Have you ever settled in to read a long guide - 3,000 or 4,000 words - only to reach the end and realize you still didn’t find the one thing you came for?
You scrolled, you skimmed, you went back and forth, and somehow the answer stayed buried. By the time you closed the tab you felt more frustrated than informed. That quiet disappointment is more common than most writers admit.
The same pattern shows up again and again in session recordings of long articles. Readers land on a detailed piece, glance at the table of contents near the top, then start scrolling.
A couple of minutes later they are still hunting for the section they actually needed. Most never click the TOC again. Many simply leave and search somewhere else.
If you publish long-form content, this is the real problem. Adding a table of contents is not enough. The question is whether that table of contents actually helps people stay oriented and find what they need before they give up.
Quick Overview: Inline vs Sticky TOC
Aspect
Inline TOC
Sticky TOC
Visibility
Visible only at the top of the article
Stays visible while the reader scrolls
Best for content length
Shorter long-form (1,500–2,500 words)
Longer pieces (2,500+ words) & documentation
Reader behavior
Good for linear reading
Better for jumping between sections
Screen space
Takes no ongoing space
Uses horizontal or top space
Mobile experience
Usually simpler and less intrusive
Needs careful adaptation or collapsing
Main strength
Immediate overview before scrolling
Continuous orientation throughout the article
Main limitation
Disappears after the first scroll
Can feel intrusive if poorly designed
Implementation effort
Very low (basic anchor links)
Higher (positioning, active states, responsive behavior)
Inline Table of Contents
An inline table of contents usually sits near the top of the article as a static list of links.
It gives an immediate overview of what the piece covers. Readers can scan the structure before they commit to scrolling.
The pattern is familiar, easy to implement, and works without any special positioning or JavaScript beyond basic anchor links.
The limitation appears quickly. Once the reader scrolls, the TOC leaves the viewport. There is no ongoing signal of where they are or how to jump to another section. Many people glance at it once and never return. On very long guides this becomes a real usability gap. The overview exists, but it is only available at the beginning.
A useful website is more than a collection of attractive pages. It helps people find answers, understand your offer, and take the next step without unnecessary friction. Here's how to build one with purpose.
By the Fieldnotes team12 min readUpdated October 2026
A well-written article should help readers find the information they need without forcing them to scan every paragraph. When an article covers several topics, an inline table of contents gives readers a simple overview before they start reading.
It also makes longer content feel more approachable. Readers can jump to a specific topic, explore the entire guide in order, or return to a section that deserves another look.
01 / FOUNDATIONS
Understanding the basics
Before building a website, decide what it should help visitors accomplish. A personal portfolio may need to showcase projects, while a service business may need to generate enquiries. An online store has a different purpose: helping customers discover products and complete purchases.
These goals influence everything from page structure to the placement of important buttons. Without a clear objective, websites often accumulate features that look impressive but make the visitor experience more complicated.
Identify the primary goal
Choose the main action you want visitors to take. It could be booking an appointment, requesting a quote, purchasing a product, or subscribing to a newsletter. Make the next step obvious and remove unnecessary barriers.
Understand who the website is designed for.
Identify the questions visitors need answered.
Prioritize the information that supports their decisions.
Give each important page a clear purpose.
A useful starting point
Write one sentence describing the problem your website solves. Use it to decide which information belongs on the page and which details can be left out.
A focused website does not necessarily need fewer words or fewer pages. It needs the right information, organized so visitors can find it when they need it.
02 / INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Planning your structure
Website structure determines how pages relate to one another. When the structure is clear, visitors can predict where information lives. When it is confusing, even useful content becomes difficult to discover.
Create a simple sitemap
List the pages your audience needs and group related information together. A small business might begin with a homepage, services page, about page, case studies, and contact page. More specialized pages can be added when they have a distinct purpose.
01
Home
Introduce the offer and guide visitors toward key pages.
02
Services
Explain the solutions, benefits, and process.
03
About
Share relevant experience and establish trust.
04
Contact
Make enquiries and next steps straightforward.
Keep information organized
Avoid putting every detail on the homepage. Give important topics enough space to be explained clearly, but do not split one simple idea across several pages without a good reason.
The right structure depends on the subject, the audience, and the size of the website. What matters most is that visitors can find related information without getting lost.
03 / NAVIGATION
Creating useful navigation
Navigation helps people move between pages without having to guess where information is hidden. Clear labels, predictable menus, and relevant internal links all make the experience easier to understand.
Use recognizable labels
Visitors should not have to decode creative menu names to locate basic information. Labels such as Services, Pricing, Resources, and Contact communicate their purpose more clearly than vague alternatives.
