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Should I include a table of contents in my blog articles?

Many people wonder whether to have a table of contents on a blog at all. In short articles, it is not necessary. However, if you are preparing guides, longer content or expert articles , then the table of contents plays a quite important role for the recipient. Thanks to it, the reader immediately knows what topics you are discussing and where in the text he can find them.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that Google algorithms are currently increasingly valuing well-structured content – ​​meaning with proper headings and logical division of material. This makes it easier for indexing robots to recognize key sections of the article. As a result, this can translate into a higher position in search results.

Table of Contents Construction – i.e. Heading Formatting

To create a readable table of contents dataset you should first and foremost take care of the formatting of headings . This is what different levels of headings are for, such as heading 1 (e.g. H1 in HTML), heading 2 (H2), H3, and so on. Each of them should correspond to the following chapters and subchapters. For example, when you discuss a topic in several points, enter H2 for the main blocks and H3 if you want to describe more detailed issues.

Such a hierarchical arrangement of titles also facilitates the later use of automatic functions, both on the blog and in Word. The editor can recognize what is the main heading and what is a subheading, and on this basis it will generate a list in the appropriate form.

For people who like to have everything buttoned up, a good solution is to prepare a table of contents in the form of an outline in advance. You write down point by point what you want to discuss, and then translate it into actual paragraphs with headings. This way, you won’t lose any important points and you will ensure the logical coherence of the material.

Customizing the table of contents

Once you have a general outline, it’s data to get closer to the consumer time to think about the details. If you use WordPress or another blogging platform, you can use plugins that generate an automatic list . Just add the appropriate block or short code to the article. The system will recognize the headings and insert a list of links. A big plus is the automatic update of the list – if you modify the headings or expand the text, just click “refresh” (or the system will do it itself), and the whole thing will adapt to the new structure.

In text editors (like Word) you also have

The option to get an automatic table usa b2b list of contents . It is important, however, that you always correctly mark chapters using styles such as heading 1 and heading 2 . Otherwise, Word will not know what to put in the table.

It is also worth remembering about the possibility of personalization. If you care about a unique look, you can modify the style of the headings and the table of contents. Sometimes it is enough to change the font type in styles , set the appropriate size of letters or line spacing in styles to get a more tailored effect. In blog systems, similar functions are sometimes available in plugin panels.

Sometimes it is also useful to adapt the table of contents for editorial purposes, especially when creating e-books or PDF reports. There, you often include not only headings, but also a list of charts , a list of tables or a list of figures . Then the list can be more extensive and require consistent use of different styles.

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