table
Expand and collapse function for the table of contents Automatic ac­tiv­a­tion means that no in­di­vidu­al articles can be hidden
WordPress short­codes can be used for custom settings Re­l­at­ively long intervals between updates
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LuckyWP Table of Contents

LuckyWP Table of Contents plugin is simple to use and offers many in­di­vidu­al con­fig­ur­a­tions to display and structure headings in the directory as needed in font size and style, colour, and design. It includes an auto-insert feature and search engine op­tim­isa­tion for Google Snippets as well. Dir­ect­or­ies can be displayed hier­arch­ic­ally or linearly, op­tion­ally expand and collapse, offer smooth scrolling, and are com­pat­ible with many WordPress themes, plugins, and page builders. Gutenberg support is also par­tic­u­larly handy.

Image: Download page for the ‘LuckyWP Table of Contents’ plugin
LuckyWP Table of Contents tool scores points with search engine op­tim­isa­tion, custom TOC settings, and Gutenberg support. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/luckywp-table-of-contents/
Ad­vant­ages Dis­ad­vant­ages
Very easy operation with many user-friendly con­fig­ur­a­tions No sig­ni­fic­ant dis­ad­vant­ages
Automatic or manual insertion  
Com­pat­ib­il­ity with Elementor, Rank Math, WP Rocket, Beaver Builder, and WPBakery, among others  

Heroic Table of Contents

Heroic Table of Contents offers the most important standard features regarding in­di­vidu­al con­fig­ur­a­tion, struc­tur­ing, design, and po­s­i­tion­ing. These include four different styles for tables of contents, hiding of sub­head­ings, optional expanding and col­lapsing, and Gutenberg support. This means that the table can be in­teg­rated as a block directly in the Gutenberg editor, where it can be previewed for sub­head­ings and directly edited or renamed without having to make changes in the text.

Image: Download page for the ‘Heroic Table of Contents’ plugin
With ‘Heroic Table of Contents’, you use the most important functions of a TOC plugin as well as Gutenberg support. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/heroic-table-of-contents/
Ad­vant­ages Dis­ad­vant­ages
Simple operation with the most important standard functions Problems with jump links in tables of contents that should be split over several pages
Practical Gutenberg editor support and com­pat­ib­il­ity No option for sticky bar to scroll along the table
Headings can be renamed in the table of contents without changing the original heading  
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How to add table of content in WordPress: without a plugin

If you prefer not to use a plugin, you can create an automatic table of contents manually in the Gutenberg editor using a list block and jump links. A downside to this option is that you miss out on the ease of use and bundled features that many plugins offer. There are two ways you can create a table of contents this way: via the settings or by making changes in the source code using the Gutenberg editor.

To do this, proceed as follows:

Via the settings

Step 1: Select the heading that you want to add a jump link to. Go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Block’ > ‘Advanced’. Here, in the HTML anchor field, enter the ap­pro­pri­ate word as the jump link or anchor ID. The word becomes the jump link that links to a section or post.

Step 2: Now select the relevant heading in the table of contents. To do this, enter ‘#’ in the text field and then the cor­res­pond­ing anchor ID. With this method you can easily create a manual table of contents for WordPress pages.

With the Gutenberg editor

Step 1: To set an HTML anchor directly in the source code using the Gutenberg editor, select the re­spect­ive heading block in Gutenberg. Go to the three-dot icon in the toolbar and click on ‘Edit as HTML’.

Step 2: Insert the anchor ID before the selected heading using the following code:

<h2 id="your-anchor-id">The headline to be linked to</h2>

Con­clu­sion: A table of contents enhances your WordPress site

If you offer longer pieces of content on your WordPress site or blog, you should def­in­itely use a table of contents. With this you improve not only the design, look, and clarity of your page, but also the user ex­per­i­ence. Page visitors can get a quicker overview and jump to the parts they are in­ter­ested in without having to read the entire text. In addition, you comply with the algorithm of search engines that read and rank pages. With a table of contents, search engines are able to cat­egor­ise your page better and rank it higher. With better SERP vis­ib­il­ity, you can increase the click-through rate.

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