Keep the primary menu focused on important destinations.
Group related pages together.
Keep menu behavior consistent across the website.
Make important actions easy to find.
Add contextual links
A visitor reading about a service may naturally want to see a relevant project or request a quote. Linking to those destinations inside the article makes the next step easier than requiring the visitor to find the main menu again.
Good navigation should make the next step feel obvious, not like a puzzle the reader has to solve.
Test navigation with someone who has not seen the website before. Their questions and hesitation can reveal problems that become difficult to notice after working on the site for a long time.
04 / CONTENT STRATEGY
Writing better content
Useful content explains things clearly. Visitors want to know what you offer, who it is for, how it works, and what they should do next. Answering these questions is more valuable than filling pages with generic marketing language.
Make content easy to scan
Many readers scan headings before deciding which sections to read closely. Descriptive headings, manageable paragraphs, lists, and examples help them understand the structure of the article quickly.
Use a clear main heading.
Break complicated topics into meaningful sections.
Use examples to explain abstract ideas.
Keep links descriptive and relevant.
Make calls to action specific.
Build confidence with useful details
Genuine testimonials, relevant case studies, accurate specifications, transparent policies, and clear contact information can help readers evaluate what you offer. Use evidence you can support instead of relying on exaggerated promises.
The best content is not always the longest content. It is content that gives the reader enough information to understand the subject and make a considered decision.
05 / DESIGN & ACCESSIBILITY
Design and accessibility
Visual design helps readers recognize important information, understand relationships, and move through a page comfortably. Consistent typography, spacing, color, and layout create a more predictable experience.
Prioritize readability
Use sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds. Keep paragraphs at a comfortable width and avoid making body text unnecessarily small. Headings should help people understand the article's structure, not simply decorate it.
Consider different ways of browsing
Some people use keyboards, assistive technologies, screen magnification, or other ways of interacting with websites. Clear labels, meaningful image descriptions, visible focus indicators, and accessible forms help make information available to more people.
Design beyond appearances
A page is not truly easy to use just because it looks good in a screenshot. Important controls should work, text should be readable, and the structure should make sense when navigating without a mouse.
Review color contrast, keyboard behavior, form labels, and the reading order. Automated checks can help, but manually testing important tasks is also valuable.
06 / PERFORMANCE
Improving performance
A website's experience depends partly on how quickly its content loads and responds. Large images, unnecessary scripts, heavy embeds, and inefficient resources can make pages slower to use.
Optimize large resources
Resize images to appropriate dimensions, compress large files, and use modern image formats where supported. Load below-the-fold media when needed instead of forcing every resource to load immediately.
Review third-party tools
Analytics, widgets, external fonts, and plugins can all add network requests or processing work. Keep the resources that provide clear value and remove tools that no longer serve a useful purpose.
Measure page performance before making changes.
Investigate the largest causes of slow loading.
Optimize images and unnecessary code.
Test again to verify improvements.
Performance should be checked periodically because adding content and new integrations can change how a website behaves after it has been published.
07 / RESPONSIVE DESIGN
Optimizing for mobile
A website designed for a wide desktop screen can become awkward on a smaller device. Menus may take up too much space, tables may overflow, and buttons may become difficult to tap.
Adapt the layout to the available space
Responsive design is more than shrinking the desktop page. It involves adjusting the order, size, and arrangement of content to preserve a useful experience on different screens.
Allow text to wrap naturally.
Stack complex layouts on narrow screens.
Keep interactive elements comfortable to tap.
Prevent images and tables from breaking the page.
Check that navigation remains easy to use.
Test real interactions
Resize the viewport and try the important tasks. Open menus, complete forms, use links, and check that the most important content remains visible and readable. A responsive page should be useful, not merely smaller.
08 / MEASUREMENT
Measuring results
Publishing a website is the beginning of learning about the visitor experience. Analytics and user feedback can help you understand whether people are finding information and completing the actions that matter.
Choose meaningful measurements
Engagement
Understand which pages and topics receive attention.
Conversions
Measure enquiries, sign-ups, or completed purchases.
Usability
Identify confusing journeys and interaction problems.
Performance
Track loading and responsiveness on important pages.
Make focused improvements
If visitors struggle to complete a task, investigate the points where confusion arises. A clearer headline, a more descriptive button, or a simpler form may address the problem better than redesigning the entire page.
Change one important thing at a time where practical, measure the results, and use what you learn to guide the next improvement.
09 / FINAL CHECKLIST
The final checklist
Before publishing a website, review its content, navigation, functionality, and technical setup. Looking at the website as a first-time visitor can help you spot problems that are easy to miss during development.
