7 Best Table of Contents Plugins for WordPress (Expert Pick)

In our 16+ years of blogging, we’ve learned that one of the most effective ways to improve readability is by adding a table of contents to posts.

A table of contents can make it easier for users to digest lengthy content by letting them jump ahead to any section of a post or page. Google will also use your table of contents to index and rank your pages and posts in search results.

Since there are many plugins that can get the job done, picking the right one can be tricky. That’s why we decided to test and review different options ourselves. After thorough testing, we found that the best options you can choose are AIOSEO, Heroic Table of Contents, and Easy Table of Contents.

That said, there are a few other high-quality options out there that might better suit your needs. So, in this article, we will show you the best table of contents plugins for WordPress overall.

If you’re in a hurry, then here’s a quick overview of the best table of content plugins for your website.

#	Plugins	Best For
🥇	All in One SEO (AIOSEO)	Free and beginner-friendly ToC plugin
🥈	Heroic Table of Contents	Highly customizable table of contents
🥉	Easy Table of Contents	Showing content lists from headings
4.	Table of Contents Plus	Creating a basic table of contents for free
5.	Joli Table Of Contents	Fully responsive table of contents
6.	CM Table Of Contents	Optimizing ToC performance for site speed
7.	SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block	Beginner-friendly & lightweight plugin

Why Use a Table Contents Plugin in WordPress?

Adding a table of contents (ToC) to your WordPress website is a great way to help visitors navigate longer blog posts and pages.

It allows you to organize and structure your content so it’s easier for people to scan through the article and jump to any section they’re interested in.

It also helps with your WordPress SEO since search engines like Google can add jump-to-section links next to your website in the search results. Google can also display your table of contents list in featured snippets.

You can manually add a table of contents in WordPress by writing HTML code and CSS or by using advanced settings in the block editor. However, this is time-consuming and can be tricky for beginners because the slightest mistake would mean your table of contents won’t work.

An easier way to create a table of contents is using a WordPress plugin. You won’t have to edit HTML code, and there are more customization options.

How We Tested WordPress Table of Contents Plugins

To ensure that we provide you with the most accurate and helpful recommendations for WordPress table of contents plugins, we use an extensive testing process. We evaluated each plugin against the following criteria:

• Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface is important for a table of contents plugin. We consider factors like the simplicity of installation, configuration, and customization.
• Customization Options: A good plugin should offer a variety of customization options to match different website styles and content types. We look for features like the ability to adjust heading levels, styles, and the overall appearance of the table of contents.
• Compatibility and Performance: We tested each plugin on various WordPress themes and versions to assess its compatibility. We also evaluated its impact on page loading times and overall website speed.
• Integration with Other Plugins: We tested how well each plugin integrates with other popular WordPress plugins, such as page builders and SEO tools. This is important for ensuring a seamless workflow.
• Mobile Responsiveness: Given the increasing number of mobile users, we evaluated how well each plugin adapts to different screen sizes and devices. A responsive table of contents is essential for a positive user experience.

Now, let’s look at some of the best table of contents plugins for WordPress.

1. All in One SEO (AIOSEO)

All in One SEO (AIOSEO) is a complete SEO solution for WordPress that also comes with a dedicated ToC block. It helps you optimize your website for search engines without technical knowledge. One of the main ways it enables you to do this is with its table of contents features.

At WPBeginner, we use AIOSEO to add tables of contents to text and also help optimize blog posts for search engines. We also use this tool on the websites of our other brands and have researched it extensively for our complete AIOSEO review.

AIOSEO makes it super easy to add a table of contents to your WordPress site. It offers a table of contents block in the WordPress content editor that you can add anywhere in your blog post.

The AIOSEO block will automatically generate a table of contents using your heading levels from H1 to H6.

Unlike other automatic table of contents plugins, AIOSEO actually lets you hide an individual heading or even completely customize the title as needed in the table of contents.

You can also reorder the headings and change the style from bullet format to numbers.

Aside from that, AIOSEO helps you create XML sitemaps for your site so search engines can easily discover new content. It also helps add schema markup and increase the visibility of your content in rich snippets.

You can also use the plugin to conduct an SEO audit and see if everything is optimized correctly. AIOSEO will suggest fixing different issues that might stop your site from ranking higher in search results.

