Table of Content Creation with Dynamically “Highlighted” Heading

  • Unknown's avatar
    mrstemedutv · Member ·

    Hi,

    I am interested in creating a blog post having two columnar layout and table of content (having highlighted section as we move the main page) on the left column and main content on the right column, for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2022_E3_(ZTF).

    Do you have any suggestions to begin with?

    Thanks,

  • Unknown's avatar
    aisajib · Member ·

    Hi there!

    You can definitely create a WordPress.com site with those features. While we have a Table of Content block that you can use, having the same exact behavior as that on the Wikipedia page will need a custom plugin.

    We don’t have a specific recommendation, but you can check out the plugins from this search result page. You can click on the plugin name to see its features and explore them to see what fits your needs.

    The two-column layout you’re looking for can be made on any theme that’s compatible with Full Site Editing. You can learn more about Full Site Editing here. Most of the newer themes are compatible with Full Site Editing. But if you want even more, you can get them from third-party sources, including the WordPress.org theme repository.

    Based on those two recommendations, I’d say the WordPress.com Business plan is the right choice for you. You can learn more about the Business plan features here, WordPress.com hosting features (which are available on the Business plan), and pricing below.

    Please feel free to tell us more about your site. For example, if there are more features you need on your site. We’ll be happy to learn more about your site’s overall goals and share personalized suggestions/guides accordingly. :)

  • Unknown's avatar
    mrstemedutv · Member ·

    Thanks for your prompt reply. I already tried a few different TOC plug-in, but it seems like it does not provide what I need.

    Like I said, I was looking for “dynamic (or synchronized)” highlight as the main page moves. Can you suggest me one specific example plug-in? Or, can you give me the exact name of such function, so perhaps I can search better?

    Thanks,

  • Unknown's avatar
    mrstemedutv · Member ·

    Hi,

    I am interested in making a website for tutorial (technical contents). The example website layout including table of content is given here. In my website, I would like to have in the following.

    1. Main menu on very top.
    2. Hierchichal content navigator (I am not sure if this is the right terminology), i.e., main topic >> subtopic1 >> subtopic 2 >> …
    3. In left side, content navigator (or table of content) for each main topic.
    4. In right side, table of content for current page/post with dynamic highlighting current section heading
    5. Main content in the central column.

    Questions:

    1. Does wordpress.com offer what I need (see the five bullet points above)?
    2. What is the specific theme that I can begin with (I do not need any fancy layout)? All I need is very simple theme to meet the requirement given above. Just black and white color theme should be fine.
    3. What is the plug-in that I need to use? Any recommendations?
    4. Does the basic plan support what I need or I need to purchase any service plan?

    If you could help any of these, it would be greatly appreciated.

  • Unknown's avatar
    mrstemedutv · Member ·

    Sorry, I forgot sharing the example website in the previous post (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/CSS/First_steps/What_is_CSS#browser_support_information)

  • staff-totoro · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    I have merged your two posts to simplify the conversation, thanks.

    Can you suggest me one specific example plug-in? Or, can you give me the exact name of such function, so perhaps I can search better?

    We don’t have a specific recommendation in this case. Most Table of Contents functionality is very similar so if you have not found what you need you may need to look further. I will say that I have not heard of a ToC plugin that has aa two column layout such as you describe. It hints at the possibility that this would require hiring a developer to build you something bespoke if an off-the-shelf plugin can’t be found.

    • Main menu on very top.
    • Main content in the central column.

    We don’t have a specific theme search you can do here, but if you browse our themes you will visually see that several have a menu at the top such as you describe. https://wordpress.com/themes/

    Hierchichal content navigator (I am not sure if this is the right terminology), i.e., main topic >> subtopic1 >> subtopic 2 >> …

    All of our themes have this option. You can create a custom menu with “drop-down” heirarchy without issue: https://en.support.wordpress.com/menus/create-drop-down-menus/

    1. In left side, content navigator (or table of content) for each main topic.
    2. In right side, table of content for current page/post with dynamic highlighting current section heading

    As I mentioned above, this is fairly unique. If you are not able to locate a ToC plugin that helps you to create this arrangement you may need to hire help to create it. The example you gave (from Mozilla) is custom-created for example.

    Does the basic plan support what I need or I need to purchase any service plan?

    The functionality you are referring to does hint at the need for plugins, which cannot be added to free WordPress.com sites. To do this you will need our Business plan, as mentioned above, which will allow you to upload any plugin or theme “designed for WordPress”

    Hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

  • The topic ‘Table of Content Creation with Dynamically “Highlighted” Heading’ is closed to new replies.