Content and layout
✓ Headings and copy are accurate and useful.
✓ Images and links work as expected.
✓ Important pages have clear purposes.
Navigation and accessibility
✓ Menus and internal links lead to the right places.
✓ Text is readable across relevant screen sizes.
✓ Forms and controls are usable and clearly labeled.
Technical readiness
✓ Important pages load correctly.
✓ Forms and other key interactions have been tested.
✓ Domain, security, backups, and analytics are checked where needed.
Keep improving after launch
Websites change as products, services, and customer expectations evolve. Review important pages, update outdated information, and correct problems as they appear. A website works best when it is treated as something worth maintaining.
Build a better reading experience
Clear structure, helpful content, and intuitive navigation make a website easier to use. Start with the visitor's needs, then keep improving based on what you learn.
A sticky table of contents stays visible while the reader scrolls.
It can appear as a sidebar, a floating card, or a slim bar at the top of the viewport. Because it remains available, readers can jump between sections at any point without scrolling back to the top.
This supports non-linear reading, which is common on practical guides, documentation, and comparison articles. People often arrive looking for one specific answer and then explore related sections.
Sticky TOCs reduce the chance that important sections are missed simply because they sit far down the page. They also give continuous feedback about the reader’s current position when the active item is highlighted.
Where sticky TOCs work well:
Longer pieces (2,500+ words)
Technical documentation and knowledge bases
Comparison articles and practical guides where readers jump between sections
Content where ongoing orientation matters more than a one-time overview
Where they can fall short:
Desktop sidebars that take too much horizontal space
Mobile layouts where a permanently visible TOC feels intrusive or crowded
Poorly designed versions that look like ads or decorative elements and get ignored
Cases where the sticky TOC is placed too far down and readers never notice it
Sticky is usually the stronger choice when the article is long and readers are likely to move around rather than read in a straight line. The key is keeping the design compact, clearly labeled, and properly adapted for smaller screens.
Interactive sticky TOC demoScroll inside the preview to explore ↓
Ffieldnotes.
GuidesResourcesGet started
THE PRACTICAL WEBSITE GUIDE
A practical guide to building better websites
A useful website is more than a collection of attractive pages. It helps people find answers, understand your offer, and take the next step without unnecessary friction. Here's how to build one with purpose.
By the Fieldnotes team12 min readUpdated October 2026
Building a good website does not start with choosing a color palette or finding the perfect template. It starts with understanding your visitors and making it easy for them to find the information they need.
From planning your pages to testing the final experience, each decision should make the website clearer, faster, and more useful.
01 / FOUNDATIONS
Start with the basics
Before designing a website, decide what it needs to accomplish. A portfolio website may need to showcase projects, while a service business may need to generate enquiries. An online store has a different job: help customers discover products and complete purchases.
When the main objective is clear, decisions about layout, content, and features become easier. You can prioritize elements that support the visitor's journey instead of adding features simply because they are available.
Define your primary goal
Choose the main action you want visitors to take. It could be requesting a quote, booking an appointment, subscribing to a newsletter, or purchasing a product. Make that action easy to understand and find.
Identify the audience the website serves.
Understand the questions visitors are trying to answer.
Choose the most important action for each page.
Remove distractions that compete with the primary goal.
Practical tip
Write one sentence describing what your website should help visitors accomplish. Use it to evaluate important design and content decisions.
02 / INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Plan the structure
A website can contain excellent information and still be frustrating if visitors cannot find it. A clear structure groups related pages together and helps people predict where information lives.
Start with a simple sitemap. List the pages you need, arrange them into logical groups, and identify how visitors will move from one page to another.
Give every page a purpose
A homepage should introduce the overall offer. An about page should help people understand the business. A service page should explain what you provide, while a contact page should make it easy to get in touch.
Homepage
Explain the offer and guide visitors to important pages.
Service pages
Describe benefits, deliverables, and the process.
Contact page
Provide a clear path to enquiries and next steps.
Avoid creating pages just to make the website look larger. Every page should provide useful information that belongs there, without repeating everything visitors can already find elsewhere.
03 / NAVIGATION
Make navigation clear
Navigation should help visitors move around the website without having to guess. Use familiar labels and place the most important destinations where people expect to find them.
Keep menus focused
Too many top-level links can overwhelm visitors. Prioritize the destinations that support the main customer journey. Secondary resources can be placed in dropdown menus or the footer when appropriate.
Use descriptive, recognizable menu labels.
Group related pages logically.
Make the logo link back to the homepage.
Ensure navigation works with a keyboard and on touchscreens.
Add contextual links
The main menu is only one way to move through a website. Someone reading about a service may want to view a project example or contact the business. Relevant links placed within the content help visitors take that next step.