Pros:

• A complete SEO toolkit
• Offers a table of contents block
• TruSEO on-page analysis
• Keyword rank tracking
• Link assistant
• Built-in WooCommerce SEO
• Local SEO
• AI-powered tools
• Built-in schema library
• Integrates with powerful tools, including Semrush

Cons:

• Limited features in the free version

Why We Recommend AIOSEO: We chose All in One SEO (AIOSEO) because of its comprehensive feature set and user-friendly interface. The plugin is more than just a table of contents solution. It’s also a complete SEO tool. The fact that it helped significantly improve our website’s search engine ranking was also a major factor in our decision.

Pricing: AIOSEO premium plans start from $49.60 per year. There is also an AIOSEO Lite version you can try for free.

2. Heroic Table of Contents

Heroic Table of Contents is a helpful table of contents WordPress plugin that you can use to provide better navigation of your blog posts.

During our testing, we found that the plugin offers a WordPress block that you can use to add a table of contents to your posts and pages. It provides 4 pre-built table styles to choose from, including outlined, rounded, contrasted, and gray.

Additionally, you can show a collapse or expand icon for your TOC, use bullets, numbers, or plain text in the table, hide and relabel headings without altering the original content, and more.

Heroic Table of Contents is SEO-friendly and mobile responsive, so you don’t have to worry about your site’s load time and user experience.

It’s worth noting that we also have a lot of experience with other tools by this company, so we can vouch for them. We have covered their customer service suite extensively in our complete HeroThemes review.

Pros:

• Easy to use and configure
• Automatic table of contents generation
• Customizable appearance and functionality
• SEO-friendly
• Compatible with most WordPress themes

Cons:

• Limited integration with other plugins

Why We Recommend Heroic Table of Contents: We recommend the Heroic Table of Contents plugin because it is free and combines ease of use, powerful features, and solid customization options. Besides that, if you’re using other products from HeroThemes, then this plugin is perfect for you.

Pricing: The Heroic Table of Contents plugin is free to use.

3. Easy Table of Contents

Easy Table of Contents is a popular plugin that you can use to add a table of contents to your blog posts, landing pages, sidebar, and custom post types.

What we really liked about the plugin is that it’s user-friendly and automatically generates a listing using content from the headings in the article. It works seamlessly with the WordPress block editor, classic editor, Divi and Elementor page builders, and more.

Using the plugin, you also get an auto-insert functionality for adding the table of contents in different post types.

Plus, you get other customization options like changing the table’s width, editing the font size, choosing a theme, and selecting the number of headings to use when creating a table of contents.

Pros:

• Easy to install and use
• Automatically create a list of content
• Compatible with plugins and themes
• Mobile responsive
• Highly customizable

Cons:

• It can slow down your site

Why We Recommend Easy Table of Contents: If you are looking for a free plugin that lets you create a table of contents in a list form, then this is the plugin for you.

Pricing: Easy Table of Contents is a free WordPress plugin.

4. Table of Contents Plus

Table of Contents Plus is the next WordPress ToC plugin on our list. It is very easy to use and has multiple customization options to change the look and feel of your table of contents.

One of the positives we found when testing the plugin is that it enables you to use pre-built color schemes to match your brand. You also get options to edit the appearance by changing the width, font size, and wrapping.

Besides that, the plugin lets you auto-insert the table of contents in pages and posts. It also gives the option to control the heading text shown in the table.

One drawback that users reported in their reviews about the plugin was that occasional bugs stopped it from working properly.

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use
• Multiple customization options
• Auto-insert tables in content
• Match table colors with your brand

Cons:

• Occasional bugs

Why We Recommend Table of Contents Plus: We selected this plugin for users who are looking for a free and simple option to create a table of contents for their website.

Pricing: Table of Contents Plus is 100% free to use.

5. Joli Table Of Contents

Joli Table of Contents is an SEO-friendly table of contents plugin for WordPress. What we liked about the plugin was that it’s lightweight and doesn’t hurt your website’s performance.

The table of contents only loads when it’s supposed to display. Plus, the table is fully responsive, so you don’t have to worry about optimizing it for different devices.

With this ToC plugin, you get tons of options to customize the appearance of your table of contents.

It comes with 2 themes for the table and 4 free icons for the expanding and collapsing buttons. Besides that, the plugin lets you choose a numbering prefix, change the font size, adjust the table’s width, add a shadow, and more.

