Table of Contents

WB Member Wiki automatically generates a Table of Contents (TOC) for wiki pages that have three or more headings. The TOC appears inline in the page content, above the first heading, giving readers a quick overview and easy navigation to any section.

How It Works

The TOC is generated automatically - no shortcode or markup is needed. When you save a wiki page:

1. The plugin scans the page content for <h2>, <h3>, and <h4> headings
2. If three or more headings are found, a TOC box is inserted before the first heading
3. Each heading becomes a numbered link in the TOC
4. Headings receive id attributes matching the link anchors (e.g., #the-sun, #inner-planets)

If a page has fewer than three headings, no TOC is generated.

TOC Structure

The TOC box shows:

• A “Contents” label at the top
• A [hide] / [show] toggle that collapses or expands the TOC
• A numbered list of all headings, in document order

Nested headings (H3 inside H2, etc.) are displayed as a flat numbered list, not a nested tree.

Writing Pages with Good TOC Structure

Use heading levels to organize longer pages:

## Overview          ← H2
## Installation      ← H2
### Requirements     ← H3
### Steps            ← H3
## Configuration     ← H2
## Troubleshooting   ← H2

Best practices:

• Use H2 (##) for main sections
• Use H3 (###) for sub-sections within H2
• Avoid skipping heading levels (don’t jump from H2 to H4)
• Keep heading text concise - it becomes the TOC anchor link text
• Write headings as complete phrases, not single words

Hiding the TOC

Readers can click [hide] on any page to collapse the TOC. The preference is not remembered between pages.

There is currently no per-page option to disable the TOC from within the editor. To suppress the TOC site-wide or on specific pages, use the developer filter below.

Frequently Asked Questions

My page has 4 headings but no TOC appears. Why? Check that the headings are actual <h2>, <h3>, or <h4> HTML elements - not bold text or paragraphs styled to look like headings. In the TinyMCE editor, use the Paragraph dropdown to select “Heading 2”, “Heading 3”, or “Heading 4”.

Can I change the minimum number of headings required to show the TOC? No. The threshold is fixed at three headings and is not configurable through a setting or filter. Pages with fewer than three headings never render a TOC.

How do I disable the TOC entirely?

// Disable TOC on all wiki pages
add_filter( 'wbmw_toc_html', '__return_empty_string' );

// Disable TOC for a specific page
add_filter( 'wbmw_toc_html', function( $html, $headings ) {
    if ( is_singular( 'wiki_page' ) && get_the_ID() === 123 ) {
        return '';
    }
    return $html;
}, 10, 2 );

Can I customize the TOC appearance? Yes. The TOC is wrapped in a <div class="wbmw-toc"> element. Add CSS to your theme to override the default styles:

/* Custom TOC box styling */
.wbmw-toc {
    background: #f8f9fa;
    border: 1px solid #dee2e6;
    border-radius: 4px;
    padding: 16px 20px;
    display: inline-block;
    min-width: 200px;
    margin-bottom: 20px;
}

.wbmw-toc nav ol {
    margin: 0;
    padding-left: 20px;
}

You can also modify the TOC HTML programmatically via the wbmw_toc_html filter (see Hooks & Filters Reference).

Does the TOC affect the page heading hierarchy for SEO? No. The TOC is injected via a WordPress content filter (the_content) after the page is saved. It reads your heading structure but does not modify the actual page content in the database.