Good navigation reduces guesswork and lets visitors focus on the information they came to find.
04 / CONTENT STRATEGY
Write useful content
Website copy should answer real questions. Visitors want to understand what you offer, who it is for, how it works, and what they should do next. Clear answers help people make decisions without unnecessary friction.
Make the page easy to scan
Most people scan a page before deciding which parts to read closely. Descriptive headings, short paragraphs, lists, and helpful examples make information easier to understand.
Use a clear headline that describes the page.
Break long topics into meaningful sections.
Replace vague claims with specific examples.
Make calls to action describe what happens next.
Build trust with useful details
Authentic testimonials, detailed case studies, transparent policies, and accurate contact information help visitors evaluate a business. Use evidence you can support rather than exaggerated claims.
Good content is not necessarily the longest content. It is content that gives visitors the right information at the right time.
05 / ACCESSIBILITY
Design for everyone
Visitors interact with websites in different ways. Some use keyboards, some rely on assistive technologies, and others may be using a small screen or dealing with temporary limitations. Accessible design makes the experience more usable across these situations.
Prioritize readability
Use sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds. Choose comfortable font sizes and line spacing, keep paragraphs readable, and avoid relying on color alone to communicate important information.
Make interactions accessible
Links and controls should have meaningful labels. Keyboard users need visible focus indicators, and forms should explain errors clearly so people can correct them.
Provide meaningful alternative text for informative images.
Provide captions or transcripts for relevant media.
Automated testing can identify some issues, but manual testing remains important. Try the important tasks with a keyboard and inspect the page at different zoom levels.
06 / PERFORMANCE
Improve performance
Large images, unnecessary scripts, heavy third-party tools, and inefficient resources can make a website feel slow. Performance improvements should begin with measurement rather than guesswork.
Optimize images
Resize images to dimensions appropriate for their display area. Compress large files and use modern formats where practical. Images far below the initial viewport can often be loaded only when they are needed.
Review unnecessary scripts
Plugins, analytics tools, widgets, and external fonts can add network requests and processing work. Keep the tools that provide meaningful value and review integrations periodically.
Improve what matters most
Test an important page, identify its biggest bottleneck, make one meaningful improvement, and test again to see whether the result improved.
Performance is not a one-time task. New media, scripts, products, and integrations can change how a website behaves after it has been published.
07 / RESPONSIVE DESIGN
Think mobile first
A layout designed for a wide screen may become cramped on a phone. Navigation might take up too much room, text could become difficult to read, and buttons may be too small to tap comfortably.
Adapt the experience to the screen
Responsive design is not just about shrinking everything. It means reorganizing content so that the important information remains accessible as the available space changes.
Allow headings and paragraphs to wrap naturally.
Stack complex layouts on narrow screens.
Keep important buttons comfortable to tap.
Prevent tables and images from breaking the layout.
Check that sticky elements do not cover important content.
Test real interactions
Open menus, complete forms, and follow links on a phone or a device emulator. A page can look responsive in a screenshot while still behaving poorly when someone tries to use it.
08 / MEASUREMENT
Measure and improve
Launching a website is the beginning of learning, not the end. Real visitor behavior can show whether the content, navigation, and calls to action are helping people accomplish their goals.
Track useful measurements
Choose measurements that match the website's purpose. Page views can show which content attracts attention, while form submissions and completed purchases may tell you more about whether visitors are taking the intended actions.
Engagement
Review which content people visit and explore.
Conversions
Measure important actions such as enquiries or purchases.
Usability
Investigate where visitors encounter confusion or errors.
Make focused improvements
When a page underperforms, look for evidence before redesigning everything. A confusing headline, an unclear button, or a broken mobile interaction may be the most useful place to start.
Make a focused change, examine the results, and continue improving the parts of the experience that create the most friction.
09 / LAUNCH
Launch checklist
Before publishing, review the website from the perspective of a first-time visitor. Make sure the important information is correct, the navigation works, and the primary actions behave as expected.
Content and design
✓ Headings, copy, and contact details are accurate.
✓ Images display properly and have appropriate alt text.
✓ Navigation and internal links lead to the right places.
Functionality and accessibility
✓ Forms, buttons, and important interactions work.
✓ The layout is usable across relevant screen sizes.
✓ Text is readable and keyboard navigation is practical.
Technical readiness
✓ The domain, HTTPS, and key pages have been checked.
✓ Analytics and backups are configured where needed.
✓ Any checkout or data-collection flows have been tested.
Keep improving after launch
Websites change as businesses grow. Review important pages, update outdated information, fix broken links, and listen to feedback from customers. Maintaining a website is an ongoing process, not a single launch-day task.