Pros:

• Lightweight plugin
• Very easy to use
• Create responsive tables
• Multiple customization options

Cons:

• Advanced customization features not included in the free version

Why We Recommend Joli Table of Contents: If you’re looking for a fully responsive table of contents plugin, then Joli Table of Contents is the best solution. It also offers lots of customization options compared to some other free plugins on our list.

Pricing: Joli Table of Contents is a free WordPress plugin. But it also has a Pro version which offers more customization options. Yearly plans start at $39.99 per year for one site. Lifetime plans are also available.

6. CM Table Of Contents

CM Table of Contents by CreativeMindsSolutions is a super easy-to-use plugin for creating a table of contents.

In the plugin, you can choose which post types you’d like the table of contents to appear on, including blog posts, specific pages, sidebar widget areas, and custom pages. You also get to make the table collapse and expand your content.

In our opinion, the best part is that the plugin offers different performance settings. This helps ensure that there are no delays when the table of contents loads.

Besides that, there are many styling options for your table of contents. You can change the size, color, weight, and style for each level in the table. The plugin also lets you show the TOC in one or two columns.

Pros:

• Beginner friendly plugin
• Performance optimization settings
• Supports shortcodes
• Different table of contents styles

Cons:

• Limited customization features in the free version

Why We Recommend CM Table of Contents: The CM Table of Contents plugin is great for anyone who wants complete control over how the table of contents will impact their site’s performance.

Pricing: It is a free WordPress plugin.

7. SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block

As the name suggests, SimpleTOC is a basic WordPress table of contents plugin without any extra frills. It’s beginner-friendly and offers standard features.

You can easily add ToCs to your blog posts using the SimpleTOC block in the WordPress content editor. The plugin doesn’t require additional configuration, and you can control all the settings from the block editor.

SimpleTOC lets you select the maximum and minimum heading levels it should include in the table of contents, show/hide the table’s heading, and more.

On the downside, you don’t get any customization options compared to other plugins on our list, like AIOSEO. To style the table of contents, you’ll need to use the native styling options in the WordPress theme customizer or full site editor.

Pros:

• Optimized for performance
• Beginner friendly plugin
• Seamless integration with block editor
• Helpful support
• SEO friendly plugin

Cons:

• Limited customization options
• Occasional bugs

Why We Recommend SimpleTOC: If you want a simple, lightweight table of contents plugin, then SimpleTOC is perfect. The plugin offers basic features that don’t impact your site’s performance.

Pricing: SimpleTOC is 100% free to use.

Which Is the Best Table of Contents WordPress Plugin?

If you are looking for the best plugin to help you optimize your content for search engines and easily add a table of contents, then we recommend All in One SEO (AIOSEO).

You can use the AIOSEO block to add a table of contents, customize it, and hide headings inside the WordPress content editor. Besides that, AIOSEO helps you create sitemaps, optimize your content for SEO, and so much more.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a dedicated table of contents WordPress plugin, then check out Heroic Table of Contents. It is beginner-friendly and offers multiple customization options.

FAQs About Table of Contents WordPress Plugins

Here are some commonly asked questions about the best WordPress table of contents plugins.

1. How do I add a table of contents using a WordPress plugin?

Many table of contents WordPress plugins offer a block in the content editor that lets you add a table of contents anywhere on your post or page. Some plugins also let you add a ToC using shortcodes.

2. Can you add a table of contents in WordPress?

You can add a table of contents in WordPress manually or using a plugin. The manual method is time-consuming as you’ll need to write the headings in a bulleted list first and then add anchor text to each heading.

On the other hand, a plugin automates the process, and you just need to select a block or use a shortcode to display the table of contents.

Bonus: Best WordPress Guides for Improving Your Blog

If you are looking for additional ways to improve your WordPress blog, you may be interested in the following articles:

• How to Check Grammar and Spelling Mistakes in WordPress
• How to Write a Blog Post Outline for WordPress
• How to Efficiently Manage Post Series in WordPress
• How to Add Old Post Notification on Your WordPress Blog
• When Is the Best Time to Publish a Blog (+ How to Test It)

We hope that this article helped you learn about the best table of contents plugins for WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to start a WordPress blog and the best customer review plugins for WordPress.

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