Make Yourself a Table of Contents

(Take Me to Part II, Table of Contents: Clever Looks, Clever Designs)
(Take Me to Part III, Drop Down Index: A Nifty Table of Contents Trick)

Here's a comment I received from 69whisper :

There are all sorts of reasons to make yourself a Table of Contents. First of all, bloggers should always try to focus the content of their blog--even if the blogger tends to be a natural-born blatherer. If you want readers, you'll need to make the most interesting content easily accessible. Second, you write all sorts of posts, do you not? Sometimes you write about booze, sometimes you write about relationships, sometimes you write about getting in touch with your inner child. Occasionally a reader interested in booze posts may not feel up to wading through all the archived posts about the benefits to your soul of crying. Make it easier for everyone: offer well-named links to specific posts and post categories.

There are many ways to make yourself a Table of Contents. First, go through your old posts (MY BLOG --> MY POSTS) and on a piece of paper, write out the names of your favorite posts, and the address to specific Blog Page of that specific post. Write down as many names and links as you want. If the names of your posts are too general, if they don't clearly explain the sort of content you wrote about in a particular post, you may want to jot down on your list a different name--like Booze, or Are All Boyfriends Created Equal, or Giving Birth to Your Deepest Feelings.

1. Every tBlog template offers you a way to add customized links to your blog. Just follow this link map to your very own link page: MY BLOG --> MY TEMPLATE --> ADD, EDIT MY LINKS. On your ADD, EDIT MY LINKS page, you have the option to add a new link, delete an old link, and edit the order of your current links. Enter in the information you copied down on to your list, making sure the links point directly to the Post Page of your article (not the archive page, not your home page). And there you go! You have a nice, simple Table of Contents that will show up in the place on your blog where all such customized links appear. Of course, every time you write a new and vitally important post, you'll need to copy that title, copy the link, stick it into your EDIT LINKS page, re-order the list, so-on, so-forth.

2. Write a New Post with a Table of Contents for your entire blog. If you don't want to clog up your sidebar with two zillion links, you can make your Table of Contents into an article post. It's the same process as above, only you won't be able to use the ADD, EDIT MY LINKS page. You'll need to use your article editor to insert the links. Once you've completed your list, post it like any other article. Then find the direct link to the Post Page, and now you'll only need to use the ADD, EDIT page to insert one address: the link to your Table of Contents post.

** Inkspector has generously provided a step-by-step process for using a post as your Table of Contents. Check out Inkspector's Instructions: Part 1 .

3. Too much work? Then get someone else to collect your links. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Yes, it does, but someone else will do it if you ask them, and they'll do it for free. Inkspector With the Scoop: Part II.

4. But Soup: The Links Still Show up at the Bottom of My Blog! Stop it! Well, in the case of most templates, you can stop it. But the process involves a little finesse. The most air-tight, sound method is to use the Customized HTML boxes appropriate for your template--if your template offers you that option. Some do not. If you want a nifty, full Table near the top of your blog, you should choose your template accordingly. In our next post, we'll quickly outline which templates try to stick the links at the bottom of your blog, which templates let you do as you please, and which templates make the whole process nearly impossible.

5. One Last Thought: Related Links. One of the most useful tricks any blogger can and should use: stick related links directly into each and every post you write.

** First: Stick a Home Link everywhere. Like this one: Stone Soup Home .
** Second: Link to any of your posts that relate to your current post. Like this: Template Grades .

Good luck.

(Take Me to Part II, Table of Contents: Clever Looks, Clever Designs)
(Take Me to Part III, Drop Down Index: A Nifty Table of Contents Trick)
New Stone Soup Home