Components: Table of Contents (TOC)

Guides TOC implementation for long-form articles, guides, and whitepapers. TOCs improve UX and SEO by enabling quick navigation and reducing bounce rates.

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Initial Assessment

Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for content structure.

Identify:

• Content type: Blog article, guide, whitepaper, documentation

• Length: TOC most valuable for 1000+ word content

• Platform: Web, mobile, both

Placement Strategies

Placement Best For Pros Cons

After intro Most articles Natural flow; visible early Can scroll out of view

Floating sidebar Very long content Always visible More complex; mobile challenges

Collapsible Long articles Less intrusive May be overlooked

Top of article Mobile-first Accessible on all devices Takes space

Technical Implementation

Heading Structure

• One <h1> per page

• <h2> for major sections

• <h3> for subsections; avoid skipping levels

• Headings >=15 characters for SEO

Jump Links

• Assign unique IDs to headings (e.g., id="keyword-optimization" )

• Use kebab-case for IDs

• Link TOC entries via anchor tags (#section-id )

• Descriptive anchor text; include target keywords naturally

Semantic HTML

<nav aria-label="Table of contents"> <ol> <li><a href="#section-1">Section Title</a></li> </ol> </nav>

SEO Best Practices

Practice Purpose

Schema.org TableOfContents Help search engines understand structure

Keywords in headings Natural integration; avoid stuffing

Jump links in SERP Google may feature TOC links; increases CTR; see serp-features

UX Guidelines

Visibility & Interaction

• Clear visual hierarchy; indent nested items

• Highlight current section when scrolling (optional)

• Smooth scroll behavior for jump links

Mobile

• Minimum 16px font size

• Touch targets >=44x44px

• Responsive layout; consider collapsible on small screens

Accessibility

Requirement Practice

ARIA aria-label="Table of contents" on nav

Keyboard All links keyboard-accessible

Screen readers Proper heading structure; TOC aids skimming

Output Format

• TOC structure (sections, nesting)

• Heading/ID mapping suggestions

• HTML/ARIA notes

• SEO checklist

Related Skills

• tab-accordion: Collapsible TOC uses same disclosure pattern; details/summary implementation

• heading-structure: TOC built from heading structure

• content-optimization: H2 structure, lists, tables for Featured Snippets

• featured-snippet: Featured Snippet optimization; TOC supports snippet structure

• serp-features: SERP features; jump links in results

• article-page-generator: TOC common in long-form article pages