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:

1. Content type: Blog article, guide, whitepaper, documentation
2. Length: TOC most valuable for 1000+ word content
3. 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