Make your next article
easy to explore.

A good table of contents gives a long article a clear path. Readers can follow the whole story or go straight to the part they need.

Get started

Start with the heading structure you already use. A page title introduces the article. H2 headings divide its main sections, and H3 headings add useful detail underneath them.

TOC Genius follows that structure. The Free plugin starts with H2 and H3 headings, a three-heading minimum, and a soft-card design before the first article heading.

Choose your layout

Inline contents work well near the introduction. A basic sticky TOC can stay in view within a suitable article container. The Pro adaptive rail appears beside the article only when the theme has space for it.

On mobile, the Free TOC remains responsive. Pro can add a contents button and a searchable panel so readers can open navigation while moving through a longer article.

Choose your headings

Keep the headings descriptive. “Install WordPress” tells a reader more than “Next steps.” Use hierarchy to express the relationship between sections, rather than choosing a heading level only because its font size looks right.

Exclude a heading when it should remain in the article but does not help navigation. Change the TOC label when a shorter entry reads better; the original heading stays intact.

Make it yours

Choose a preset, then adjust width, alignment, and spacing. Theme inheritance lets the TOC use the article’s typography and text colors. Custom colors are available when the site needs a particular treatment.

A clear appearance is usually quiet: readable labels, comfortable spacing, and an obvious current section. The contents should support the article without competing with it.

For a larger library, Pro templates keep articles consistent. Assign a template to a content type or rule. Edit the shared template later and every assignment follows the same update.

Publish with confidence

Preview the actual article before enabling a new TOC across a site. Check existing bookmarked links, repeated heading titles, the mobile layout, and the space left by a sticky site header.

The Tools tab explains why a TOC appears or stays hidden. Pro diagnostics also show rule matches and the winning priority. This makes an unexpected result easier to understand.

When switching from another TOC plugin, test one article first. Existing HTML IDs are preserved, but anchors generated only by the old plugin need separate evaluation. Automatic migration is outside this beta.