Build a better experience
Start with a clear goal, make the important information easy to find, and improve the experience one step at a time.
Why Placement and Behavior Matter More Than Having a TOC
Long articles create an orientation problem.
Once a reader has scrolled past the first screen, the overview at the top is gone. They may remember that a section exists, but they cannot easily jump back to it or see where they currently are. This leads to extra scrolling, frustration, and higher bounce rates on pieces that are otherwise useful.
Research on long pages has shown clear differences in how well people discover content:
CONTENT MISSED
27%
Of users miss content entirely when pages use horizontal tabs.
AVERAGE MISS RATE
7%
Average content miss rate with a sticky table of contents.
BEST OBSERVED RESULT
0%
Miss rate achieved by some well-designed sticky TOCs.
Source: Baymard Institute usability research on long pages
The real decision is not “TOC or no TOC.” It is whether the TOC stays useful after the reader has started moving through the content.
A Flexible Way to Add Either Style Without the Usual Friction
Once you decide that sticky (or a flexible hybrid) is the better pattern for your long-form content, the remaining work is usually technical.
You need reliable detection of headings, clean hierarchy, smooth scrolling, and layouts that do not break on mobile or fight with your theme. Building and maintaining all of that yourself quickly becomes more effort than it is worth.
This is the practical gap a dedicated table-of-contents widget fills. Poper’s Table of Contents widget auto-scans the page for headings, generates anchor IDs when they are missing, and renders a navigable list with smooth scrolling.
What you get out of the box:
Auto-detection of headings (or full manual control if you prefer)
Fifteen layout engines, including clean minimalist sidebar, frosted glass floating card, sticky top bar, numbered editorial styles, nested tree views, and more
Automatic hierarchy normalization so indentations stay logical even if the article starts with an h3 instead of an h2
Smooth scrolling that works reliably across devices
Simple embed that works on WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Next.js, and most other platforms
For teams that want a reliable sticky or flexible TOC without maintaining custom scroll logic and heading detection, the widget removes most of the usual implementation friction while still giving design control.
Table of Contents Widget
Make Every Long Article Easier to Navigate
Help readers find the information they need without endless scrolling. Poper automatically detects your article headings, creates anchor links, and lets visitors jump smoothly between sections. Choose from responsive layouts, including clean sidebars, floating cards, and sticky navigation bars, to fit your website.
Create Your Table of Contents Automate heading detection and customize your navigation without manually maintaining anchor links.
What Long-Form Readers Tend to Prefer
Usability patterns and analytics on long-form content point in a consistent direction.
On shorter pieces an inline TOC is often enough. Readers get the overview and then move through the article linearly. On longer guides, documentation, and pillar pages, sticky navigation tends to perform better because it stays available.
Readers are more likely to jump to the exact section they need and then explore related parts without losing their place.
Typical patterns that show up:
Shorter long-form (roughly 1,500–2,500 words) → inline is usually sufficient
Non-linear reading (jumping between sections) → sticky provides clear advantages
Linear reading from top to bottom → inline is often enough
Mobile requires extra care. A full sticky sidebar usually needs to collapse, move to a top bar, or become a toggle on small screens. Testing on real devices is more useful than relying on desktop assumptions.
Hybrid approaches that work well:
Show a compact inline TOC at the top for the initial overview
Switch to a slim sticky version once the reader has scrolled past the first screen
Keep the sticky version collapsible or minimal on mobile
The goal in every case is the same: keep the structure visible for as long as the reader needs it.
Practical Guidelines for Either Style
A few principles improve any table of contents:
Use specific section titles. Vague labels like “More info” or “Details” force readers to guess. Clear titles such as “Implementation Steps” or “Common Pitfalls” set accurate expectations.
Give visual feedback for the active section so readers know where they are.
Keep the hierarchy clean. Overly deep nesting becomes hard to scan.
Make sure the TOC is keyboard accessible and that focus states are visible.
Test with real scroll behavior. Watch whether people actually use the links or ignore the element entirely. Heatmaps and session recordings are more revealing than assumptions.
Finally, place the TOC where it can be noticed early. A sticky element that only appears after significant scrolling often goes unused.
Closing
The best table of contents is the one that stays useful for the full length of the article.
Inline works well when the piece is shorter and most readers move linearly. Sticky becomes more valuable as length and non-linear reading increase. Match the placement and behavior to how people actually move through your long-form content rather than defaulting to the most common pattern.
When the TOC remains available and clearly labeled, readers spend less time hunting and more time getting the answers they came for. That is the real measure of whether the pattern is working.
